How to sell to IT Directors at Real estate companies
IT Directors in real estate are measured on system uptime, ensuring that property management software runs smoothly. They respond to outreach that clearly identifies how your solution can reduce downtime or improve integration with existing platforms. Demonstrating an understanding of their specific tech stack and the challenges of managing multiple software systems 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 562 real estate company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- software downtime
- integration challenges
- budget constraints
- compliance headaches
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent software outages
Search industry news and forums for reports of recent downtime affecting property management systems. Use tools like Google Alerts to track mentions of specific software failures. Target your outreach to IT Directors who may be looking for solutions to prevent future issues.
- 02
Pinpoint integrations with popular platforms
Review the technology stack of your target companies, focusing on popular property management and brokerage systems like Yardi or AppFolio. Highlight how your solution can seamlessly integrate with these platforms, addressing potential pain points in their current setups.
- 03
Leverage industry-specific compliance updates
Stay updated on regulatory changes affecting real estate technology, such as data privacy laws. When reaching out, mention how your solution can help them stay compliant, reducing the burden of adapting to new regulations and avoiding potential fines.
- 04
Reference common budget constraints
Understand that IT Directors often face budget limitations when upgrading systems. When crafting your message, acknowledge these constraints and present your solution as a cost-effective way to enhance their technology without exceeding budget.
- 05
Suggest a specific time for follow-up
In your outreach, propose a follow-up call during a typical planning period, such as Q1 when IT budgets are being finalized. This shows you respect their schedule and are aware of their operational rhythms, increasing the likelihood of a positive response.
Can real estate companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 562 real estate 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: 25.2% of 1–10-person companies against 83.6% of the largest — 58 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
- Reducing software downtime
- Streamlining your tech stack
- Compliance solutions for real estate
Questions
- Why do IT Directors in real estate ignore cold emails about software?
- Many IT Directors receive numerous cold emails daily. If the outreach doesn't demonstrate a clear understanding of their specific challenges, such as system uptime or integration issues, they may disregard it. Tailoring your message to address their unique pain points is crucial.
- What technology challenges do IT Directors face in real estate?
- IT Directors in real estate often deal with outdated software systems, integration issues between various platforms, and the need for compliance with industry regulations. These challenges can hinder operational efficiency and increase frustration among staff and clients.
- How can I make my outreach more relevant to IT Directors?
- Focus on specific pain points that IT Directors in real estate encounter, such as software compatibility and compliance issues. Providing insights or solutions that directly address these challenges will make your outreach more appealing and increase the chances of engagement.
- What are common objections from IT Directors regarding new technology?
- Common objections include concerns about budget constraints, the potential disruption of existing workflows, and the reliability of new software. Addressing these objections upfront in your outreach can help build trust and demonstrate that you understand their priorities.
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