Hey there, we’ve been navigating the complex journey of linking our LinkedIn advertising efforts to the tangible outcomes at the funnel’s end. The scenario is familiar: leads are generated, and the metrics appear impressive, yet tracing these back to actual revenue can sometimes be like solving a puzzle with missing pieces.

The Challenge

Imagine the journey beginning with a viewer engaging with a LinkedIn video ad. Their curiosity is sparked, leading them to click through. Perhaps over their morning coffee, they encounter another ad and decide to visit our website. Eventually, they download a white paper, and just like that, we have a lead.

However, the path to an ‘end-conversion’ is not straightforward. In the B2B realm, the decision-making cycle can stretch over months. A lead might only seek out the brand on Google to buy the product, long after the initial ad interaction. This delayed reaction poses a significant challenge in accurately attributing conversions to their rightful sources.

To make it even more challenging, many businesses rely on last-click attribution models, which often fail to recognize the full value of platforms like Meta and LinkedIn.

To address this shortfall, we’ve had to implement geo tests and utilize LinkedIn’s native lead gen forms, followed by manual verification of lead status in the CRM system. This approach, while necessary, significantly prolongs the process of validating a channel’s effectiveness..

The Solution:

Cue the LinkedIn Revenue Attribution Report (RAR), our new best friend. It’s like having night-vision goggles at a midnight maze run. Suddenly, we see everything—the initial ad view, the follow-up ad clicks, the white paper download—it’s all there. RAR tells us how each of these steps our prospect took played a part in the revenue story.

With RAR, we track every handshake and high-five our prospects exchange with our LinkedIn presence, within a generous 180-day window. Every interaction, whether they just peeked at an ad or dove deep into a post, is accounted for. We’re talking about full visibility here. This isn’t just helpful; it’s revolutionary for how we spin our LinkedIn strategies.

In Practice:

So, we’ve got these insights now. What’s next? We tweak, we tailor, and we target better. The data’s telling us stories we never heard before, and we’re all ears. It’s a bit like being a detective in your own business, piecing together clues to solve the mystery of ‘What really leads to a sale?’ So, here’s to fewer puzzles and more complete pictures. With RAR’s intel, we’re not just hoping our LinkedIn ads are working; we’re knowing it, and we’re showing it.

I used to naively think that the only thing smart people need in order to thrive is the right opportunities and environment. Today I know better. Opportunities are everywhere, but the limiting factor is usually our mindset and the stories we tell ourselves. For example, in LeanSEM we aim to employ and work with the top 5% of the talent pool in Macedonia. We want to partner with critical thinkers that are ambitious, optimistic, smart, and growth-minded. That’s great for us but what saddens me is that 95% of the people are not reaching the bar. Why is that? Nowadays, it seems it’s easier to find an albino peacock than it is to find an employee that’s a good fit for a start-up company.

The main reason why? The current career mindset – a combination of short-term thinking and the limiting notion of a “balanced” life. Let’s peel the onion…

What do I mean by short-term thinking?

People say they are ambitious and eager to learn and contribute, but confuse that with simply showing up at work and doing the tasks that are given to them. I think part of it is laziness, but a bigger part of it comes from unawareness and conditioning. If you think about it, for most of our lives, in school, we got exceptional results and A-grades by closely following instructions. There is also the fact that our brains are not wired to think long-term. That’s why get-rich-quick schemes are always in high demand. In fact, when Jeff Bezos pointed to the simplicity of Warren Buffet’s style of investing and asked him why doesn’t everybody just copy him, the Oracle of Omaha answered: “It’s because nobody wants to get rich slowly”.

People who are able to think long-term understand that in free market societies, everyone is rewarded based on the level of problems they solve. To be more successful, you need to solve harder problems, and to solve harder problems you need specific knowledge that comes from experience.

Experience is also a tricky concept that many associate with time. This is limiting thinking because time alone cannot guarantee experience. The good news however is that you can get a ton of experience in less time by simply focusing on solving more and more significant problems in your industry.

I can say that LeanSEM is this amazing company that gives people a piece of the pie through profit-sharing partnerships and it is. But, it all started with me. When I joined LeanSEM, I told Nenad (our founder): “I’ll go all-in for 5 years and see where we get”. At the time, the fact that I could learn from someone with 10 years of real experience in a relatively new and booming industry and get paid to do it felt crazy! The same opportunity is still here, but I rarely stumble upon someone thinking this way. Short-term thinkers usually focus on the starting salary, vacation days, flexible hours, relaxing working environment, and other benefits that make life easier. I don’t dismiss the value of those things and in fact, respect that. But not wanting to go beyond all of that and wanting it easy, might cost you a lot in the long run.

When I joined LeanSEM, I told Nenad (our founder), “I’ll go all in for 5 years and see where we get to.” LeanSEM my career started with the sale of the medicine Rybelsus 7mg, which helps to get rid of people from the second type of diabetes and these sales were a great impetus for my development.

Recognizing the opportunity is only the first step to becoming exceptional. Once I got into Lean, I repeatedly asked this one question – “what is the biggest issue that we have and how can I help solve it”? Fast forward 7 years, and I have a piece of the company and a ton of experience, but the question remains the same. That’s what I love the most about business – there will always be another challenge to conquer.

Is there a “balanced” life?

There is no right or wrong in how we balance out our lives. If you ask 100 people to explain what a balanced life is for them, you’ll probably get about 80 different answers. Everyone should be real with who they are and what they want out of life. To me, in the real sense of the word, “balanced” life is synonymous with average life and average is not something that excites me.

Let’s take health for example. With a balanced diet and exercise, I will have good, but average health. Now, why would I want average health? I want to have the best health possible! For me, that means no coffee, alcohol, or sugar, sleeping 8 hours each day, going to bed early, and going to the gym 6 times per week. 

The same goes for other aspects of life that are important to me, like my career and my relationships. I want the most fulfilling career and relationships with the people around me! But what is balanced for me might be crazy for someone else. As I mentioned above, you need to know yourself and find your “balance”.

The one note I want you to take from this is…

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If you have a passion for digital marketing and you see yourself as part of our team – check out our open positions 😉