How to sell to Founders at Agencies companies in United States
Founders at agencies are primarily measured on client retention rates. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of their current project bottlenecks, such as high turnover in creative staff or delays in project delivery. Tailoring your message to address these specific pain points increases the likelihood of engagement.
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
- high turnover in creative staff
- project delivery delays
- client dissatisfaction
- inefficient workflows
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent project delays
Use project management tools or agency websites to find recent announcements about project delays or staffing changes. Filter for agencies that have reported issues in their last quarter, as they are likely seeking solutions to improve efficiency.
- 02
Highlight case studies on creative retention
Craft an email that includes a case study focused on how your solution helped another agency reduce creative turnover by addressing workflow challenges. Ensure the subject line references the specific pain point of staff retention to grab their attention.
- 03
Mention industry awards or recognitions
In your outreach, reference any recent industry awards or recognitions the agency has received. This shows you are aware of their achievements and helps establish rapport, making them more likely to engage with your proposal.
- 04
Follow up after industry events
Set a reminder to follow up with founders who attended recent industry events or conferences. Mention specific sessions they might have attended, discussing trends or challenges faced by agencies, to create a relevant conversation starter.
- 05
Propose a workshop on project efficiency
In your final outreach, suggest a workshop or consultation focused on improving project efficiency and client satisfaction. Position it as a free opportunity to explore solutions to their current challenges, making it hard for them to say no.
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
- Improving client retention rates
- Struggling with project delays?
- Boosting your creative team's efficiency
Questions
- Why do founders at agencies ignore outreach about project management tools?
- Founders often receive numerous pitches and may overlook outreach that doesn't immediately align with their pressing needs, such as urgent project delays or staffing issues. If your message doesn't address a current pain point, it risks being dismissed.
- What challenges do agency founders face when scaling their teams?
- Agency founders frequently struggle with maintaining quality while scaling. High turnover rates can lead to inconsistent project delivery and client dissatisfaction, making it crucial for them to find effective solutions to retain talent and improve workflows.
- How can I make my outreach stand out to agency founders?
- To stand out, focus on specific challenges that agency founders face, such as project delays or staff retention. Use personalized messaging that reflects a deep understanding of their current situation, and avoid generic pitches that don't address their unique needs.
- What is the best timing for outreach to agency founders?
- The best timing for outreach is typically after major project completions or during industry events when founders are more open to exploring new solutions. They are often reflective during these times and may be more receptive to discussing potential improvements.
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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