28 Creative Email Subject Lines That Restart Stalled Sales Conversations
Nothing‘s more frustrating than a prospect who suddenly goes cold. You‘ve invested time and energy into building the relationship, understanding their needs and challenges. The deal seems to be moving forward, and then…nothing. No response to your calls or emails, no matter how thoughtful your outreach.
It‘s an all-too-common challenge faced by salespeople everywhere. Research shows that over 40% of deals get stalled at some point in the sales process, and up to 80% of prospects never respond to sales follow-ups. Yikes.
But while it may feel like that once-promising deal has slipped through your fingers, all hope is not lost. Often, you just need the right approach to re-engage the prospect‘s interest and get the conversation moving again.
The key? It all starts with your email subject line.
Think about it – the average businessperson receives over 100 emails per day, but only opens about 23% of them. If your message is one of dozens (or hundreds) clogging up their inbox, a boring subject line all but guarantees it will be swiped away and forgotten without a second thought.
To break through the noise and earn back their attention, your email needs a compelling subject line that stands out from the pack. Generic lines like "Following up" or "Checking in" make it far too easy for the prospect to ignore or delete your message without ever reading it.
The most effective subject lines for reengaging cold prospects are creative, personalized, and curiosity-provoking. They reference your past relationship and give the recipient a reason to open the email and hear you out one more time.
Not sure where to start? We‘ve got you covered. Here are 28 tried-and-true subject lines proven to warm up even the iciest of cold leads and deals.
Why Your Email Subject Line Is Make-or-Break for Cold Prospects
When we talk about "restarting stalled sales conversations," what we‘re really trying to do is rebuild the prospect‘s motivation and interest after it has cooled off for some reason.
There are many potential reasons why a seemingly engaged prospect can go dark during the sales process:
- They got busy and deprioritized the project
- They‘re evaluating other options/competitors
- Budget or timeline has changed
- Decision-maker has changed or left the company
- You missed the mark in demonstrating value
- They‘re just not that into you (hey, it happens)
Whatever the reason, once a prospect has mentally moved on, it becomes exponentially harder to get their attention and make your case. A study by Yesware found that if you don‘t receive a reply to your first email, you have a 21% chance of getting a reply to the second email. By the 4th email, that drops to just a 7% chance of a reply.
That‘s why your email subject line is so critical at this stage in the game. It‘s the gatekeeper to your message and your foot back in the door. No matter how compelling your email copy, how persuasive your arguments, none of it matters if the prospect never opens your email in the first place.
Your subject line has one job – to stand out in a crowded inbox and persuade the prospect to open and read your message. In just a handful of words, it needs to:
- Grab their attention
- Pique their curiosity
- Create a sense of urgency or FOMO
- Demonstrate value and relevance to their goals
- Remind them of your relationship
- Entice them to want to know more
No pressure, right? The good news is that by understanding the psychology of what makes an irresistible subject line, you can dramatically increase your odds of re-engaging prospects and getting that stalled deal moving in the right direction again.
10 Creative Approaches to Re-Engaging Cold Prospects with Email Subject Lines
So what separates a must-open subject line from one that gets instantly archived or deleted? There are a few proven approaches you can use and combine to boost your opens and replies.
1. Reference your past relationship
One of the most effective ways to re-engage a prospect is to remind them that you‘ve had prior positive interactions and are simply picking the conversation back up. Some examples:
- "Re: next steps from our last call"
- "Following up on your request for pricing"
- "Answering your questions about [product/service]"
- "[Name], here‘s the info I promised you"
2. Get them curious
Humans have a natural desire to close information gaps – it‘s why clickbait headlines are so effective. Use your subject line to open a curiosity loop that the prospect will want to close by opening and reading your email.
- "Can I get your thoughts on this?"
- "I had an idea for [prospect‘s company]"
- "A quick question for you, [Name]"
- "Something made me think of you…"
3. Personalize it
Dale Carnegie once said "a person‘s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language." Seeing our own name catches our attention and creates an instant sense of connection. Use merge fields to include the prospect‘s first name or company name in the subject.
- "[Name], here‘s something just for you"
- "Would this help [Company] reach its Q4 goals?"
- "A new idea for [Name]"
- "Hey [Name] – I thought you‘d find this interesting"
4. Communicate urgency
Nothing spurs action like a deadline. Reference the prospect‘s timeline or end-of-quarter/year goals to gently remind them of the cost of inaction and benefits of moving forward.
- "Only 3 weeks left to implement before EOY"
- "When should we reconnect about your 2024 plans?"
- "If you want this live by Q2, let‘s talk soon"
- "There‘s still time to hit your Q1 targets"
5. Use humor & creativity
Unexpected, humorous, or tongue-in-cheek subject lines are memorable and set a playful tone that can disarm prospects and make them more open to talking. As always, gauge your audience on what level of informality they‘ll appreciate.
- "Permission to keep bugging you? ;)"
- "I‘m not a mind reader, but…"
- "Did my email go to spam jail?"
- "Am I getting ghosted?"
6. Focus on pain points
Prospects buy solutions, not products or services. Use your subject line to highlight the challenges you can help them solve, and you‘ll immediately make your email more relevant and valuable to them.
- "How [Company] can [benefit]"
- "[Pain point]? I‘ve got just the thing"
- "Your [goal] made me think of you"
- "What if you could [desired outcome]?"
7. Keep it short & skimmable
Ideal subject line length is 6-10 words. Any more and key info gets cut off, especially on mobile. Stick to one main point and make every word count.
