Client Intake Questions for Agencies
A useful agency intake asks for the information that changes your next decision. Start by choosing whether you are qualifying an enquiry, preparing a kickoff, or collecting work for delivery. Sending the same long questionnaire at every stage makes it harder to see what the client actually needs to answer.
Choose the stage before the questions
For an enquiry, project type, intended outcome, timing and a reply address may be enough to decide whether to talk. After the work is agreed, intake can ask about assets, constraints and decision owners. Delivery forms should identify the exact page, file or review period being handed over.
Give the form a specific introduction: ‘These answers help us prepare the website kickoff.’ State which materials the client should have ready and who will review the response. Avoid promising an immediate quote or delivery date if a person still needs to assess the scope.
Eight questions and the decisions they support
Scroll sideways to read all three columns.
| Ask | Why it matters | Review action |
|---|---|---|
| What should this project change for your business? | Separates the deliverable from the desired result. | Agree one primary outcome before choosing activities. |
| Who is the work intended to reach? | An audience label alone can hide different needs. | Ask for the audience's situation and next action. |
| What is included in this first phase? | Reveals differences between the request and agreed scope. | Mark additions for a scope conversation. |
| Which existing materials should we use? | Shows whether the team can begin with a stable source. | Record the owner and version; check link access. |
| Which constraints affect the work? | Timing, language or platform limits can change the plan. | Distinguish fixed requirements from preferences. |
| What depends on the target date? | A date without its reason is hard to prioritize. | Record the external dependency and fallback. |
| Who consolidates feedback and approves delivery? | Several reviewers can produce conflicting instructions. | Name a contact for resolving disagreement. |
| What evidence will show progress? | Different stakeholders may expect different results. | Agree a review method without promising an outcome. |
Example: turn an answer into a kickoff agenda
Illustrative response: ‘We need a modern site before our conference. Sales want more leads, but our product team also wants a resource library.’ Do not treat this as a complete scope. The next conversation should establish the conference date, which launch pages support sales, and whether the library belongs in the first release.
Write a review note with four parts: confirmed facts, unresolved questions, owner, and next check. For this example: ‘Conference is 12 November; launch page list is unresolved; marketing lead supplies a proposed list; project manager checks it before scheduling design.’ This produces a concrete follow-up rather than another request to ‘tell us more.’
Route the follow-up
Scroll sideways to read all three columns.
| Answer pattern | Send next | Keep out of first intake |
|---|---|---|
| Website content is not ready | A page-by-page content collection request | Every page's final copy |
| A deliverable needs changes | A revision request identifying version and location | A new general discovery questionnaire |
| The client wants recurring work | A retainer discussion about volume and priorities | A guaranteed turnaround before reviewing capacity |
Review before sharing
- Every required question supports the next decision.
- The client can identify an unknown instead of inventing an answer.
- Links request source material, not passwords or recovery codes.
- A named reviewer will turn responses into an agenda.
- Test the existing-material branch with both Yes and No.
Put the guide into practice
Define a website's goals, page scope, content ownership and launch requirements before design begins.
Describe recurring creative demand, typical work size, review capacity and budget before discussing a retainer.
Collect one page's copy, image links, approval state and content owner for a website build.
Questions people ask
How many questions should agency intake have?
Choose the smallest set that supports the stage you are in. Add a question only when you can name the decision it changes; use a later form for detailed delivery material.
Should every stakeholder complete it?
Ask for one consolidated response when possible, with disagreements recorded explicitly. Separate responses are useful only when you have a clear way to reconcile them.
Is intake the same as a creative brief?
Intake collects inputs. The brief records the direction and constraints the team agrees after reviewing those inputs.
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