How to sell to Heads of People at Energy companies
Heads of People in the energy sector focus on talent retention and employee engagement metrics. They respond to outreach that showcases a deep understanding of workforce challenges, particularly those unique to energy companies like renewables and utilities. Demonstrating knowledge of their specific workforce dynamics, such as turnover rates in field operations, can 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 550 energy company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- high turnover in field operations
- difficulty in attracting skilled labor
- compliance with labor regulations
- challenges in workforce diversity
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent mergers or acquisitions
Filter for energy companies that have recently undergone mergers or acquisitions. These events often lead to changes in talent strategy, creating an opportunity to discuss integration challenges and workforce alignment.
- 02
Research workforce diversity initiatives
Look for energy companies that have publicly committed to improving diversity within their workforce. Tailor your outreach to highlight solutions that support these initiatives, addressing their specific goals and challenges in this area.
- 03
Pinpoint high turnover rates in field roles
Utilize industry reports or LinkedIn insights to identify energy companies facing high turnover rates in field roles. Your messaging should focus on retention strategies that have proven effective in similar organizations within the energy sector.
- 04
Monitor industry-specific labor regulations
Stay updated on any new labor regulations impacting the energy sector. In your outreach, reference how these regulations may affect their talent acquisition and compliance strategies, showing that you understand the regulatory landscape they operate in.
- 05
Engage with their sustainability goals
Identify energy companies that have set ambitious sustainability targets. Frame your outreach around how effective people management can drive these initiatives forward, linking talent development directly to their environmental objectives.
Can energy companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 550 energy 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: 21.6% of 1–10-person companies against 85.8% 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
- Retention strategies for renewables
- Enhancing workforce diversity in energy
- Navigating talent challenges in utilities
Questions
- Why do Heads of People in energy often ignore outreach?
- Heads of People in the energy sector may ignore outreach if it lacks specificity regarding their unique challenges. Generic messages that don't address issues like compliance or workforce dynamics often fail to resonate, as these leaders prioritize tailored solutions that align with their strategic goals.
- What common objections do Heads of People in energy have?
- Common objections include concerns about budget constraints and the effectiveness of new initiatives. They might question whether a proposed solution can deliver measurable results within their existing frameworks, especially in a heavily regulated industry like energy.
- How can I demonstrate value to Heads of People in energy?
- Demonstrating value involves showcasing case studies or examples of how similar energy companies have successfully implemented talent solutions. Providing insights into industry-specific metrics, such as reduced turnover rates or improved employee engagement scores, can also help establish credibility.
- What timing is best for outreach to energy Heads of People?
- The best timing for outreach is typically during the annual planning cycle when Heads of People are evaluating new initiatives. Additionally, reaching out after significant industry events, such as regulatory changes or major conferences, can increase the likelihood of engagement.
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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