How to Write a Check-In Your Clients Actually Answer
The weekly check-in is the backbone of online coaching — it's how you catch a stalling client before they quietly cancel. So why do so many go unanswered?
Almost always, the answer is the same: the check-in asks for too much. A fifteen-question form with three photo uploads and a free-text "how did the week go?" is a form a busy client will skip on a bad week — which is exactly the week you most needed to hear from them.
Here's how to design a check-in people finish.
Keep it under two minutes
Two minutes is the budget. If a client can't complete your check-in in the time it takes to make a coffee, completion rates fall off a cliff — and the clients who drop off first are the struggling ones you most want to reach.
Cut every question that doesn't change what you'll do next. If knowing the answer wouldn't change your coaching decision this week, it doesn't belong in the weekly check-in.
Ask for numbers before words
Free-text questions feel thorough, but they're expensive to answer and expensive to read. Lead with quick structured inputs:
- Bodyweight (or weekly average)
- Adherence to training, 1–10
- Adherence to nutrition, 1–10
- Sleep quality, 1–10
- Energy / mood, 1–10
Five sliders take fifteen seconds and give you a trend line you can actually track week over week. Save the one open-ended question for last.
One open question, and make it specific
End with a single free-text prompt — but not "how was your week?" That's too broad to answer well. Ask something that surfaces the thing you can act on:
What's the one thing that got in the way this week?
Specific questions get specific answers. Vague questions get "good thanks."
Make photos optional and infrequent
Progress photos are useful, but asking for them every week is the fastest way to kill a check-in — it's the highest-friction, most vulnerable ask you make. Move to every two or four weeks, and make them optional in the weeks between.
Close the loop fast
The real reason clients stop filling in check-ins isn't the form — it's that the last three went into a void. A check-in is a conversation. Reply within a day, reference something specific they wrote, and adjust something so they can see their input changed the plan. Do that consistently and completion takes care of itself.
In Perform, check-ins are built in — structured questions, optional photos, and metric trends all live next to the client's training and nutrition, so you're reading the week in context instead of chasing a separate form. Keep the questions few, close the loop fast, and the check-in stops being a chore for both of you.
Common questions
- How long should a client check-in take to complete?
- Aim for under two minutes. Completion rates drop sharply beyond that, and the clients who abandon a long form first are usually the struggling ones you most need to hear from.
- How many questions should a coaching check-in have?
- Only as many as change your coaching decision that week. In practice that's around five quick structured inputs (bodyweight and a few 1–10 ratings) plus one specific open-ended question.
- How often should clients send progress photos?
- Every two to four weeks, and make them optional in between. Asking for photos every single week is the highest-friction request in a check-in and the fastest way to kill completion.