How to sell to CTOs at SaaS companies in France
CTOs at SaaS companies in France are primarily measured on system uptime and performance. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of their tech stack challenges, particularly regarding integration complexities. Highlighting specific solutions for optimizing their software deployment will capture their interest and prompt a response.
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
- integration complexities
- system downtime
- performance bottlenecks
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent funding rounds
Filter for SaaS companies in France that have recently secured funding. Use databases like Crunchbase or PitchBook to find companies that have raised capital within the last six months. These companies often look to scale quickly and may need solutions to optimize their infrastructure.
- 02
Research tech stack changes
Look for announcements or news articles about companies that have recently changed their tech stack. This can be identified through platforms like TechCrunch or industry blogs. When companies shift technologies, they may need support to ensure seamless integration and performance.
- 03
Craft messaging around downtime impacts
When reaching out, focus on how your solution can minimize downtime and enhance performance. Use specific examples of how similar companies improved their uptime metrics. CTOs are particularly sensitive to service interruptions, so addressing this pain point directly will resonate.
- 04
Follow up after product launches
If a target company has recently launched a new product, follow up with insights on how to optimize its performance. Use LinkedIn or company press releases to track these launches. Timing your outreach around these events shows awareness and can lead to more productive conversations.
- 05
Address integration concerns directly
In your outreach, anticipate objections related to integration challenges with existing systems. Offer insights or case studies that showcase successful integrations with similar SaaS solutions. This proactive approach demonstrates understanding and builds trust with the CTO.
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
- Optimizing your SaaS performance
- Minimizing downtime for your team
- Streamlining your tech stack
Questions
- Why do CTOs at SaaS companies ignore cold emails?
- CTOs often receive numerous cold emails daily, many lacking relevance or specificity. If the outreach does not directly address their current challenges or provide clear value, it is easily dismissed. Tailoring messages to their specific tech stack and recent developments increases the chances of engagement.
- What common mistakes do salespeople make when contacting CTOs?
- Salespeople often fail to research the CTO's company and its specific technology needs. Generic messages that don't address the unique challenges faced by SaaS companies in France are typically overlooked. Understanding the nuances of the SaaS landscape is crucial for effective communication.
- How can I demonstrate value to a CTO in my outreach?
- To demonstrate value, focus on quantifiable outcomes relevant to their role, such as improving uptime or reducing integration time. Providing insights or benchmarks from similar companies can also help establish credibility and relevance in your outreach, making it more appealing.
- What topics are most relevant to CTOs in the SaaS industry?
- CTOs in the SaaS industry are particularly concerned with system performance, security, and integration capabilities. Topics such as cloud scalability, data management, and compliance with regulations are also critical. Addressing these areas in outreach can significantly increase interest and response rates.
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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