Opening the call

Say (up-front contract, word for word)

"Thanks for making the time. I've got us down for thirty minutes; does that still work? I'd like to understand how LinkedIn works for you and the team today, and what you'd want it to do for the business. If it looks relevant, I'll show you Holly for about nine minutes. By the end we'll either agree a sensible next step or agree it isn't a fit, and either is fine. Anything you'd add?"

Then: "And I'd rather you told me where this falls down than nodded along." Recording: "Is it OK if I record this so I don't have to take notes? It's for our team's training and we'll delete it on request."

Say (peer pattern, two minutes at most, no company story yet)

"In one vendor's study of about 19,700 companies, only about 6.5% of employees shared on LinkedIn. How does that compare with your team?"

Source: DSMN8, 2026 (vendor data; also a competitor: never name in social or marketing copy). If asked, call it direction, not proof.