I know a little about LinkedIn Ads | Head of Strategy @ Impactable 🧠

Most marketing teams don’t have a 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗔𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 -- they have a “ 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵” problem.

If that feels familiar, you’re in the right place.

Because here’s the truth no one wants to say out loud:

You’re not being judged on “running ads.”

You’re being judged on:

– whether the targeting is signal-based (not spray-and-pray),
– whether your spend is defensible,
– whether your funnel isn’t Swiss cheese, and
– whether your campaigns make leadership feel safer, not more nervous.

That’s where I come in.

I’m JD — SVP of Revenue & Growth at Impactable, where we’ve managed $𝟱𝟬𝗠+ 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱, worked with 𝟲𝟬𝟬+ 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, and currently support nearly 𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 across multi-channel.

Me personally?

I’ve audited, fixed, or rebuilt 𝟯𝟬𝟬+ 𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀, overseen $𝟮𝟱𝗠+ 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱, and on average save teams ~𝟱𝟬% 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 when I step inside their Campaign Manager.

Not because I’m magical.

Because I actually understand people.

And your pipeline isn’t an algorithm problem -- it’s a 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗢

If you’re a mid-market B2B org (SaaS, IT, pro services, cybersecurity, finserv, AI, etc.) and your ACV actually matters…

I help you:
• Build audience-first programs that target based on intent signals, not job titles
• Stop lighting money on fire with bad structure, sloppy segmentation, and guesswork
• Fix the funnel so retargeting actually works
• Run multi-channel the way real buyers behave (LinkedIn → Google → Direct, not fantasy journeys)
• Prove marketing impact without resorting to vanity metrics
• Look your leadership team in the eyes and confidently say:
“Yes — this is working.”

Impactable is a 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, but the real secret sauce is our 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚-𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 and 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙮-𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. We don’t just “push buttons.” We help you avoid the political disasters that get marketers fired.

A little more human stuff
I’m married to an incredible woman.
We have 6 kids, 2 dogs, and I’m in the gym/sauna daily because… well, 6 kids.
Sour Patch Kids own me. No shame.

If you want to chat LinkedIn Ads, funnel design, or how to stop burning budget (without a sales pitch), I’m always happy to yap.

🌎 impactable.com
📨 jonathan.g@impactable.com

"How much revenue will my $5k budget generate?"

I hate saying "it depends," so I made this:

--

To be fair, all of this still depends because I can't factor in things like - 

- % in-market audiences
- competition
- creative fatigue
- depreciation

But this is a hell of a lot better than a blind guess.

(and if you don't have these benchmarks to plug in? that's your first problem - go find them)

--

Anyway, here's some of the logic in this little calculator I built:

1. The "Active" Reality

You can target 5,000 companies.

But if your "Active User Rate" is only 60% (people who actually log in), your addressable audience is much smaller.

We have to account for the ghosts.

2. The Frequency Tax

Notice the Frequency in the middle: 5.1

Most people spread their budget too thin and hit a frequency of 1.2

That is the "Ignorability Zone."

This calculator forces you to see if your budget can actually support the frequency needed to drive action.

3. The Full Funnel Physics

We aren't stopping at Leads.

We are connecting the LP Conversion Rate (2%) all the way down to the SQL to Close Rate (40%).

This shows you exactly where the funnel breaks before you spend a dime.

4. The Leadership Love Language

Look at the bottom right.

CAC Payback Period: 2.4 Months
ROAS: 4.92x
❤️

--

This is how you get budget approved.

You don't pitch "Brand Awareness."

You pitch specific financial outcomes based on conservative inputs.

Stop hoping the math works out.

Model it out 👊🏽

--

I'm thinking about hosting this on our site and making it available for anyone to use - do you think it would be helpful?

Anything that's not on here that you think should be?
(I didn't include sales cycle, so I know that's one)

JD Garcia

I know a little about LinkedIn Ads | SVP of Revenue & Growth @ Impactable 🧠

Your CFO isn’t wrong to hate #linkedinads

They look at the CPCs ($15+), compare it to Meta ($2), and then they ask why you're burning cash.

It’s terrifying to sit in that meeting without a defense.

--

I’ve seen budgets slashed so many times.

Usually because the poor marketer couldn’t articulate the value beyond "brand awareness."

Here are the 8 objections that kill B2B ad strategies, and exactly how to reframe them to save your budget:

1. "It’s too expensive."

Yes, the CPM is high.

But we aren't selling $20 t-shirts.

We're selling $50k ACV software.

We only need one closed-won deal to pay for the entire quarter’s spend.

Shift the metric from Cost Per (💩) Lead to Cost Per High-Fit Opportunity.

2. "We can't track the ROI."

Platform attribution is limited

If you rely on the dashboard, you’re flying blind.

You need to use multiple data sources to triangulate what's working.

Examples:
- Self-reported
- CAPI (Conversion API)
- Revenue Attribution Report
- Website Visitor Identification
- Attribution platforms like Fibbler, Dreamdata, Hockeystack

3. "We tried it and it failed."

Let me guess.

You ran a gated ebook to cold traffic for two weeks.

That’s not a strategy.

