If you’ve been selling travel for any length of time, you’ve received a message that makes you pause before responding. It might come through email, social media or even text. The wording is polite but vague. There’s no destination, no timeline, no context and sometimes no clear indication of how they even found you. Just a short note saying they’re thinking about a trip and wondering if you can help.
Your instincts kick in immediately. Is this a real person? Is this someone serious? Is this spam? Worse yet, is this a scam? Or is this going to turn into another situation where you give away time and expertise and never hear back? That hesitation is understandable. The online world has trained us to be cautious, and for good reason. But here’s the part many advisors miss: being cautious does not mean being dismissive. Automatically writing off vague inquiries as scams can be just as costly as jumping into planning too quickly. The real skill is knowing how to respond in a way that protects your time while still leaving the door open for legitimate clients. And that skill comes down to having a process.
Vague inquiries are not a signal to quote, plan or educate. They are a signal to qualify. When advisors get burned, it’s usually not because the inquiry was vague. It’s because they treated it like a request for service instead of a request for direction. If you respond to every unclear message by asking multiple detailed questions or offering suggestions, you’re placing yourself in the role of free consultant before the relationship has even been established. That’s where frustration builds, boundaries blur and burnout follows.
On the other hand, ignoring or dismissing vague inquiries altogether can quietly cost you real opportunities. Many clients don’t know how to articulate what they want yet. They’re early in the decision-making process, and they’re reaching out because they want guidance from someone who knows what they’re doing. How you respond in that moment shapes whether they move forward with you or move on. The goal is not to prove how helpful you are. The goal is to lead.
A professional response acknowledges the inquiry while gently shifting the conversation into a more structured path. It signals that you’re open to helping, but that there is a process for doing so. This immediately sets you apart from advisors who either overreact or disengage.
One of the most overlooked steps in handling vague inquiries is simply clarifying who you’re speaking to. It’s reasonable to confirm identity and context, especially when messages come through channels where scams do exist. Asking who they are or where they found you isn’t confrontational, it’s professional. Legitimate clients rarely take offense to this, and those who disappear at that point have saved you time you would have otherwise lost.
Equally important is resisting the urge to mentally fast-forward. Many advisors see a vague inquiry and immediately start imagining the itinerary, the suppliers and the logistics. That mental work happens before the client has shown any commitment to the process, and it creates an imbalance from the start. You’re invested while they’re still browsing. A clear intake or consultation step solves this problem. It gives the conversation a container. Instead of trying to extract details through scattered messages, you guide the inquiry toward a conversation designed to determine fit, expectations and next steps. This protects your expertise and positions you as a professional advisor, not a quote machine.
There is also a mindset shift that matters here. Being careful does not mean being fearful. Scams exist, but not every unclear message is a threat. Many clients are simply unsure how to begin. They may not know the right terminology, the right questions or the right level of detail to provide. Assuming negative intent too quickly can shut down perfectly valid opportunities. The advisors who handle this best don’t operate from suspicion or eagerness. They operate from neutrality and structure. They respond with calm confidence, gather the information they need and then decide whether to proceed. They don’t rush, and they don’t ignore.
Another critical piece is consistency. When you respond differently every time based on your mood, workload or energy level, it becomes harder to trust your own judgment. A defined process removes emotion from the decision. You know exactly how to respond, regardless of how vague the message is, because the response is designed to move the conversation forward or filter it out efficiently. Over time, this approach does more than save time. It strengthens your positioning. Clients feel guided instead of interrogated. You feel in control instead of reactive. And the people who move forward with you do so understanding that your expertise is accessed through a professional process, not casual back-and-forth messaging.
It’s also worth noting that the way you handle vague inquiries often reflects how the rest of your business is structured. Advisors who struggle here often rely heavily on memory, intuition and improvisation across their business. Advisors who feel calm and confident tend to have systems that support them, even in small moments like this. If you find yourself dreading new inquiries, second-guessing whether to respond or feeling resentful when conversations go nowhere, it’s not a personal failing. It’s a signal that your intake process needs refinement. You don’t need to become rigid or impersonal. You just need clarity.
Vague inquiries will always exist. They’re part of doing business in a digital world. The difference between advisors who feel drained by them and advisors who convert them into real clients isn’t luck or personality, it's their process. When you lead with structure, you protect your time, your energy and your expertise without closing yourself off. You stay open but not exposed. Careful, but not dismissive.
And that balance is where sustainable growth actually lives.
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