Tired of getting “I just want to lose 10 pounds” messages in your inbox? In this episode of The Tech-Savvy Dietitian Podcast, we’re diving into how to set up a waitlist or inquiry form that filters with kindness — helping you attract aligned clients while protecting your time, energy, and boundaries.

I’ll walk you through:
✅ How to use conditional logic to pre-screen inquiries
✅ What to include (and avoid) in your intake forms
✅ How to make sure your systems align with your values — not add to your burnout

Whether you’re using Practice Better, Google Workspace, or another platform, you’ll learn how to build a simple, automated form that helps the right people find you (and saves your sanity in the process).

🪄 Mentioned in this episode: Practice Better, Google Forms, Conditional Logic, Google Sheets, Clinician Crew

  📍   Welcome to the Tech Savvy Dietician Podcast, where we believe that your systems should support your practice and not sabotage your sanity. I'm your host, Courtney Vickery, a registered dietician turned web designer and tech translator for private practice owners who are tired of playing calendar Tetris and inbox Detective.

 Hi, friend, and welcome back to this week's episode of the Tech Savvy Dietician. This week we're going to be talking all about how to set up a wait list or an inquiry form that doesn't just click names, but it protects your time, your energy, and your values. This is especially important if you're a non-diet weight inclusive provider who's.

Kind of tired of getting, I just wanna lose 10 pound inquiries in your inbox every week. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but we wanna make sure that our messaging is clear and that we're reaching the right people. So not only is that important, but it causes. Admin fatigue because now we're having to vet manually every inquiry.

And remember in the last episode things that we need to automate. And this isn't about automating the human touch. This is about filtering out people that aren't a good fit for you before they even get to you. So this is protecting you and your time and your energy, and their time and energy. And not to mention that this does cause emotional strain.

'cause we're constantly having to explain what is a non diet approach and why we don't do weight loss. And I'm not saying that we won't have to keep doing that. But you will do that a little less once you start making sure that you're screening for the right kind of people. So the goal of this is a form that filters with kindness and clarity so you can save your energy for your client work.

And again, this isn't about being cold or elitist, it's just about building a practice that is aligned with your values and leave space for folks who are curious, but maybe not fully on board yet.

So what are our options for something like this? You've heard me say it a million times, but of course there's practice better.

I like it. It's HIPAA compliant. You can build any kind of form that you want in it, send autoresponders. And my favorite thing for this kind of situation where you want to have a very clear inquiry form is to have conditional. Logic. That means that you can just ask them my favorite question, which is telling them that you have a non-diet approach or however you would like to explain it.

And then saying, I focus on the overall health and wellbeing of my clients and not solely on weight loss. Are you open to this kind of approach? And then you just have options that maybe say, maybe, I'm not sure I'm interested. Yes. And then you have one that just says. No, I am not interested in this approach at all, essentially.

And if they pick that, then the conditional logic can make it where the rest of the questions are hidden and you have a little message that pops up and says, you know, something along the lines of the fact that maybe you're not the best fit for them, and that's fine. Um, it doesn't make anybody wrong or right.

It just means that you're being authentic and true to your values and protecting your time and your energy as well as theirs. So the other option, if you aren't quite ready to dive into something like Practice Better yet, and you have Google Workspace, is you can use a Google form as long as you have true Google Workspace and you've signed the BAA, , so that it's HIPAA compliant.

So with the form, you can embed it on your site or have it just go to the external link. And , again, you can use conditional logic there and the responses can then be recorded into a Google sheet so you can track them however you like. 'cause Noah, I love a spreadsheet. Many, many ways we could set that up, but same rules apply here.

So it's just really important that we always confirm that our intake and interest forms don't collect more than they need because an inquiry shouldn't really have PHI in it or, , personal health information.

What should we be asking on these forms? Of course, we should ask the standard questions, name, contact information, ask them how they found you.

