HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Reach Big Brands Through Their Marketing Agencies

Reach Big Brands Through Their Marketing Agencies is a cold outreach tactic for getting your first users: Instead of cold-pitching enterprises directly, target the performance-marketing agencies that serve them, using cold email, LinkedIn, and warm intros to get a foot in.

It's a strong fit for Agencies / services and B2B SaaS teams, and works especially well for B2B tools targeting enterprise clients. As a cold outreach play, plan for high effort and expect results to build gradually over time, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

Cold outreachHigh effortSlow

Why does cold outreach work for this?

Agencies are gatekeepers with existing brand relationships, so converting one agency unlocks several enterprise logos you'd never reach cold.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

Unlock the steps · $29 oncePlus all 3,000+ tactics and the new ones we add weekly.

Sources

Works for
Agencies / servicesB2B SaaS

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Reach Big Brands Through Their Marketing Agencies" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for Agencies / services and B2B SaaS — pick it when your product looks like one of those, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Reach Big Brands Through Their Marketing Agencies" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is high effort, and results tend to be slow.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

Related tactics

Cold outreachLow effort· Fast

Lower the Ask, Drop in a Calendar Link

Replacing high-commitment requests like "book a 30-minute demo" with a tiny, curiosity-driven ask, and removing scheduling friction by including a direct booking link.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachMedium effort· Medium

Search Niche Hashtags and Fire 100 Personalized Cold DMs

Find your audience by searching hashtags on LinkedIn or Twitter (e.g. #remote or industry tags), then send a high volume of cold messages explaining your service; at around 100 messages a handful convert.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachHigh effort· Fast

Close on Calls and Tune Your Pitch There First

Use live demos and sales calls as both your primary closing channel and your fastest lab for testing positioning before you commit it to your website or content.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachMedium effort· Medium

Mine Competitors' Twitter Followers for Beta Users

Meetric's team targeted the people already following their competitors on Twitter, using that follower base as a pre-qualified pool of potential users and investors to reach out to on the way to 1,000 beta signups.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachMedium effort· Medium

Write the 75/25 Personalized Cold Email

Keep three-quarters of the email as a reusable skeleton and hand-write the other quarter using one real detail mined from the prospect's LinkedIn, blog, or a podcast they were on. Author hit 4-5% replies and 100 beta signups.

Read the steps →
Cold outreachMedium effort· Slow

Pick a Narrow Niche and Make Switching Effortless

Instead of broadcasting to everyone, hand-pick one tight audience, pitch them directly, and remove every obstacle that stops them from saying yes.

Read the steps →

Get all 3,000+ tactics in one place

Filter by your product and channel, follow the exact steps, and get the new tactics we add every week. One payment, yours for good.

Unlock for $29 onceBrowse by channel