How to sell to Heads of Operations at Agencies companies
Heads of Operations at agencies focus on optimizing project delivery timelines and resource allocation. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of their operational bottlenecks, such as delayed project timelines or resource mismanagement. Highlighting how your solution can streamline workflows and improve team productivity will resonate with them.
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
- delayed project deliveries
- resource misallocation
- client dissatisfaction
- inefficient team workflows
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent project delays
Use project management tools like Asana or Trello to find agencies that have reported delays in project completion. This indicates operational inefficiencies that the Head of Operations may be keen to address, making them more receptive to solutions that promise to enhance workflow efficiency.
- 02
Research team structure changes
Look for news articles or press releases about agencies undergoing restructuring or hiring new talent. A shift in team dynamics often leads to operational challenges, creating a window for your outreach that can address their immediate needs for process improvement and team integration.
- 03
Engage with their recent client feedback
Scan reviews on platforms like Clutch or Google for agencies that mention operational issues or client dissatisfaction. Tailor your outreach to address these specific pain points, showing that you understand their challenges and can offer targeted solutions to improve client satisfaction.
- 04
Time your outreach after a major campaign launch
Monitor social media and press releases for agencies that have recently completed a significant marketing campaign. This is a prime time for the Head of Operations to reflect on operational efficiency and consider tools that can enhance future project execution.
- 05
Anticipate objections about budget constraints
Prepare to address concerns about budget limitations by compiling data on cost-saving outcomes from similar agencies that have implemented your solution. Be ready to discuss how your offering can lead to long-term savings, thereby justifying the initial investment.
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 project timelines
- Streamlining your operations
- Addressing client feedback
Questions
- Why do Heads of Operations at agencies ignore outreach about process tools?
- They often receive numerous messages that fail to address their specific operational challenges. If outreach does not demonstrate a clear understanding of their unique workflow issues or offer tailored solutions, it is likely to be overlooked.
- What operational metrics do Heads of Operations prioritize?
- They typically focus on project completion rates, resource utilization, and client satisfaction scores. These metrics directly impact agency profitability and are crucial for assessing the effectiveness of operational strategies.
- How can I make my outreach stand out?
- Personalize your message by referencing specific operational challenges faced by the agency, such as recent project delays or client feedback. Demonstrating that you understand their unique situation will increase the chances of engagement.
- What timing is most effective for outreach to agency COOs?
- Reaching out shortly after major project completions or during periods of team restructuring can be effective. These times often prompt Heads of Operations to evaluate their processes and consider new solutions to improve efficiency.
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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