That's so important, and I think a lot of us sometimes just kind of forget to add this question, but it really is important so that you can track and see what is working and what isn't. Of course, ask them what they're looking for support with, and here's some ideas for the question that you could tie some conditional logic to.

So you could say, what are your goals for nutrition counseling? And show different options. , And if one says, I only want weight loss, I don't wanna talk about anything else, essentially, then you know, our little popup can come up and say, maybe we're not the best fit for you. Our approach is focused on this.

If you still have questions, you can feel free to reach out to us via email. , And then you have other questions. Improve my relationship with food recovery, whatever it is that you actually focus on. , You could ask them questions like, have they worked with a dietician before? Ask them if they're, again, if they're open to that fo focus on health without weight loss, which I, I feel like is one of the most important questions on these prescreening inquiry forms.

Here's an optional message you could include. You say something like, I. Our practice uses a weight inclusive non-diet approach to care. This means we won't be focusing on weight loss as a primary goal, but rather on behaviors that support your overall health. If you're unsure if this is the right fit for you, we're happy to chat more about it.

So again, you can see how this is still being clear, still setting boundaries, still saving you time and energy and theirs. But you're not just shutting the door either. It's not black and white, which I know a lot of us tend to think that way, but it's clear is kind and we're trying to be kind and open and understanding while also making sure that we're a good fit for these clients.

. This next part I think is something that a lot of folks struggle with, and it's how do we stay true to these values without writing someone off who might be early in their journey. I think it's easy when someone comes and is like, you know, I've been trying this weight loss thing forever and ever, and I'm just done with it and I'm ready to try something else.

But what about those people that are not quite there yet, but they're also. Not just 100% weight loss. They're kind of somewhere in the middle. Um, so again, you could use neutral language in your form responses. You can say, thank you for sharing your goals. Here's a bit more about our approach. You could, again, go back to those email templates and maybe have an automated email reply that explains your approach.

Link to a blog post or a frequently asked questions page that talks about what inclusive weight inclusive care is. And then if you do discovery calls. You can invite them to do a discovery call only if they indicate that they are somewhat open to your method, because you don't need to convince everyone, but you can still be a soft landing for those who are learning about this new process.

So what are some quick wins that you can do today? Number one, you can add a filtering question to your current form. Number two, go ahead and write that template or automated email that outlines your approach so that you're not rewriting that email over and over again. Three, see if your form has conditional logic so that you can set up that question.

That's going to send the pure only weight loss seekers a redirect or message or information before they bother booking. And you could even add a checkbox, like I understand that this practice does not provide weight loss counseling as a primary service. You know, again, it depends on your focus, what your goals are for your clients and how you work.

So I want you to really remember this part. Filtering clients. Doesn't mean that you're being mean or that you're just turning people away to be cold. It means you're setting up a system that helps the right people find you and saves you energy for the work that matters the most. So if you wanna see an example of a wait list or an inquiry form that uses conditional logic, I can share one over on our website and our blog post on Decklet designs and talk more about that.

Also, we have the tech savvy clinician crew, and this is the stuff that we nerd out about all day long and love to talk about it so we can swap forms. You actually get templates to practice better forms in Google space. In Google workspace forms that I've already created that you're welcome to use. So be sure to go and check us out at cliniciancrew.com and maybe come hang out with us over there.

And if your tech stack is driving you crazy, don't forget that you can book a strategy session with me and we can come up with a plan that set up systems that doesn't make you wanna throw your laptop out the window. I hope I'll see you next week. Next week we're gonna be talking about how to have a smarter client onboarding system, and I really hope you don't miss it.

  📍 Thank you so much for hanging out on the Tech Savvy Dietician podcast. If today's episode helped your practice feel a little lighter, I would love for you to follow the show, share it with a friend, and even leave a review. If you want even more support, come check out decklet designs.com or clinician crew.com.

Until next time, here's to systems that work and practices that thrive.