Updated
Why a new marketing leader reopens the agency question
Agencies are often among the first things a new marketing leader looks at. They arrive with a plan to make their mark, a budget they did not set and partners they did not choose; keeping an agency is now their decision, and many prefer to work with people they trust or have worked with before.
That makes the first months the window for an agency that wants in. The leader is listening to proposals, comparing approaches and deciding what to build in-house; later, the roster is set and the door stays shut until the next review.
Who to contact
The new leader is the lead. Choose the titles that hire agencies like yours:
- CMO or VP Marketing: decides on agencies and the overall plan.
- Head of Growth or Demand Generation: hires agencies for paid media, content or campaigns.
- Head of Brand or Communications, for creative and PR agencies.
- Marketing Director, in mid-sized companies.
What to say
Write to the plan they are building, not to your agency's history. A short point of view on their market or their current marketing, and one idea they could test in their first quarter, shows you did the work; the research brief Coolie writes for the leads you pick gives you material for it.
Hold back the full retainer pitch: offer a small, defined project first, which is easier for a new leader to approve and to judge.
How Coolie finds them
Choose the marketing titles you sell to
Add CMO, VP Marketing, Head of Growth or the titles that hire you, along with the company sizes and industries you serve.
Coolie finds who just took the job
It keeps the people with those titles who moved into a new role recently, within the last few months, scores each one and shows when they started.
It keeps the companies that fit your ICP
Your ideal customer profile (industry, company size, location) filters the companies before anyone is contacted.
It researches the leads you pick
For the leads you choose, Coolie writes a research brief (the company's news, the person, the reason to write now) and a personalized email and LinkedIn sequence.
It writes and sends from your own accounts
Email and LinkedIn steps go out from your own mailbox and LinkedIn account, spread over your working hours. You approve each message, or let the agent run on autopilot.
Signals to pair it with
A company that just raised often steps up its marketing: Funding finds recent rounds. A company hiring marketers may need help before they arrive, which the Hiring signal shows. See all signals.
Example (fictional)
Your agency runs paid social and content for consumer brands and puts CMO and Head of Growth in your ICP.
Coolie finds Dario Conti, who became CMO of Velluto Home, 150 employees in Italy, six weeks ago.
He is scored like any lead, and once you pick him Coolie drafts an email with one idea for Velluto's next seasonal campaign and an offer of a small first project.
Every company and person in this example is invented.
Frequently asked questions
Do new marketing leaders really change agencies?
Not always, but many review them in their first months, and that review is when an outside agency gets a hearing. The signal gets you there while it is happening.
Should I mention that they just started?
Briefly, as context. Congratulations alone are what every vendor sends; what earns a reply is an idea that fits their plan.
Is this only for agencies?
No. Consultants, freelancers and software vendors who sell to marketing leaders can use the same moment the same way.