What should I ask a new social media client to set up proof of ROI later?

Get a plain-language definition of what counts as a lead for their business, a monthly goal stated as a number, and a rough close rate and average sale. Those three answers are what turn your first monthly report into a real number instead of a reach chart, and most onboarding questionnaires skip them.

Most social media onboarding questionnaires focus on brand voice, logins and content pillars, which matter for doing the work but don't set up a defensible report. The three answers that do: what the client calls a lead (in their own words, not a template's), a monthly goal close to money (bookings, quote requests, signed jobs, not reach or engagement), and a rough close rate and average sale the client is willing to say out loud.

None of these need to be exact at kickoff. A client who guesses "maybe a third of enquiries book" and "a job's worth $300 to $500" has given you enough to estimate a dollar value from month one, and you can tighten both numbers later as real months of confirmed customers come in.

Ask for platform access through each business manager, never a personal password, and agree who at the client's business will answer one short question every month: which of that month's leads became customers. That single recurring answer is what keeps the proof honest instead of guessed, and it's far more useful than a long brand-history form the client fills out alone and nobody revisits.

The full method is in What Goes in a Social Media Client Onboarding Questionnaire (If You Want to Prove ROI Later).