Who sells to recruitment and marketing agencies?
Agencies are service businesses whose product is people's time. A recruitment firm sells introductions to candidates and temporary workers. A marketing, advertising or PR agency sells campaigns and advice. A web or digital studio sells design and build work. All of them run on utilisation, billing and keeping clients happy, although buying authority can be spread across several teams in a larger group.
That makes agencies a steady target for software, finance, insurance and service firms. Applicant tracking, CRM, timesheet and project systems, job-board and data subscriptions, payroll and funding for temporary workers, stock imagery, print, events, coworking space and accountancy support all get pitched at them. Each is bought by a different person, for a different reason.
Match the enquiry to the agency’s work and commercial model. A recruiter placing permanent staff has different systems and cash-flow needs from a temporary staffing firm. A creative studio running fixed-fee projects may assess a tool differently from an agency billing time or working on retainers.
Why are agencies hard to sell to?
Agency owners are protective of margin and wary of anything that adds fixed cost. A tool that looks cheap per seat can look expensive once a team of fifteen is on it, and a recruiter who bills by placement or an agency that bills by the hour will count every minute a new system takes to learn.
Second, who decides depends on the kind of agency and its size. A one-room studio runs on the owner's say-so. A recruitment firm with several desks may let a team leader pick a job board. A group with an operations or finance director usually puts spend through that person. A freelancer is a one-person buying department who decides in a day or not at all.
Third, some purchases are not the agency's own choice. A recruiter working a client's preferred supplier list has to follow that client's terms, and some public bodies buy temporary workers through a managed service that sits between the client and the agencies. Selling something that cuts across those rules goes nowhere.
Desk leaders and the owner
- You approach the director
- Team leader tries it
- Compliance or finance check
- Owner signs off
Candidate data and client terms sit behind many choices, so expect questions about both.
Owner, with delivery input
- You approach the owner
- Head of delivery tests it
- Finance director checks the cost
- Added to the stack
Agree whether a demonstration or a limited pilot fits the agency’s work and client commitments.
One person, one decision
- You reach the owner directly
- A quick check of price and fit
- Monthly plan or one-off job
Quick when the problem is felt today, and easy to cancel when it is not.
How are recruitment and marketing agencies put together?
Recruitment is the most regulated of the three. Agencies place permanent staff, supply temporary and contract workers, or run executive search. Some also run payroll or help workers through umbrella companies. In England, Scotland and Wales, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 set minimum standards, and from 7 April 2026 the Fair Work Agency took over enforcement from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation sets a Code of Professional Practice for its members, and APSCo is the trade body for professional recruitment firms.
Marketing, advertising and PR are lightly regulated as businesses, but what they publish is not. The Advertising Standards Authority and the Committee of Advertising Practice run the UK advertising codes, which bind advertisers first and also agencies and publishers who prepare or carry the advertising. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising is the trade body for advertising, media and marketing communications agencies, the PRCA covers PR and communications, and the Chartered Institute of Marketing is a professional body for marketers.
Web design and digital agencies sit between marketing and technology, and in the UK book they may appear under Marketing & Creative or under IT services, depending on how they describe themselves. They have no single regulator. Many work on fixed-price projects or monthly retainers for the same clients for years.
All of these include limited companies, partnerships, limited liability partnerships and many sole traders. Under PECR, the UK's rules for electronic marketing, a limited company counts as a corporate subscriber and a sole trader counts as an individual.
Counts as a corporate subscriber
You can send a relevant business email without asking first, as long as you say who you are and give an easy way to opt out.
Counts as an individual
A cold marketing email needs their consent first. Partnerships in Scotland are the exception: they count as corporate subscribers.
Does the list include limited companies and sole traders?
Yes, both. The UK book holds recruitment, marketing and digital businesses across several legal forms: limited companies, limited liability partnerships, partnerships and sole traders. Established agencies are mostly limited companies. Freelancers, independent consultants and one-person studios are often sole traders, and they sit in the same sectors as the bigger names.
The two behave differently for a seller. A limited company normally has directors and a registered office on the public record, so the list can show who runs it. A sole trader is the decision maker, the delivery team and the finance department in one, and may trade under a name that differs from their own. Each record shows the legal form we hold, so you can see which you are looking at.
