LinkedIn Ads for Enterprise Sales: The Long Game
How to use ads when deals take months and involve multiple decision-makers
Enterprise sales are different. Long cycles, multiple stakeholders, big contracts. Your LinkedIn strategy needs to match.
Enterprise buyer journey:
Month 1-2: Problem awareness
Month 3-4: Solution research
Month 5-6: Vendor comparison
Month 7-8: Internal buy-in
Month 9-12: Decision and procurement
Your ad strategy across this journey:
Early stage: Educational content, thought leadership
Middle stage: Comparison content, case studies, ROI tools
Late stage: Personalized outreach, executive engagement
Target multiple roles:
End users - will use the product daily
Managers - oversee implementation
Directors - approve budget
VPs - strategic decision
C-suite - final sign-off
Different messaging for each:
Users - ease of use, efficiency gains
Managers - team productivity, reporting
Directors - ROI, risk reduction
VPs - strategic value, competitive advantage
C-level - business transformation, board-level impact
ABM for enterprise:
Name target accounts specifically
Create custom campaigns for each major prospect
Coordinate ads with sales outreach
Layer multiple touchpoints
Measure account engagement, not just leads
Content for enterprise:
Security whitepapers
Compliance documentation
ROI calculators
Analyst reports
Executive briefings
Implementation case studies
Enterprise ad tactics:
Use video for complex explanations
Leverage customer success stories from big brands
Show integration capabilities
Highlight enterprise support
Demonstrate stability and scale
Budget for enterprise:
Higher upfront investment
Longer payback period
But huge LTV justifies it
Plan for 6-12 month lead times
Budget for full-funnel campaigns
Sales and marketing alignment critical:
Marketing warms accounts
Sales makes personal contact
Marketing supports sales conversations
Both track account engagement
Shared goals around pipeline
Measure what matters:
Pipeline created (not just leads)
Account engagement depth
Sales accepted leads
Win rate improvements
Average deal size
Enterprise challenges:
Long sales cycles test patience
Multiple touchpoints required
High cost per acquisition
Complex buying committees
Procurement processes
Enterprise advantages:
High contract values justify investment
Long-term customer relationships
Predictable revenue
Lower churn typically
Strategic partnerships possible
When not to target enterprise:
Your product isn't enterprise-ready
You can't support long sales cycles
CAC will be too high
You lack resources for ABM
Mid-market offers better economics
Stirling helps enterprise marketers create sophisticated messaging for different buyer personas. Generate role-specific ad copy quickly and maintain consistency across complex buying committees.
Enterprise is a long game. But win once and the lifetime value makes it all worthwhile.
