How to sell to IT Directors at Agencies companies
IT Directors at agencies are primarily measured on system uptime and data security. They respond positively to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of their unique challenges, such as managing multiple client projects while ensuring compliance with privacy regulations. Highlighting how your solution can streamline operations or enhance security will capture their attention.
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
- system downtime during client projects
- increasing data security threats
- inefficient project management tools
- compliance with privacy regulations
The playbook
- 01
Identify agencies with recent client wins
Use LinkedIn to filter for agencies that have announced new client acquisitions in the last month. These agencies are likely to be expanding their IT infrastructure and may be more open to discussing new solutions that can support their growth.
- 02
Research their current technology stack
Check their website or tech blogs to identify the software and tools they currently use for project management and data security. This insight will allow you to tailor your message to address any gaps or inefficiencies in their existing setup.
- 03
Craft a message highlighting compliance concerns
Compose an email that specifically addresses the latest data privacy regulations affecting agencies, such as GDPR or CCPA. Mention how your solution can help them maintain compliance while managing multiple client data sets, which is a primary concern for IT Directors.
- 04
Follow up after industry events
If you notice they attended a recent industry conference or webinar, reach out referencing the event. This shows you are engaged with their industry and can lead to a more receptive conversation about their IT challenges and potential solutions.
- 05
Suggest a discussion on scalability
In your outreach, propose a brief call to discuss how your solution can support their growth as they take on new clients. Emphasize that you understand their need for scalable solutions to handle increased project demands without compromising on security.
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
- Enhancing your agency's IT security
- Streamlining project management for growth
- Navigating compliance in client data
Questions
- Why do IT Directors at agencies avoid cold outreach?
- IT Directors at agencies often receive numerous cold outreach attempts that lack relevance to their specific challenges. They prioritize solutions that directly address their unique needs, such as security and compliance, and may ignore generic pitches that do not demonstrate an understanding of their industry.
- What challenges do IT Directors face with client data?
- IT Directors at agencies frequently manage large volumes of client data, making data security and compliance critical issues. They must ensure that their systems are robust enough to protect sensitive information while also being agile enough to adapt to client needs.
- How can I engage IT Directors in a meaningful way?
- To engage IT Directors, focus on their specific pain points and demonstrate how your solution can alleviate their immediate concerns. Providing insights on industry trends or sharing relevant case studies can also help establish credibility and foster a more meaningful conversation.
- What is the best time to reach out to IT Directors?
- The best time to reach out to IT Directors is typically at the beginning of the week, when they are planning their projects. Avoid reaching out during peak project deadlines, which can vary by agency but often occur at the end of the month or quarter.
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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