How to sell to CTOs at SaaS companies
CTOs at SaaS companies are primarily measured on system uptime and performance metrics. They respond to outreach that demonstrates an understanding of their technology stack and operational challenges, particularly when it comes to scaling infrastructure or reducing downtime. Show that you grasp their specific tech challenges, and you’ll have their attention.
Written and maintained by the SoloRiff team, who build outbound software and run outbound with it. The figures below are our own: we measured 559 saas company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- system downtime complaints
- scalability issues
- integration headaches
- compliance pressure
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent platform outages
Search for news articles or social media posts about recent outages or performance issues related to SaaS platforms. Use tools like Google News or Twitter to find mentions of downtime. This information will help you frame your outreach around their current pain points.
- 02
Analyze tech stack for scalability
Use tools like BuiltWith or StackShare to identify the technologies that the target company is using. Look for signs that their current stack may struggle with scalability. Tailor your messaging to address how your solution can enhance their existing infrastructure.
- 03
Highlight integration with existing tools
Review the company's website or product documentation to understand their current integrations. In your outreach, emphasize how your solution can seamlessly integrate with their existing tools, thereby minimizing disruption and enhancing efficiency.
- 04
Mention industry-specific compliance challenges
Research any recent compliance updates or regulations affecting the SaaS industry. Reference these in your outreach to show that you understand the regulatory landscape they operate in, and how your solution can help mitigate compliance risks.
- 05
Follow up post-event participation
If the CTO has recently participated in a tech conference or webinar, reach out shortly after. Mention a specific session they attended and ask for their thoughts on it. This shows that you are engaged with their interests and are not just sending a generic message.
Can saas companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 559 saas companies, sampled evenly across company sizes, to see how many authenticate their own email. It matters in both directions: a domain that does not authenticate is a domain whose team is used to mail going missing — and if your own domain is in the gap, yours is the mail going missing.
Publishes a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject — the domain actually asks receivers to act on failures.
The gap is the finding: 16.7% of 1–10-person companies against 80.9% of the largest — 64 points apart. Small companies are where the unauthenticated domains are, and small companies are who most cold outreach is aimed at.
Where does your domain sit?
Same three lookups, run live against your domain. Nothing is stored and nothing is emailed to you.
How this was measured
Company domains were sampled within employee-count bands, then queried over public DNS for SPF (TXT at the apex), DMARC (TXT at _dmarc.) and MX. One domain per company, deduplicated. Anyone can reproduce any single row of this with dig.
DKIM is deliberately absent. A DKIM key lives under a selector that cannot be enumerated from outside the domain, so a company with flawless DKIM under a name we did not guess would be counted as having none. That would measure our guess list, not the industry.
Domains with no MX record are excluded rather than counted as failures — parked and redirect-only domains would otherwise drag every figure down and make the result an artefact of the sample.
Sampled within bands, so this describes the population of companies, not of employees: a 10-person company counts once, as does a 10,000-person one. Each band is at least 60 domains; bands below that are not published. Figures are percentages of the sample, not of the whole industry, and we publish no company names — only counts.
Measured 2026-09-03. Re-measured monthly.
The full census across every industry — sortable, with sample sizes, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Subject lines that fit
- Addressing your recent downtime
- Scalability solutions for your SaaS
- Optimizing your tech stack
Questions
- Why do CTOs at SaaS companies ignore cold outreach?
- CTOs often receive a high volume of outreach that fails to address their specific challenges or industry nuances. Many messages are generic and do not demonstrate an understanding of their technology stack or current pain points, leading to a lack of engagement.
- What messaging resonates with SaaS CTOs?
- Messaging that highlights specific pain points, such as system uptime or compliance challenges, tends to resonate more with SaaS CTOs. They appreciate outreach that is data-driven and offers clear solutions tailored to their unique operational needs.
- How can I effectively research a SaaS company's tech stack?
- Utilize tools like BuiltWith or StackShare to gather insights on the technologies a SaaS company is using. Additionally, reviewing their website and product documentation can provide context on their infrastructure and potential areas for improvement.
- What role does compliance play in SaaS product decisions?
- Compliance is critical in SaaS as it affects data security and customer trust. CTOs are often focused on ensuring their products meet regulatory standards, making compliance-related messaging crucial in outreach to this role.
Or have it run itself
SoloRiff does every step above on its own — finds the companies, finds the people, writes each of them individually, and handles the replies. Drop your URL and watch it work before you sign up for anything.
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