Connecting the Dots: From Facebook Ad to Six-Figure Contract

The Challenge

Catalyst Marketing Agency was investing $30,000 monthly in Meta and Google advertising. Their in-house team was good at generating leads. What they couldn't do was prove those leads became revenue.

The attribution black hole:

180+ leads monthly from paid channels
Average deal size: $45,000 annually
Sales cycle: 60-90 days
Connection between ads and closed deals: "We think so?"

When their CEO asked "What's our ROI on ad spend?", the honest answer was: "We don't know."

This wasn't just an analytics problem—it was a strategic problem. Without knowing which campaigns produced revenue, they couldn't scale confidently. They couldn't justify budget increases. They couldn't optimize for what actually worked.

"We're spending $360,000 a year on ads," their CEO said. "That's a bet. I'd like to know if we're winning."

Why They Chose Us

Catalyst had tried platform attribution. Facebook claimed credit for everything. Google claimed credit for everything. Neither matched their actual customer list.

They'd tried UTM tracking. It worked for the first touch but broke down over their multi-touch, multi-month sales process.

When we showed them how CRM Setup combined with Meta & Google Ads could create true end-to-end attribution, the solution clicked.

"We're not going to trust the platforms to grade their own homework. We're going to build a single source of truth in your CRM and trace every dollar from ad click to signed contract."

The Solution

We built a comprehensive attribution system that connected advertising directly to revenue.

CRM Attribution Architecture

Lead Source Tracking:

UTM parameter capture on all forms
Hidden fields storing campaign, ad set, and ad creative
First-touch and last-touch source preserved
Multi-touch attribution model for complex journeys

Deal-Level Attribution:

Source data flows from lead to opportunity to deal
Revenue attributed to originating campaign
Time-lag tracked for accurate cohort analysis
Influenced attribution for multi-channel journeys

Ad Platform Integration

Offline Conversion Import:

Weekly upload of closed-won deals to Meta and Google
Revenue values included for ROAS optimization
Custom conversion windows matching actual sales cycle
Exclusion audiences for existing customers

Enhanced Tracking:

Server-side pixel implementation for iOS accuracy
Customer match for cross-device attribution
Conversion API for Meta
Enhanced conversions for Google

Reporting Infrastructure

Attribution Dashboard:

Real-time spend vs. pipeline by campaign
Deal attribution with source hierarchy
ROAS by campaign, ad set, and creative
Cohort analysis by lead acquisition month

Executive Reporting:

Monthly summary: Spend, leads, deals, revenue
Campaign-level ROI breakdowns
Trend analysis over time
Recommendations based on data

The Transformation

Full attribution changed everything about how Catalyst approached advertising.

The Attribution Revelation

First complete attribution report showed surprising results:

Campaign Type	Monthly Spend	Leads	Deals (6-mo)	Revenue	True ROAS
Google Search - Brand	$3,000	12	4	$180,000	60x
Google Search - Services	$12,000	45	9	$405,000	33.8x
Meta - Retargeting	$2,500	18	6	$270,000	108x
Meta - Lookalike	$8,000	67	5	$225,000	28.1x
Meta - Interest	$4,500	38	1	$45,000	10x

Key Insight: Retargeting at $2,500/month was producing 108x ROAS—starved of budget while interest targeting burned cash.

The Standout Story

One deal perfectly illustrated the attribution value:

January 15: CMO clicks Meta retargeting ad
January 18: Downloads industry report (tracked)
February 3: Returns via Google brand search
February 10: Attends webinar
February 22: Sales call scheduled
March 15: Proposal sent
April 2: Contract signed: $127,000

Without CRM-ad integration, this deal would have been attributed to "referral" (how they described finding Catalyst). The data showed the true journey—and proved retargeting's value.

Budget Reallocation Impact

Before (Gut-Based Allocation):

Total spend: $30,000/month
Attributable revenue: $742,000 (first 6 months)
Effective ROAS: 4.1x

After (Data-Driven Allocation):

Total spend: $30,000/month (same)
Attributable revenue: $1.34M (next 6 months)
Effective ROAS: 7.4x

Same budget. 81% more revenue. Simply by knowing what worked.

Confident Scaling

With attribution clarity, Catalyst made a bold move:

Month 7-12: Increased ad spend to $102,000/month
Result: $3.2M in attributable revenue
ROAS held steady: 5.2x (expected dip at scale)

They went from "We think ads work" to "Ads produce $5.20 for every $1 spent, and here's the proof."

The Strategic Insights

Attribution revealed patterns that shaped strategy:

Content-assisted conversion: Leads who consumed 3+ content pieces before sales call closed at 2.3x rate
Channel synergy: Meta awareness → Google search → close showed highest LTV
Timing patterns: Leads who engaged within 72 hours of ad exposure were 4x more likely to close
Quality signals: Certain job titles from specific industries had 67% close rate

This intelligence informed not just advertising but sales approach, content strategy, and ideal customer profile refinement.

"For three years, we treated advertising like a black box. Money went in, leads came out, and we hoped for the best. Now I can trace every major deal back to its origin. I know which campaigns produce $100K clients and which produce tire-kickers. That's not just attribution—that's confidence."

— Jennifer Walsh, CEO, Catalyst Marketing Agency

Your Turn

Can you trace your best customers back to the marketing that found them?

If you're investing in advertising without closed-loop attribution, you're making budget decisions in the dark. The campaigns you think work might be burning money. The campaigns you're underfunding might be gold mines.

Ready to see the truth about your marketing ROI?

We'll audit your current attribution setup, identify the gaps, and show you exactly how CRM-ad integration could reveal your real customer acquisition cost.

Start Your Free Growth Assessment →

Stop guessing. Start knowing. See exactly which campaigns deserve your budget.