How to sell to IT Directors at Manufacturing companies
IT Directors in manufacturing are primarily measured on system uptime. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a deep understanding of their specific production challenges, such as equipment integration failures or cybersecurity threats. Highlighting how your solution can enhance operational efficiency or reduce downtime will resonate with them, making 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 552 manufacturing company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- equipment integration failures
- cybersecurity threats
- system downtime
- regulatory compliance issues
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent system outages
Use industry news sources or IT forums to find reports on recent system failures in manufacturing plants. Target companies that have experienced significant downtime, as these incidents create urgency for IT Directors to seek solutions.
- 02
Connect through industry-specific events
Research upcoming manufacturing trade shows or IT conferences where IT Directors are likely to attend. Offer to meet for a brief discussion on how your insights can help them navigate current technology challenges in their facilities.
- 03
Mention regulatory changes affecting IT
Identify any recent regulations impacting manufacturing IT infrastructure, such as data protection laws. When reaching out, reference these changes to demonstrate your awareness of their compliance landscape and how your solution can help them adapt.
- 04
Leverage common integration pain points
Focus on the difficulties many manufacturing IT Directors face with integrating legacy systems with new technology. In your messaging, discuss how your approach addresses these integration challenges, which are often a significant concern for them.
- 05
Follow up after key industry reports
Set a calendar reminder to follow up with IT Directors shortly after major industry reports are released, especially those focusing on technology trends in manufacturing. This timing will make your outreach feel relevant and timely, increasing the chances of a response.
Can manufacturing companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 552 manufacturing 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: 24.3% of 1–10-person companies against 83.1% of the largest — 59 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 system uptime
- Navigating compliance changes
- Addressing integration challenges
Questions
- Why do IT Directors in manufacturing avoid cold outreach?
- IT Directors often receive numerous cold outreach messages daily, making them skeptical of unsolicited offers. They prioritize solutions that have proven success in similar manufacturing environments and prefer to engage with vendors who demonstrate specific understanding of their unique challenges.
- What common objections do IT Directors have?
- IT Directors frequently object to new solutions due to concerns about implementation costs and the potential disruption to existing workflows. They also worry about the return on investment and whether a new tool will genuinely enhance operational efficiency without introducing further complications.
- How can I demonstrate value to an IT Director?
- To effectively demonstrate value, focus on presenting case studies or examples where your solution has led to measurable improvements in system uptime or reduced cybersecurity risks in manufacturing settings. Tailoring your message to their specific pain points will also help establish credibility.
- What role does cybersecurity play in IT Directors' decision-making?
- Cybersecurity is a top priority for IT Directors in manufacturing, as breaches can lead to significant operational disruptions and regulatory penalties. They are more likely to engage with vendors who can show how their solutions enhance security measures while maintaining production 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.
Try it on your site