If you want only one kind, filter for it. A tool priced per seat suits companies with teams. A simple service or low-cost plan may suit freelancers better. No register lists every sole trader, so treat the list as a strong start rather than a full census.
What happens if you pitch an agency badly?
A proposal built around the wrong commercial model can leave the agency unable to assess the benefit. Time saved on a fixed-fee project, temporary payroll funding and recruitment placements are different questions. Check how the firm earns revenue and what it wants to improve before proposing a demonstration.
A new system can involve migrating live projects or candidate records, training staff and checking client terms. If those tasks are missed from the proposal, the apparent saving may disappear during implementation. Ask who would do the work and what would need to improve enough to justify the change.
Treating every agency the same
A recruiter, a PR firm and a web studio buy in different ways. Pitch the one you are writing to, not the whole sector.
Pitching the tool, not the margin
Agencies buy what protects billable time or wins clients. Say which one you affect, in their terms.
Emailing a sole trader without consent
A freelancer can trade as a sole trader or through a company. Check the actual legal form and marketing rules.
Who decides what an agency buys?
Size sets the answer. In a small agency the owner or managing director buys almost everything, often after a quick check with whoever will use it. As the agency grows, spend splits: operations or finance leads own the systems budget, and the person who runs delivery owns the tools the team works in every day.
Company records can show directors and their roles where held, and marks the main contact where we can tell. Office managers, heads of delivery and team leaders are often not directors, so use the director as your way in and ask who looks after the area you sell into.
Owner or managing director
- What they care about
- Margin, keeping key clients, and staying out of admin that does not make money.
- Open with
- A specific leak in how they bill, hire or win work.
Operations or finance director
- What they care about
- Utilisation, cash flow, supplier costs and getting clients' invoices paid.
- Open with
- A cost or time saving they can put a figure on.
Head of delivery or technology
- What they care about
- Whether the team can ship client work on time with tools that do not get in the way.
- Open with
- A short pilot on one live project, with an easy way out.
Office manager
- What they care about
- Keeping the office running: suppliers, software accounts, insurance and equipment.
- Open with
- A simple question about who handles the area you cover.
Freelancer or consultant
- What they care about
- Time, cash and winning the next client, with no one else to share the work.
- Open with
- One plain benefit, a clear price and no long contract.
How do you find recruitment and marketing agencies in the UK?
Start with the sector, then narrow by place. In the UK book, choose Recruitment & Staffing for recruiters and Marketing & Creative for advertising, PR, design and creative agencies. Add the town, region or postcode area you serve, so your list matches where your team can visit or deliver.
Filter for the information available, such as a named director, business phone or checked email. Use the agency’s website to confirm its services, clients and operating model. Company changes help update ownership research but do not establish a need. Search is free, with counts updating before you reveal contacts.
To pick one kind of agency, add SIC codes. Recruiters register under 78109 for other employment placement activities, 78200 for temporary employment agencies and 78300 for human resources provision. Marketing firms use 73110 for advertising agencies and 70210 for public relations and communications. Web builders often use 62012 for software development, and many consultants use 70229. Some firms choose a different code, so search by sector first.
Choose Recruitment & Staffing or Marketing & Creative, and your area. Searching is free on every plan.
What should you say to an agency?
Explain which kind of agency you support and ask about a process relevant to its work. A project-tracking question suits a creative studio, while an applicant-tracking question belongs with a recruiter. Let the person describe the current arrangement and whether it needs attention before discussing a demonstration.
Use the agency’s published services and client work to prepare. Avoid assuming that every agency struggles with utilisation or that a new director is changing systems. If you share another customer’s results, explain what was measured and get permission. Keep prices, migration effort and limitations clear when the discussion reaches them.
If project overruns are mentioned, ask when the team first sees them and how it responds. Explore whether late visibility affects margin, resourcing or the conversation with the client. Then ask what earlier information would change, and what a trial would need to show on a project the agency chooses.
A leak in billable time
Ask how they find out when a client project runs over, and how quickly.
How projects are managed
Check the agency’s delivery model and ask who reviews the tools. A board change does not establish a project-tracking problem.
A result for a similar firm
If an agency of their size and type uses you, say so, and offer to share what changed for them.
Hi Priya,
We make time-tracking software for creative agencies.
How does your team track time against a project budget while work is under way?
If you are reviewing that process, I can send an example project report and explain what setup involves.
