TLDR · 2026-01-15 · 46 min
LinkedIn Ads used to be niche and expensive. Now it's mainstream and expensive. In this episode of TLDR, Srikrishna (CEO of Factors.ai ) and I were discussing how the change in LinkedIn Ads is massive: B2B ad spend on LinkedIn jumped from 3-5% to 20-25%. Everyone finally realized it's the only way to reach decision-makers at scale. But here's the catch: if everyone's doing it, then the old playbooks are not going to work anymore. You’ll have to start thinking about changing your approach. And this is exactly how Alaan Pay was able to drop their CPL by 56%. Not through better creative or copy. Through better & improved infrastructure. Most companies are still uploading 100K contacts and hoping for the best. But in this episode, Sri explains what actually works now: Build smarter audience lists: Don't just use Apollo or Sales Navigator filters. Layer in intent signals: G2 competitor page views, website behavior, email engagement. Segment into TOFU, MOFU, BOFU - not one massive list. Distribute ads strategically: SQLs should see 10x more impressions than cold accounts. Show case studies to SQLs, competitor comparisons to closed-lost deals.
40+ Candidates, 100% Board Vote, Hiring Your Replacement as CEO: Toni & Hadi @ Oyster
300+ Enterprise Meetings/Year Through Systematic Outbound: Rey @ eight25 Media
30+ Events, 2.4M Revenue Through Relationship-Led Marketing: Taryn @ Fuel AI
2.5x Higher LTV by Pricing Annual Plans on Retention: Dan @ Diligent
6% Email Reply Rate Through Hyper-Targeted 50-Person Lists: James @ Hunter.io