That’s a donation to Microsoft.

You either need a strategy to capture in-market demand.

Or you need a way to carve out your section of the market and nurture tf outta them.

4. "The audience is too small."

Good!

We don't need a million eyeballs.

We need the right 5,000 Champions at enterprise companies.

Narrow targeting is the only reason we pay the premium.

Waste is the enemy, not volume.

5. "Nobody buys on LinkedIn."

Correct.

They are scrolling.

They are bored in a meeting.

Our job isn't to force a transaction right now.

It is to rent space in their brain so when they are ready to buy, we are who they remember.

6. "Decision makers aren't on here."

Bruv - they are.

They just don't comment "Great post!" on your stuff.

They lurk.

They read.

They take screenshots and drop them in their internal Slack channels.

We call this the "Dark Funnel."

Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't watching.

--

Don't let a spreadsheet kill your best growth channel.

Go get that budget approval, big dawg 👊🏽

Sending video DMs to strangers feels awkward

I honestly feel like a stalker recording these

--

But my inbox is a graveyard of automated text templates.

And in 2026, "scalable" is just a synonym for "ignorable."

I am betting that a good way to win right now is to do the things that AI can't do.

- Pick a tiny list of high-value accounts
- Record a 30-second video for each human
- Do the unscalable work

I’m testing this on a micro-list over the next few weeks.

I’ll share the open rates (good or bad) once the results are in.

Stay tuned 🎥

Here's a super quick #linkedinads tip that can save you thousands and takes less than 5 mins to do:

1. Go to your Campaign Manager dashboard
2. Click on your "Ad Sets"
3. Click on "Filter" and click on "Reset"
4. Select the "Active" checkbox
5. Check the box for all Active Ad Sets
6. Click on the "Bulk Actions" button toward the top left
7. Select "Export selection"
8. Once downloaded, open the CSV file
9. Check column M & N
10. Change all "Yes" to "No"
11. Save the file
12. In Campaign Manager, select "Import File"
13. Import the file you saved
14. Once done, ensure no errors happened
15. Pay yourself on the back

So many times when I audit an account that has dozens of ad sets, I find ones that accidentally had LAN or AE enabled.

This little workflow, which takes no time, will save you a ton of budget and headache.

"My product is too boring for LinkedIn"

I hear this excuse often.

Yesterday I spoke with a prospect selling middleware for the electronics supply chain.

We are talking about backend data integration for components that go into rockets.

It is technical
It is dense
It is "unsexy"

And he is going to absolutely crush with #linkedinads

--

Here is why "Boring" is actually a massive competitive advantage:

1. The Empty Feed Theory

If you sell Sales Tech or Marketing Tech, your buyer's feed is a war zone.

But if you sell supply chain logistics software?

Your buyer's feed is a competitive whitespace

When you show up with a specific solution to their specific Excel-sheet hell, you are the only signal in the noise.

2. The Volume Trap

This company doesn't need 10,000 leads.

They need 37 closed deals...

...annually

37 deals = $6M in MRR

When your ACV is that high, you don't need virality.

You need to saturate the Buying Committee at the 500 accounts that actually matter.

Champions
Influencers
Signers

Surround the account, not just the point-of-entry person.

3. The Expertise Gap

In unsexy industries, the "influencers" are usually retired guys sharing outdated advice.

There is a massive vacuum for a modern Operator to step in and own the narrative.

Be the one person talking about "Data Structure in Electronics Distribution" and you own the category.

Stop trying to be interesting to everyone.

Be indispensable to the accounts that actually sign the check.

In B2B marketing land, we deal with a little something called Schrödinger's ROI 🐈

You see, in the first 30 days of your campaigns, the ROI is in a state of superposition.

Both 💀 and alive at the same time.

--

The 💀 state:

- you've spent money
- you've used resources
- the ROAS cell says "#DIV/0!"

If you're only looking here, you're cooked.

The Alive state:

- you're saturating your target account list
- the "mental availability" is starting to build up
- you're generating ICP fit traffic to key pages on your site

Your campaigns are very much alive.

--

Look, I know I'm being over-the-top.

No reasonable company is going to expect actual ROI (revenue) from marketing in 30 days when their sales cycle is 90 days+

I'm being silly for a reason.

And that's because the lagging indicators are so well defined.

But many companies can't properly define the leading indicators.

Things like:
1. Target Account penetration
2. Content consumption
3. Increased ICP traffic

It's a long journey from first-touch to Closed Won.

Map out the touches.

It'll make it easier for you to know if you're heading the right way.

You upload 10k contacts and feel like a genius.

Then you watch poor Betsy here wither 🐄

--

Contact Lists are the one of the hardest asset to maintain with #linkedinads

Why?

Well, there's a few reasons:

1. The Decay Rate

People quit
They get fired (especially B2B CMOs 😔)
They get promoted

B2B data decays at about 30% per year

If you are targeting a static list of emails you bought six months ago, you are burning budget on ghosts.

-

2. The Match Rate Nightmare

This is the technical reality nobody talks about much.

You cannot upload LinkedIn Profile URLs for ad targeting.

You have to use First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, etc.

The match rates on personal emails are terrible (often <50%).

