Social Rocket
B2B buying journeys begin much earlier than many CRM pipelines suggest. A new analysis by Factors.ai, presented by LinkedIn on the 24 of September 2026, shows the research phase on average already begins 124 days before a deal is created in the CRM.
According to Factors.ai, the analysis is based on 50.000 closed deals, more than 5 billion US dollars in deal volume, over 850 LinkedIn advertisers examined and more than 150 million US dollars in LinkedIn ad spend. For B2B marketers the core message is clear: if you only advertise once a lead already shows sales signals, you often arrive too late.
124 days of invisible buying journey
Many teams measure their sales cycle from the moment an opportunity is created in the CRM. The Factors.ai data starts much earlier: buyers research, compare providers and discuss internally for roughly four months before a deal becomes officially visible.
This changes the role of awareness in B2B marketing. Campaigns must do more than capture existing demand; they need to be present while a shortlist is being formed.
More contacts in the buying committee correlate with higher win rates
Factors.ai reports:
- With six or more contacts reached at an account before the CRM deal, the win rate in the analysis was 17 percentage points higher.
- With three or more additional contacts during the active sales cycle, it was 16 percentage points higher.
- With a mix of end users, influencers and technical evaluators, the measured uplift was 22 percentage points.
At the same time, according to the analysis, 76 percent of the examined LinkedIn ad spend targets director-level to owner roles. For B2B teams this suggests planning not only for formal decision-makers but for the entire relevant buying committee.
Think paid and organic together
In the analysis, companies that combined LinkedIn Ads with organic LinkedIn activity showed a win rate 2,4 times higher than companies using a paid-only approach.
This is not proof of causation. It does, however, fit the reality of complex B2B purchases: a person may see an ad, later read a specialist post from an employee, and then visit the company page.
For day-to-day account work, LinkedIn's new Companies Hub for B2B targeting and account engagement is also relevant. If you plan organic activity more systematically, you can additionally use the current LinkedIn posting-time benchmarks based on 4,8 million posts.
LinkedIn reports higher deal quality
Factors.ai also reports that LinkedIn accounted for 39,8 percent of the B2B display budget in the examined dataset. Deals sourced from LinkedIn had an average contract value 34 percent higher than deals from other platforms; the analysis cites a ROAS of 1,6 for LinkedIn and 1,18 for Google.
These figures should be interpreted with caution. Factors.ai is a LinkedIn Marketing Partner, and LinkedIn uses the study for its own marketing. The data shows correlations within one analysed set of customers and advertisers, not experimental proof that LinkedIn alone causes the better closings.
That is precisely why the timing and buying-committee findings are more meaningful than an isolated platform comparison.
What B2B marketers can take away
- Become visible earlier: Content and paid media should not start only once an account already shows concrete purchase interest.
- Reach more roles: IT, finance, the specialist department and users can shape a deal just as much as the formal leadership level.
- Plan paid and organic together: Thought leadership, company posts and ads should consistently reach the same accounts over a longer period.
How important credible experts are becoming for younger B2B audiences is also shown by the LinkedIn study on Gen Z, experts and short video.