Client Intake Forms That Actually Qualify Leads

Overview

Your intake form is the gate between "curious stranger" and "qualified lead." Done right, it:

• Collects the facts you need to prepare for a discovery call
• Filters out wrong-fit leads before they eat your calendar
• Signals to serious clients that you run a real business

Done wrong, it is either a 40-field interrogation that scares off good clients, or a 3-field afterthought that does nothing.

What to Ask (and Why)

Contact and basics

• Full name — required
• Email — required
• Phone — optional, but ask; preferred-contact-channel follows
• Preferred contact method — email, text, phone call, WhatsApp
• Best time to reach you — saves a week of phone tag

Trip basics

• Destination(s) of interest — short text; it is fine if they are unsure
• Rough travel dates — "firm," "flexible within month," or "flexible any time of year"
• Number of travelers — adults, kids, ages
• Trip length — 3–5 nights, 6–10 nights, 11+ nights

Budget (the important one)

• Total trip budget range — use ranges, not open text:
  • Under $3,000
  • $3,000–$5,000
  • $5,000–$10,000
  • $10,000–$20,000
  • $20,000+
  • Not sure / need guidance

Ranges work because they feel like a survey, not a commitment. Clients answer honestly when they would stonewall an open-text field.

Travel style

• Past trip experience — "What was the best trip you have ever taken, and what made it great?"
• Pace preference — relaxed, balanced, packed
• Accommodation style — boutique, luxury hotel, all-inclusive, vacation rental, mix

Source and fit

• How did you hear about me? — critical for knowing which marketing channels work
• Have you worked with a travel advisor before? — sets expectations

What to Skip

Do not ask on the initial intake:

• Full passport details — too much, too early
• Frequent flyer numbers — collect at booking
• Dietary restrictions — collect at booking
• Every possible activity preference — that is the discovery call
• Credit card info — a separate, PCI-appropriate form after they commit

Every field you add is a reason someone abandons the form. Keep the initial intake under 15 questions.

Using the Form to Qualify

When a response comes in, check these three things before booking a call:

1. Budget vs. expectations. Under-$3k budget with a "two-week Europe with kids" ask? Send a warm reply explaining realistic costs; offer a shorter trip or a different destination. Do not book the call until budget aligns.
2. Timing. Asking for next month's peak-season Europe trip that is already sold out? Reset expectations in email before the call.
3. Source. If they came from a referral from your best client, prioritize them. If they came from a random internet lead form, expect to qualify harder.

Roughly 20–30% of intake responses should be politely redirected, not converted to calls. That ratio is a feature, not a bug.

Building the Form in Plan Harmony

1. Go to Forms in the agency sidebar
2. Click New Form and name it "New Client Intake"
3. Add fields using the drag-and-drop editor:
   • Short Text for name and destination
   • Email field for email
   • Select (dropdown) for budget ranges, trip length, preferred contact
   • Radio for contact method, accommodation style, pace
   • Long Text for "best trip ever" answer
4. Upload a cover image with your agency branding
5. Set the form to Active and copy the share link
6. Add the link to:
   • Your website's "Work with me" page
   • Your email signature
   • Your Instagram bio / link-in-bio
   • Your auto-reply to inquiry emails

The Follow-Up Workflow

When a response arrives:

1. Review the answers
2. If qualified: link the response to a new client record, reply within 24 hours, offer two specific times for a 30-minute discovery call
3. If unqualified: reply with a helpful redirect — a realistic budget explanation, a different destination suggestion, or a referral to another advisor if your niches do not match. Write the response once, save it as an email template, reuse it

Apply the New Client Onboarding task template to the linked client so the rest of the onboarding sequence runs on autopilot.

What a Good Intake Form Does for Your Business

An advisor doing 10 qualified discovery calls a week, with a 40% close rate and $400 average commission per trip, is making about $1,600/week on commissions alone. Cut that to 5 qualified calls a week because of a bad intake process, and you are losing $40,000+ in annual revenue to the clients you never got on the phone with — and burning out on the ones you did.

The intake form is leverage. Build it once, run it forever.