- "Time for a 5-min check-in?"
- "So, what‘s our next step?"
- "Still considering this?"
- "Hey [Name] – you in?"
8. Ask a question
Questions are powerful. They get the prospect‘s wheels turning and create an open loop that makes them more likely to open your email and respond. Keep them relevant to your relationship and their goals.
- "Can we pick this back up, [Name]?"
- "Is this still a priority for you?"
- "Would love your feedback on this – interested?"
- "What would it take to partner on this?"
9. Offer something of value
A surefire way to warm up a cold prospect is to offer them something they want, whether that‘s new information, an exclusive offer, or a free resource. Make it clear what‘s in it for them right in the subject line.
- "[Name], here‘s that case study I mentioned"
- "A 10% discount, just for you"
- "Free ebook: [topic]"
- "Exclusive invite for [event]"
10. Test, test, test
The only way to know for sure which subject lines land best is to A/B test them and see what gets the most opens and replies. Most email marketing tools make this easy. Test different lengths, tones, and value props to see what resonates, then optimize over time.
- "[Name], can we revisit this?" vs "Following up re: our last convo"
- "How [benefit] could help [Company]" vs "[Pain point]? I‘ve got a solution"
- "[Name], still interested?" vs "Bumping this back to the top of your inbox :)"
By the Numbers: Cold Email Subject Line Best Practices & Benchmarks
We‘ve covered the art of writing creative, compelling email subject lines – but what about the science? Let‘s look at some data on subject line performance in B2B sales emails.
Subject Line Length
- Subject lines with 6-10 words generate a 21% open rate, compared to 16% for subject lines with 11-15 words. (Convince & Convert)
- Subject lines between 1-5 words have the highest open rate at 31%, while 6-10 words see an average open rate of 21%. (Marketo)
- 41-50 characters is the optimal length for email subject lines. 51 characters and above see a significant decrease in open and reply rates. (Prospect.io)
| Subject Line Length | Open Rate |
|---|---|
| 1-5 words | 31% |
| 6-10 words | 21% |
| 11-15 words | 16% |
| 41-50 characters | Optimal |
| 51+ characters | Too long |
Personalization & Formatting
- Personalized subject lines are 22% more likely to be opened than generic subject lines. (Experian)
- Subject lines with a question see 10% higher open rates than those without. (ContactMonkey)
- Subject lines in title case (first letter of each word capitalized) have a 7% higher open rate than those in all caps or all lowercase. (HubSpot)
Cold Email Benchmarks
- The average open rate for B2B sales emails is 21.5%. (Sopro)
- 80% of prospects prefer to be contacted by email over any other medium. (Sleeknote)
- It takes an average of 8 touches to generate a sales meeting with a new prospect. (TOPO)
- The optimal number of follow-up emails is 4-7, after which response rates and ROI drop significantly. (Woodpecker)
25 Fill-in-the-Blank Templates for Re-Engaging Cold Leads
Feeling inspired to revamp your own cold email subject lines? Here are 25 customizable templates incorporating the strategies above. Just fill in the blanks to personalize for your prospect and offer.
- [Name], here‘s the [resource] I promised
- A [benefit] for [Company]
- [Name], did you see my email about [topic]?
- [Pain point] weighing you down? Let‘s talk
- How [Company] could [achieve goal] in [timeframe]
- Permission to close your file?
- If [goal] is still a priority, read this
- What would you do with an extra [$$, hour, etc] per [week/month/quarter]?
- I thought you might find this interesting, [Name]
- Let‘s get [Company] to #1 in [industry/location]
- A [crazy/fun/different] idea for [benefit/goal]
- [Name], can we revisit [topic] quickly?
- The one thing [Company] needs to [achieve goal]
- I‘m surprised I haven‘t heard back – [hard-hitting stat]
- I think I can help with [pain point/goal] – open to a call?
- Exclusive [offer/invite/content] just for [Name]
- We help [industry] [benefit] – interested?
- Knocked it out of the park for [similar company]
- What do you think about [new trend/development]?
- Hey [Name], are my emails going to spam?
- Still interested in [solving pain point]?
- Great insights from [Name] at [Company]
- [Name] recommended I reach back out
- Your [recent post/update] made me think of you
- Is [goal] still on track for [Company] this [quarter/year]?
Bringing Dead Deals Back to Life with Creative Sales Email Subject Lines
Reengaging a cold prospect is never easy. Once their interest and motivation has waned, it takes a special touch to get them to open up and consider your offer again. But as any experienced sales pro knows, the hardest-fought, against-the-odds deals are often the most rewarding.
At the end of the day, your email subject line is your strongest weapon in the battle against unresponsive leads. It‘s the key that unlocks your prospect‘s attention and gives you a fighting chance to change their mind.
By incorporating these proven tactics – personalizing, provoking curiosity, referencing past touchpoints, communicating value and urgency – you‘ll stand out from the dozens of other generic "just following up" emails clogging their inbox each day.
Of course, there‘s no magic bullet. What works for one prospect may not land for another. That‘s why the most important subject line strategy of all is to constantly test different approaches and see what gets you the most opens, responses, and deals.
Start with the templates and formulas outlined here, but don‘t be afraid to get creative and experiment. With every email you send, you‘ll hone your skills and intuition for what resonates with your audience.
Stay persistent. Stay resourceful. And whatever you do – don‘t let that once-promising deal slip away without using every trick up your sleeve (or in your subject line).
