How to sell to Founders at Agencies companies
Founders at agencies prioritize client retention rates, which directly impact their bottom line. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of the unique challenges faced by creative teams, such as managing client expectations and delivering on tight deadlines. Showing familiarity with their specific agency model and offering tailored solutions makes them more likely to engage.
Written and maintained by the SoloRiff team, who build outbound software and run outbound with it. The figures below are our own: we measured 558 agencies company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- tight project timelines
- client scope changes
- inconsistent team communication
- high client turnover
The playbook
- 01
Identify agencies with recent client wins
Research agency news to find those that recently secured significant clients or projects. Use platforms like PR Newswire or industry blogs to filter for agencies that have announced new contracts within the last month. This indicates they might be looking for tools or services to support their expanded workload.
- 02
Connect with founders on LinkedIn
Send connection requests to founders of the identified agencies on LinkedIn. Personalize your message by mentioning their recent client win and expressing genuine interest in how they plan to scale their services. This establishes rapport and shows that you are informed about their current successes.
- 03
Craft a value-driven message about project management
In your outreach, focus on how your solution can help streamline project management and improve client satisfaction. Reference specific pain points like missed deadlines or scope creep that are common in agency work. Highlight how your approach aligns with their need for efficiency in managing multiple projects simultaneously.
- 04
Follow up after one week with insights
If there’s no response after your initial outreach, follow up a week later with valuable insights related to their recent projects. This could include trends in agency management or tips for enhancing client relationships. This positions you as a helpful resource rather than just a salesperson.
- 05
Propose a call to discuss specific challenges
In your follow-up, suggest a brief call to discuss the specific challenges they might face with their new clients. Offer to share insights or case studies that relate directly to their agency model. This targeted approach increases the likelihood of securing a meeting by addressing their immediate needs.
Can agencies companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 558 agencies 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: 16.8% of 1–10-person companies against 55.4% of the largest — 39 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
- Congrats on your new client!
- Managing client expectations
- Scaling your agency's success
Questions
- Why do founders at agencies ignore cold outreach?
- Founders at agencies often ignore cold outreach because they receive numerous unsolicited messages daily. If the outreach doesn't immediately resonate with their current needs or challenges, it can be easily overlooked. Personalization and relevance are crucial to capturing their attention.
- What challenges do agency founders face when scaling?
- Agency founders face challenges such as maintaining quality while taking on more clients, managing cash flow, and ensuring their team is equipped to handle increased workloads. These pressures can lead to burnout and impact client satisfaction if not managed effectively.
- How can I demonstrate value to agency founders?
- To demonstrate value to agency founders, provide insights into industry trends, share success stories from similar agencies, and articulate how your solution addresses specific pain points they experience. Focusing on their unique needs builds credibility and shows that you understand their business.
- What timing is best for reaching out to agency founders?
- The best timing for reaching out to agency founders is typically at the start of a new quarter or after they announce a significant client win. During these times, they may be more open to exploring new tools or processes that can help them manage their growing workload effectively.
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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