You can't plan their trip until you understand their dream. Build the instrument that draws it out.
How to use this: discovery is about THEM, even if they don't know what they want yet. This builds your own discovery sheet so you walk into every inquiry with an instrument, not a hope you'll remember to ask. The exact dream, budget, and timeline questions come in 4.3, this is your frame.
1 · Pick your depth on the spectrum
Match the depth to the trip and the client. Don't interrogate a weekend, don't wing a honeymoon.
Keep it simple
A 4-question sheet. Fast and warm, plenty for a straightforward trip or a first chat.
This is my default
Go deep
A 20-point questionnaire. The full picture for a honeymoon, a milestone, a complex dream.
This is my default
2 · Your core questions
mix a little logistics (where, when, how many) with the dream, all open-ended and about them
3 · Your one always-ask dream question
"What would make this trip absolutely unforgettable for you?" or "What's the real reason behind this one?"
4 · Your reflect-back
The magic move: say their dream back to them. "So what I'm hearing is..." When a client hears their own words clearly, they feel understood, and that feeling earns the booking.
notes on the call, then straight into your Manifest in Tern so no detail leaks before the proposal
"So what I'm hearing is..." / "Let me make sure I've got the heart of this right..."
Put your Second Mate to work
Two prompts to try now. The full set is in the library, How to Prompt Your Second Mate. Swap the [brackets] for your details.
Draft my discovery questionnaire
Draft a warm discovery questionnaire for my travel clients, about [NUMBER] questions. My niche: [NICHE]. Mix a little logistics with mostly open-ended, dream-surfacing questions about them, the occasion, the feeling, the why. Friendly, never an interrogation.
Turn answers into a trip brief
Here are my client's discovery answers: [PASTE]. Organize them into a clean trip brief I can plan from: who's traveling, the occasion, the dream/feeling they want, must-haves, hard no's, and anything still unclear. Then suggest 1-2 deeper questions worth asking them.
Marketing Journeys · The Tradewinds Method · We don't hand you a course, we build your business with you. Tern / discovery-form setup how-to is in the Specialty Library. Stuck? Bring it to Professor Hours, book a 1:1, or hire us.