Jo
Recruitment, marketing or digital: what changes?
The same offer needs a different approach depending on the kind of agency. This is how the three usually differ. No two agencies buy alike, so use this as a starting point and ask.
| Recruitment agency | Marketing, advertising or PR agency | Web, digital studio or freelancer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How they earn | Placement fees, or margin on temporary and contract workers | Retainers, campaign fees or hourly rates | Fixed-price projects, retainers or day rates |
| Who decides tools | The owner, with desk leaders and a compliance lead | The owner, with delivery and finance leads | The owner, or the one person who runs the business |
| What they must follow | Conduct Regulations and, for members, the REC or APSCo codes | The advertising codes for what they publish, plus any trade body they join | No single regulator, and client contracts set most of the rules |
| What they will ask for | How candidate data is held, and how it fits client terms | How it affects live client work, and whether clients see it | Price, setup time and how to leave |
| What slows a deal | Client preferred supplier terms and compliance checks | Pitches and busy client periods | Budget, setup, migration and existing client commitments |
| Best first contact | The owner or managing director | The owner or the head of delivery | The owner, by email or LinkedIn |
Before you approach any agency
- A plain statement of whose margin or billable time you protect
- Pricing that scales honestly for a team of five and for a team of fifty
- How you handle personal data, especially if candidates or clients are involved
- A short pilot on one team or one live project
- A reference from an agency of a similar size and type
- What setup and migration involve, in hours not weeks
- How a customer leaves, and what happens to their data
Questions people ask about selling to recruitment and marketing agencies
Is there a database of recruitment and marketing agencies in the UK?
Yes. The UK book holds recruitment agencies under Recruitment & Staffing and advertising, PR and creative agencies under Marketing & Creative, from sole traders to large groups. Search it free by area and size, then reveal only the contacts you want.
How do I sell software to a recruitment agency?
Start with the owner or managing director and talk about placements, margin or time saved per consultant. Expect questions about candidate data and how your product fits client terms. A pilot with one desk is easier to agree than a firm-wide rollout.
Who buys marketing tools in a marketing agency?
In a small agency, the owner. In a larger one, the head of delivery or technology picks what the team uses, and a finance or operations director approves the cost. Ask who looks after the tool category you sell into.
What does the Fair Work Agency do for recruiters?
The Fair Work Agency launched on 7 April 2026 and now covers enforcement that the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate used to handle, alongside other labour-market bodies. It affects what recruitment firms must follow, so mention compliance only if it matters to your product.
What are retained and contingency recruitment?
In contingency work an agency is paid only when its candidate is hired, usually alongside other agencies. In retained work the client pays in stages and works with one firm, often for senior or confidential roles. Which model a firm uses shapes what it will pay for.
What is a preferred supplier list for recruiters?
Some employers limit which agencies may send candidates by keeping a list of approved suppliers. Agencies on it must follow the client's terms, which can limit what they can change. If your offer touches client terms, ask how the agency's major clients buy.
Can I get a list of recruitment and marketing agencies that are sole traders?
Yes. The UK book includes sole traders such as freelance consultants and independent recruiters alongside limited companies, and each record shows the legal form we hold. Filter by sector and form, then check the rules for emailing individuals before you write.
Can I email agencies without consent?
You can send a relevant business email to a limited company or LLP without consent if you say who you are and offer an easy way to opt out. Sole traders and most partnerships count as individuals and need consent first. Each record in the UK book says which it is.
Does the list include web design agencies?
Yes, but a web studio may be filed under Marketing & Creative or under IT services depending on how it describes itself. Search by both sector labels, or use the SIC codes for software development and design, then narrow by place.
Can I search by SIC code?
Yes. Records carry the SIC 2007 codes from the register and a plain-English sector for businesses without one, so you can search by either. Some agencies register under a code that does not match what they do, so check the sector as well.
Do I pay to search?
No. Search and filters are free on every plan. Your allowance is only used when you reveal a new contact, and one you've already revealed never counts again.
Can I put the agencies into my CRM?
Yes. Export the contacts you reveal as a CSV for any CRM, or work them in the Adapt Leads CRM with email, LinkedIn and calls in one place.
Sources for this guide
For marketing rules, see the ICO’s business-to-business marketing guidance. Sector codes can be checked in the Companies House SIC list.