Pro tip: Cold emailing small agencies worked way better than big ones for us

I spent like 3 months reaching out to the big agencies in Chicago trying to land a referral partnership. Got maybe 2 replies out of 50 plus emails. Then I switched to targeting agencies with under 10 people and sent super specific emails about how we could help with their overflow work. Got 5 solid conversations in the first week. The small guys were actually hungry for partners and faster to respond. Has anyone else had better luck going after smaller agencies instead of the big names?

2 comments

2 Comments

henry_martinez9d ago

I used to think the exact opposite. I was dead set on big agencies being the only ones worth my time. But then I tried what you described, hitting up the smaller shops with 5 to 10 people. It was night and day. Those owners actually answered their own emails and were stoked to talk about overflow work. Big agencies just have too many layers and gatekeepers. Small guys are hungry and they make decisions fast. Totally changed how I see this whole partnership thing.

danielb439d ago

Hold on, is landing a few extra conversations really something to go all in on? I tried the small agency thing too and yeah, I got faster replies, but half of those guys ghosted me after a week because they got busy with their own client work and didn't have time to actually set anything up. Feels like everyone's just looking for a quick fix without wanting to build something real. Big agencies might take a month to answer, but when they do, the deal is usually way bigger and actually goes through. Not sure it's this big game changer everyone's making it out to be.