Leveraging Automation: The Intake Form

Ever lost a potential client because you couldn't respond fast enough? That's the problem we're solving with automation — and it starts with one simple intake form. When someone wants to work with you, they shouldn't have to jump through hoops or wait days for a reply. Today kicks off a new series on building automation systems for your business, and we're starting with the foundation: a single, simple form that captures every lead and puts them in one place. No more scattered messages across email, DMs, and phone calls. One front door, one auto-reply, zero missed opportunities. Plus, I'll walk you through free tools you can use to build it today — no budget required. Highlights - Why doing everything manually will eventually burn you out and let leads slip through the cracks - The Saturday baseball game scenario: how delayed responses cost you real money - The five-question rule — why your intake form should never exceed five fields (and the first two are free: name and email) - Using the BANT framework (budget, authority, need, timing) to craft your qualifying questions - Making your form the single "front door" across every channel — website, email signature, social media, Google Business profile - Setting up auto-replies on DMs and email so every inquiry gets an immediate response - Connecting form submissions to one central place (Trello or Google Sheets) as a lightweight CRM - Why you must test the form yourself before launching it - Free tools that make this cost nothing: Tally and Google Forms - Advanced upgrades: conditional logic to auto-reject unqualified budgets, routing by service type, and tagging lead sources - "Clarity is kindness" — how automated budget screening saves both you and the prospect from an awkward call Chapters 0:00 — Why Automation Matters 1:46 — The Intake Form Goal 2:33 — Missed Leads Scenario 4:17 — Five Questions Only 7:29 — Make It the Front Door 9:08 — Send Leads to One Place 10:04 — Test and Launch 10:40 — Free Form Tools 13:23 — Next Steps and Upgrades 16:23 — Weekly Action Plan 17:13 — Scheduling Next Week Resources - Tally - Google Forms - Trello - Google Sheets Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review! For more information about The Side-Hustle Dad, visit our website at https://thesidehustle.dad Remember, build the business, but be the dad! This show is part of the ICT Podcast Network, for more information, visit ictpod.net.