You think you are targeting 10,000 people.

You are actually targeting 4,000.

-

3. The Frequency Burnout (see the meme 🐮)

Because the match rate is low, the audience is smaller than you think.

You end up hammering the same few people with the same Lead Gen ads.

You aren't "nurturing" them.

You're annoying them, homie.

--

My recommendation is to default to Account Lists.

Preferably Dynamic Accounts

You then layer on Job Titles and Seniority using LinkedIn's native data.

LinkedIn knows who the current VP of Finance is better than your spreadsheet does.

(and when a new VP of Finance joins, it'll auto-magically switch to them)

#winning

---

To be clear: I'm NOT saying Contact Lists are dead

If you have a clean list of event attendees or current customers? upload it

But for cold prospecting, many marketers are over-milking the cow.

"We grew through referrals. Now we want to run ads to scale."

Is this you?

I have good news and bad news 📉

--

The Good News:
You built a real business.
You have revenue.
You have the infrastructure to handle volume.

The Bad News:
You probably don't have Product-Market Fit.

You have "Network-Market Fit."

And they are not the same thing.

When you grow through referrals, you view your marketing through rose-colored glasses.

1. You skipped the "Trust" Hurdle

Referrals buy the Relationship, not just the Solution

You walked through a VIP side door while everyone else was fighting in line.

2. You ignored the "Message" Test

Your messaging didn't have to be perfect because your reputation did the heavy lifting.

3. The "Cold Traffic" Reality Check

Strangers don't care about you. They don't care about your network.

If you throw a 4-digit ad budget at a "Network-Market Fit" business, you will likely burn it.

You aren't ready to scale. You are ready to validate.

--

My Advice:

Don't rush to spend

Treat this like a new startup inside your existing company.

- share content from your personal profile first
- connect with ICPs outside your referral circle
- see if your messaging resonates with people who don't know your name

Validate the message organically.

Then use #linkedinads to pour fuel on the fire.

Keep pushing 👊🏽

Gemini doesn't have a "memory" yet for business.

So I tried to build one myself.

I used Deep Research to crawl my entire Google Workspace (Drive, docs, emails).

My goal is to create a primer prompt so the AI would give me better outputs.
(similar to instructions for ChatGPT)

I didn't realize how much info it was going to find.

--

It analyzed tons of data and found sale patterns I didn't have good names for:

- The "Anti-Persuasion" Baseline

Gemini noticed I almost never try to "convince" a prospect.

It found that if I sense I have to convince you, I usually pull back or disqualify.

I learned early on that if you try to force someone to see the things your experience has taught you, then it's better to churn them in your pipeline instead of book of business.

- The "Reality" Bridge

It flagged many instances where I pivoted the conversation from "perceived needs" (i.e., awareness) to "reality" (piepline/revenue).

It basically said: "JD doesn't sell. He diagnoses."

And that's true.

If you're always trying to "sell" people, then your service is commoditized.

But if you're the one who's asking the hard questions, doing the research, and pushing back on the surface-level data, then you're able to find the foundational issues that need fixing.

Then you're not selling a "vendor," you're selling a treatment plan.

- The Outcome Obsession

It found that I aggressively ignore vanity metrics.

Because... duh.

These companies don't make payroll with "follower count."

If it doesn't tie to the revenue/pipeline goals, I don't focus on it.

--

Anyway, if you ever need a little confidence boost, you can use AI to rizz you up 😅

--

P.S. I was in a hurry this morning and used the Descript AI feature to "enhance" my video. So if the transitions and format look weird, you can blame Descript (and me for using it anyway).

Most advertisers are fumbling the ball when it comes to LinkedIn ads 🤦🏽‍♂️

I say this with confidence because I audit dozens of accounts monthly. Want to know the top 3 mistakes I see?

1. Technical setups: Matched Audiences, Conversions, Campaign Settings – all used incorrectly.
2. Creative selection: Ad formats, types, sequencing – total misuse.
3. Funnel structure: Campaign Objectives, funnel layers, and efficiency – chaos.

Just one of these being off and you're throwing money into a black hole.

If this hit a little too close to home, shoot me a message. I’m happy to help (no charge).

--

Now, a bit about me...

I’m JD (or Jonathan David if you’re feeling formal).

I didn’t start in marketing, but every job I’ve had taught me something about people.

And that’s why I thrive in the LinkedIn Ads space.

Knowing the platform is key, but understanding people is the real game-changer.

--

At Impactable, I run strategy. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Crafting pre-sales strategy for prospects
2. Training my team to be B2B marketing ninjas
3. Working with high-value accounts to make sure their LinkedIn efforts pay off

My goal is simple: Make sure we’re working with the right clients – the ones who can turn LinkedIn into a powerhouse channel.

--

Outside of work:

- I’m married to an amazing woman
- We have 6 kids and 2 fur babies
- I’m in the gym and sauna daily (because 6 kids…)
- Sour Patch watermelon and strawberry are my kryptonite 🤤

Want to chat LinkedIn ads, strategy, or just nerd out over marketing? 

🌎 www.impactable.com
📨 jonathan.g@impactable.com

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