How to Use Forms & Waivers for Client Engagement

So if you’re running any type of business, you know there is some level of risk involved. Then, if we take it up a notch and focus on the health & wellness space, you know that offering services and classes to clients adds an extra level of liability.

On top of that, you’re also going to need to intake data from those clients. A few forms that are wildly common in the health & wellness industries are activity readiness questionnaires (also known as PAR-Qs) and health history questionnaires (HHQs).

Feeling ready to yawn at the thought of those things? Well, I don’t blame you. As necessary as forms & waivers are to run your business safely and soundly, they tend to only be thought of as a part of “operations.” If you had to assign one word to it, “boring,” might come to mind.

Well, what if I told you that with a little innovation, you could implement the normal forms & waivers, but also leverage these methods to increase client engagement and dare I say, bring a little fun into the picture too?!

Don’t believe me? I’ve got some pretty fun examples for you below.

Using Forms for Fun

Ok so without Googling it, what really is a “form?” Pause for a moment because I want to take this down to the simplest level and build up from there.

In a nutshell, a form, which can be physical or digital, is really a pre-scripted, documented, two-way conversation. Think about the last health questionnaire you filled out. Maybe it was for going to get a massage. That professional has a list of questions they ask every single person because they need to make sure they are taking care of each client appropriately. You, the client, of course want them to know if you have issues or limitations so you complete it. Could they have asked you these things in person? Of course. Do forms make it easier for both persons and the sake of their time? Also, yes.

Ok, so if you are following, it’s easy to see how I could say a form is a two-way conversational tool. But, did you pick up on a few things in that scenario? It might be my “crazy marketing brain,” but the utilization of that tool was perceived as useful to both parties and most likely, it was just the content of that form that could be labeled as “boring.” See where I’m going with this? If you can crack the code and make digital forms useful to both parties with added fun or value, you’ve won big time with your audience.

As an internet user you may have experienced digital “forms” that you didn’t even think were forms. Don’t believe me? What about that quiz you took to find out something from an expert you trust? What about that worksheet you completed with your business coach, consultant or mentor? Perhaps there was something you completed to receive custom feedback on “Project X.”

Yup. All forms. Crazy, right? So, lean into that and get creative for your business.

Here’s a real-life example for you which you can sample for yourself. But first, a little background story.

Pulling from my fitness past, I used to train athletes and one thing that I loved about coaching them was their dedication to fitness. At the same time, it could be equally challenging because athletes also travel a lot thus, experiencing obstacles when it comes to maintaining their fitness routines. During the Fall and Winter every year we’d have to get really creative and, honestly, at the beginning, I used to overthink the complexity of that scenario.

After a few seasons I realized I needed to just simplify things and plan for the “worst case scenario.” What is the worst case scenario? I’d love to tell you. It’s the thought that my client was stuck in a hotel room with nothing more than a bed, a chair in the corner, and an awkward amount of floor space between the bed and the bathroom with no hotel gym access.

What was the solution? A deck of cards and a worksheet.

I know. It sounds crazy even as I read this back to myself. But, the way this would work is each client would be prescribed a “fitness level” complete with a pre-set list of bodyweight, dynamic exercises that don't require equipment: burpees, squat jumps, push-ups, reverse crunches, split jump lunges, etc. Clients would then shuffle the deck of cards with the goal to work through the whole deck assigning those random numbers to their exercises. So, if your first listed exercise was a burpee and the first card pulled is a Jack of any suit, you, my friend, are doing 11 burpees and get to keep going through the deck and exercises.

Back in the days before LoopSpark the accountability of this process was the “honor system,” but now things are different. Now, I could build this workout with suggested rep ranges and the clients can submit this workout as many times as they do it. From a training perspective, I would then get to see they completed it, their selected rep range, and continue to train regardless of obstacles. That’s the dream.

Want to see it? I made a similar version of what I used to use for you to play with - click here to test drive it. Oh! And the system will even email you the workout afterwards too!

Ok enough about that, seriously click here to test drive my “Mission Impossible Travel Workout.”

Bottom line: Could I use the same system for stereotypical HHQs and PAR-Qs? Of course, and you should. But the whole goal I have here today is to expand the way health & wellness professionals think about forms and waivers for engagement.

Wait! What about waivers? How the heck can those be fun?

Outside of having clients sign things that need to be taken care of legally for the business (ex: liability waivers, studio policies & procedures, etc.), why not also leverage the ability to have clients to make (and sign!) strong commitments to themselves? Build a "goal setting agreement,” where they write down their own SMART goals, set future timelines, and have the client sign that for the sake of “buy-in” and accountability.

Fun fact: It’s actually a psychological phenomenon called “the signature effect,” where this now communicates expectations at the subconscious level the client now has with themself. This level of accountability really pushes all humans to “stick with it,” which is supported by research showing increased engagement in activities perceived to be formally agreed upon.

What’s the take-home message?

Forms & waivers don’t just belong under the “operations,” side of your business. They are tools that can be used to leverage client engagement and provide top quality customer service. Here at LoopSpark, we are really proud of always looking at how to innovate and support our health & wellness professionals. In fact, we’ve even created a forms & waivers catalog for our clients so you can simply copy, paste, and update for your business.