If you’re booking meetings with clients, you know the pain: back-and-forth emails, missing details, and those awkward first five minutes spent asking for info you should already have. If you’re using Calendly (or thinking about it), the good news is you can collect everything you need before the meeting even happens—just by setting up some custom questions.
This guide is for freelancers, consultants, agencies, or anyone who books meetings and needs more than just a name and email. I’ll walk you through how to use Calendly to reliably get the info you want, what’s worth asking (and what isn’t), and some honest thoughts on what works in the real world.
Why Collect Info Before the Meeting?
You don’t want to be scrambling for details five minutes before a call. Getting info up front saves time, sets expectations, and makes you look like someone who’s got their act together.
Common reasons to ask custom questions before meetings:
- Qualify leads (so you’re not wasting time)
- Get context (“What’s your biggest headache with X?”)
- Prep materials or demos
- Avoid “let me get back to you on that” moments
Calendly’s booking pages let you add questions to your scheduling flow, so you get what you need, and your clients can answer at their own pace.
Step 1: Decide What You Actually Need to Know
Before you add questions for the sake of it, get clear on what info is genuinely useful. Here’s the reality: the more questions you ask, the more likely someone bails before booking. Don’t create a survey unless you need a survey.
Good reasons to ask: - You need project details to prepare (e.g., “What’s your budget?”) - You want to qualify leads (e.g., “Are you ready to start this month?”) - You need info for logistics (e.g., “Will anyone else join the call?”)
Bad reasons to ask: - You’re just curious (save it for the call) - You want to look “thorough” - You’re copying what someone else does
Pro tip: If you can’t explain why you’re asking each question, don’t ask it.
Step 2: Set Up or Edit Your Calendly Event
Calendly works around “Event Types”—these are your different meeting options (like “Discovery Call” or “Demo”). You add questions to each Event Type, not your whole account.
- Log in to Calendly.
- Go to “Event Types” (main dashboard).
- Either create a new Event Type or click the gear icon next to one you want to edit.
- Click “Edit.”
You’re now in the Event setup flow.
Step 3: Add Custom Questions
Calendly calls these “Invitee Questions.” Here’s how to add or edit them:
- In your Event Type editor, look for the “Invitee Questions” section (usually after “Location” and “Notifications”).
- By default, you’ll get “Name” and “Email.” You can’t remove these—you always need to know who’s booking.
- Click “Add New Question.”
You’ll see a few options:
- Single line (short answer)
- Multiple lines (longer answer)
- Radio buttons (pick one)
- Checkboxes (pick multiple)
- Dropdown (pick one)
- Phone number (has some formatting)
Type your question, pick the answer format, and decide if it’s “Required” or not.
Examples:
- “What’s your website URL?” (Single line, Required)
- “Briefly describe your project.” (Multiple lines, Optional)
- “How did you hear about us?” (Dropdown, Optional)
- “What’s your budget range?” (Radio buttons, Required)
Honest take: Don’t overthink the format. If you want a specific answer, use radio buttons or dropdowns. If you need a story, use multiple lines.
Step 4: Keep It Short, Sweet, and Relevant
Here’s the part most people screw up: they turn the booking page into a homework assignment. Fewer, clearer questions get better answers.
- Three or fewer custom questions is the sweet spot
- Make questions specific (“What’s your budget?”) instead of vague (“Tell us about your needs…”)
- Avoid jargon or internal language your client might not get
Bad example:
“Please describe your pain points and current tech stack and what success would look like for you.”
Good example:
“What’s the main thing you want to get out of this call?”
If you absolutely need more info, ask during the meeting. Otherwise, you risk fewer bookings and more abandoned forms.
Step 5: Test Your Booking Flow
Once you’ve set up your questions:
- Open your booking link in a private/incognito window.
- Go through the process as if you’re a client.
- Check:
- Are the questions clear?
- Do they feel like too much work?
- Are you getting the right info in the confirmation emails?
If you feel annoyed by your own form, your clients will be twice as annoyed.
Pro tip: If you use your own booking link for internal meetings, set up a separate Event Type with fewer or no questions. Don’t make your team fill out your sales questions.
Step 6: Find Your Collected Info
Calendly will send you the answers in your meeting confirmation email, and you can also view them in your Calendly dashboard:
- Go to “Scheduled Events”
- Click on the meeting
- You’ll see all responses under “Invitee Questions”
If you need to export data, Calendly has some basic CSV export features, but don’t expect a full-blown CRM. For most people, the email notification is enough.
What Works? What Doesn’t?
Works well: - Simple, direct questions - Using dropdowns/radio when you want easy-to-scan answers - Making only critical questions required
Doesn’t work: - Long, open-ended “essay” questions - Asking for info you never actually use - Over-customizing for every single Event Type (keep it manageable)
Ignore:
- Fancy integrations unless you actually need them (most small teams don’t)
- Collecting tons of demographic data “just in case”
Pro Tips & Gotchas
- Integrations: Calendly integrates with tools like Zapier, Google Sheets, or CRMs if you need to push answers elsewhere. But unless you’re processing dozens of meetings a week, this often adds more hassle than it’s worth.
- Privacy: If you’re collecting sensitive info (like medical details), be careful—Calendly isn’t designed for HIPAA or similar compliance.
- Mobile experience: Test your booking flow on mobile. Long forms look even longer on a phone.
- Updating questions: If you change a question, it won’t update past bookings—only future ones.
Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Getting the right info before meetings makes everyone’s life easier, but it’s easy to go overboard. Start with the basics, see what you actually use, and update your questions as you learn. Less is more. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done—set up your questions, test the flow, and tweak as needed. Your clients (and your sanity) will thank you.