We Spent $68M on LinkedIn Ads: What Actually Works for B2B Lead Gen — with Garrett Mehrguth

Garrett Mehrguth is the CEO of Directive and co-founder of Abe — a high-performance LinkedIn ads agency helping companies like Uber, Zoom, Gong, and AWS turn clicks into customers. With over $68 million spent on LinkedIn ads, Garrett brings a level of insight few marketers can match. In this episode, he reveals how to build a LinkedIn marketing engine that books meetings — not just impressions.

Garrett has helped B2B brands generate serious revenue by mastering linkedin lead generation, nailing down linkedin ads targeting, and aligning linkedin ads KPIs with what actually matters to pipeline. Whether you're spending $5K or $500K a month, this episode will change how you think about b2b marketing on LinkedIn.

In our conversation, Garrett shares:

→ Why most B2B teams waste their LinkedIn ads budget

→ The truth about linkedin ads metrics (and which ones lie)

→ How to reverse-engineer your linkedin ads audience using real data

→ Why $5K/month is not a “test budget” — it’s a trap

→ How he builds intent-based funnels without fake “intent data”

→ The 15-second video strategy that cuts CPLs by 70%

→ Why "clicks" mean nothing if you're not booking meetings

Whether you're a startup founder, head of growth, or B2B marketing pro, this conversation is packed with no-fluff insights into what actually drives results on LinkedIn in 2025.

Where to find Garrett Mehrguth:

→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettmehrguth/

→ https://garrettmehrguth.com/

→ https://directiveconsulting.com/

→ https://www.abetheagency.com/

→ https://moregoodcapital.com/

Where to find Mike Sirius:

→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/msirius/

→ https://www.mikesirius.com

In this episode, we cover:

00:00 The State of LinkedIn Advertising

02:59 Understanding Marketing Dynamics

05:54 Budgeting for Success in LinkedIn Ads

09:04 Intent-Driven Targeting Strategies

11:58 The Importance of Proper Budgeting

15:12 Data-Driven Audience Targeting

18:13 Leveraging AI for Market Insights

21:14 The Role of Content in Marketing

24:05 Optimizing Video Ads for Engagement

27:14 Innovative Approaches to Lead Generation

30:02 Sales Strategies for Effective Conversion

32:58 Closing Thoughts on Marketing Success

42:51 Authentic Engagement in Sales Calls

45:24 Manufacturing Intent in Marketing

46:45 The Power of Emotional Marketing

50:12 Targeting the Right Decision Makers

56:41 Importance of Tracking Marketing Metrics

01:00:34 Common Mistakes in LinkedIn Advertising

01:10:05 The Future of B2B Marketing Strategies

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