Key takeaways
- Size band and specialism decide who buys and what they need.
- Owners decide in small agencies; operations leads in larger ones.
- Client wins and new service lines create the need.
- Agencies ask how your product treats their clients' data.
How to find design agency prospects by size and specialism
Find design agency prospects, and agencies of every kind, by sorting them by size band and specialism first. A small studio, an independent agency with a few dozen staff and an agency inside a holding group buy in very different ways.
Specialism tells you about the work: branding, creative, performance marketing, search, social, public relations or web development. Pick the specialisms whose daily workflow your product improves, and search for those words in how agencies describe themselves.
Who are creative agency decision makers
In a small agency the founder or managing director makes buying decisions. As agencies grow, the operations director or head of operations owns tools and resourcing, the head of client services cares about anything clients see, and the finance director signs off.
Creative directors decide on design and production tools. In agencies owned by a holding group, procurement and IT at group level often approve suppliers centrally.
What triggers an agency to buy new software
Agencies buy new software when the work changes faster than the team can. Watch for these moments.
- A large client win that stretches capacity
- A new service line, such as paid social or video
- A new operations lead looking at the tool stack
- A merger with another agency
- A tool contract coming up for renewal
How to sell software to agencies on margin and delivery time
Sell software to agencies on margin and delivery time, because that is how an agency owner thinks about every cost. On fixed-fee work, anything that cuts non-billable hours, such as reporting, briefing or approvals, goes straight to margin; on time-based work, faster delivery frees people for more clients.
Show it on one of their real projects rather than in general terms. Ask too whether they would use your product for their clients, since some agencies resell or manage tools on a client's behalf.
What will agencies ask about client data
Agencies will ask how your product keeps each client's data separate and confidential, because they process data for their clients and are bound by their contracts. Your product may become a sub-processor in that chain, and some client contracts require approval for new ones.
If your product writes advertising copy, the agency still answers for it under the advertising codes, so expect questions on review steps. Confirm with your adviser what your role means in their contracts.
How to find marketing agency leads, step by step
Pick one size band and specialism to start with.
- Choose the agency size band and specialisms your product serves best.
- Search for agencies that describe themselves with those words, by headcount and region.
- Name the founder or managing director, and the operations lead in larger agencies.
- Watch for client wins, new service lines and tool renewals.
- Pitch on margin and delivery time, using one of their real projects as the example.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsDescribe the agencies you sell to, for example branding studios in Manchester under a set headcount, and an assistant finds up to 50 a search. Find fresh leads then finds founders and operations directors at up to ten of them.
- CapabilityOutreach contentDraft an email campaign in your brand voice, with a personality for each piece; the emails are saved as drafts in your connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox.
Common questions
Do agencies buy software centrally or by team?
Independent agencies usually buy centrally through the owner or operations lead. Agencies in holding groups may need group approval even for small tools.
Should you offer agencies a partner programme?
If agencies could use your product for their clients, a partner programme can make sense. Keep it simple and decide what support you can actually give.
When is the best time to pitch an agency?
Soon after a client win or the launch of a new service line, when capacity is stretched. Avoid the weeks around a big pitch or launch for their own clients.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
