What Your Client Questionnaire Should (and Shouldn't) Be Doing

A client questionnaire is one of the simplest tools you can use to establish yourself as a professional interior designer. When done right, it does two things at once: it positions you as the expert, and it gives you the information you need to decide if this is a client and project you actually want.

Most questionnaires do the opposite. A follower sent me a popular Etsy template to review, and I broke it down across four TikTok videos if you want to watch me go through it in real time — Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. But here's the short version.

Stop speaking designer to non-designers

If your questionnaire includes terms like FF&E, you're already losing people. Your clients don't speak your language, and they shouldn't have to. Keep it easy, clear, and human.

Ditch the PDF

Do not send a PDF or Canva document. Use Jotform or Google Forms. Responses save automatically, it looks professional, and clients can fill it out in minutes.

Your wording is part of your brand

"Do you own the place?" was a real question in this template. That is not how we speak in business. If professional writing isn't your strong suit, use ChatGPT or Claude to tighten your phrasing. Clear, confident, and simple wins every time.

Stop giving clients homework

Cut the repetition, cut the design jargon, and stop asking clients to think like designers before they've even met you. Questions about fabric preferences, metal finishes, and color temperatures belong in the consultation, not the intake form.

What should actually be in it?

Keep it short and intentional. Who they are, how to contact them, what spaces they need help with, their timeline, whether they already have a contractor involved, and any major constraints. Everything else belongs in the consultation, where you can guide them like the expert you are.

The goal is to make a potential client feel, in under five minutes, that you are organized, professional, and worth talking to. That's what gets you booked.

If you're building your client process from scratch, the Pre-Designer Checklist and the Complete Workflow Guide on the site are good places to start.

XO

Shira