Garrett Mehrguth on $15M from LinkedIn Ads, Gift Cards, and Building the #1 SaaS Marketing Agency

18/04/2025 48 min

Listen "Garrett Mehrguth on $15M from LinkedIn Ads, Gift Cards, and Building the #1 SaaS Marketing Agency"

Episode Synopsis

Garrett Mehrguth is the founder and CEO of Directive, one of the largest B2B SaaS marketing agencies in the world.In 2013, he started the company with Fiverr gigs. Today, it’s generating over $25M in revenue and working with brands like ZoomInfo, Wiz, and Stack Overflow.In this episode, Garrett breaks down how they generated $15M in revenue using LinkedIn ads and a gift card strategy that scaled to 6,800 sales calls. He shares his full TAM-based playbook, the psychology behind using incentives without losing trust, and why copy is still the biggest unlock in B2B.We also get into why he spun out Ape (a LinkedIn ads agency), how he balances performance with brand, and his mindset on writing every day—even while running a 200-person company.Topics we cover in this episode:- The exact gift card campaign that generated $15M in pipeline- Why Garrett spends $100+ per lead on LinkedIn—and why it works- The TAM-based playbook for building a high-performing ad strategy- Why outbound isn't dead—and SDRs can't match conversation ads- How to use AI + regression analysis to identify high-LTV accounts- The biggest mistakes people make with copy, hooks, and bidding- Why your product (not the gift card) must close the deal- Garrett’s philosophy on writing, brand building, and founder-led contentDon't forget to subscribe to the podcast for more insights from industry leaders reshaping B2B SaaS and marketing!Connect with Garrett:- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettmehrguth/- Directive: https://directiveconsulting.com/Connect with me:- LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier/ - Website: https://www.project33.io/ - Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/03CXzsZp7wdqIRVDcqPTFH Chapters00:00 Garrett’s Background & Building Directive to $25M+02:15 How the $15M LinkedIn Gift Card Campaign Started04:45 Why This Works Even with Zero Intent07:10 Building TAM-Based Campaigns with AI & Regression09:32 How They Landed 6,800 Sales Calls from Their Target List12:10 How to Use Gift Cards Without Wasting Budget14:38 Conversation Ads vs. SDR Teams (And Why They Win)17:40 Why It’s Not Bribery—It’s Efficient Marketing20:04 How Garrett Burned $1M to Crack LinkedIn Ads22:26 Coaching Reps, Building Decks, and Making the Sales Process Work24:00 Lifecycle Stage Analysis by Rep (Not Just by Channel)26:10 Copywriting Tips: Hooks, Offers & Subject Lines That Convert29:08 Why You Should Bid More (and Stop Under-Spending)30:52 Beyond Gift Cards: High-Value Offers That Actually Scale32:21 The Role of Retargeting, Sponsored Content & Brand Awareness33:45 Don’t Be Better. Be Different.36:57 How to Find a Differentiated POV in a Saturated Market38:58 Why He Launched Ape as a Spinout from Directive40:44 Verticalization, Product Strategy & The Future of Service Businesses42:36 Why Garrett Writes Every Day (And How He Does It at Scale)44:51 How LinkedIn Content Changed His Career (After 12 Years)47:02 Final Advice: Go Deeper. Don’t Abandon Channels Too Early.#linkedin #founderledmarketing #saas #b2bmarketing #contentmarketing #ecommerce #shopify #personalbranding#linkedin #founderledmarketing #linkedinads #linkedinagency #founderbranding #saas #b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #demandgen #content #b2b #revenue #contentmarketing #performancemarketing #videomarketing #personalbrandingcoach #linkedin #founderledmarketing #saas #b2bmarketing #aiagents #salesautomation #outboundsales #contentmarketing #growthstrategy

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