Don‘t Let Dead Deals Haunt Your Pipeline: 17 Breakup Email Subject Lines to Get Closure
As a salesperson, there are few things more frustrating than pouring time and effort into a seemingly promising deal only to have the prospect suddenly go dark on you.
You‘ve sent multiple follow-up emails, left voicemails, maybe even attempted to connect on LinkedIn – but radio silence. The deal stagnates in your pipeline, and you‘re left wondering if they ghosted you or if there‘s still a faint hope of resurrecting the sale.
This is where the "breakup email" enters the picture. A breakup email is a Hail Mary attempt to elicit a response from an unresponsive buyer and determine if the opportunity is well and truly dead.
When crafted effectively, this email can potentially rekindle the prospect‘s interest and breathe new life into a deal that appeared on its deathbed. At the very least, it provides the closure you need to confidently remove the opportunity from your pipeline and focus your energy elsewhere.
When to Send a Breakup Email
But how do you know when a breakup email is warranted? While every deal is different, here are some telltale signs that it‘s time for a final check-in before calling it quits:
- You haven‘t received a response to your last 2-3 emails or voicemails
- The prospect has missed a scheduled call or meeting without explanation
- It‘s been several weeks (or months) since your last interaction
- Your intuition tells you the deal is likely dead based on the buyer‘s behavior
Once you‘ve reached this point, a tactful but firm breakup email is your best bet for getting a definitive answer on the deal‘s status.
Anatomy of a Winning Breakup Email
To maximize the impact of this message, your breakup email should accomplish the following:
- Grab their attention with a compelling, direct subject line
- Succinctly recap your previous discussions and the prospect‘s goals
- Politely ask if those priorities have changed or if the timing is no longer right
- Provide a clear call-to-action and easy way for them to respond (e.g. "Just reply Yes or No")
- Thank them for their time and leave the door open for future conversations
That first objective is absolutely critical, as a whopping 47% of email recipients open an email based solely on the subject line, according to a report from Invesp. If your breakup email goes unopened, you‘ll never get the clarity you‘re seeking.
17 Breakup Email Subject Lines to Boost Your Open Rates
So what makes for an eye-catching breakup email subject line? Generally speaking, you‘ll want to keep it concise (under 50 characters is ideal), personal, and honest about the intent of your message.
Here are 17 examples of breakup email subject lines that check those boxes:
The Urgent Breakup
- Closing your file soon
- Final [Your Company] follow-up
- My last attempt to connect
- Okay to close your file?
- Should I stay or go?
These subject lines create a sense of urgency by implying this is your final outreach before disqualifying the lead. Use these to spur a quick reply.
The Clean Break
- Time to part ways?
- Permission to close your account
- Looks like the timing isn‘t right
- Thanks for the opportunity
- Moving on, but grateful
If you‘re fairly certain the deal is lost, these subject lines offer an amicable way to end the relationship and allow the prospect to save face. They‘ll appreciate your professionalism.
The Hail Mary
- Can I get a 30-second response?
- Am I barking up the wrong tree?
- Have your priorities changed?
- 1 question before I go
- Yes or no?
When you still believe there‘s a slim chance of reviving the deal, try one of these options to hopefully pique their curiosity and prompt a reply.
The Comic Relief
- Was it something I said?
- Radio silence…you okay?
A bit of playful humor can sometimes catch a prospect‘s attention and show that you‘re not taking their lack of response personally. Just be sure your joke lands well.
"I‘m a big fan of injecting a bit of personality into breakup emails with a punchy one-liner," says sales coach Josh Braun. "Something like ‘Was it something I said?‘ delivered with a wink can bring a smile and earn you a response where a dry check-in would get ignored."
Putting Your Subject Line to the Test
Of course, every audience is different, so it‘s important to A/B test your subject lines to determine which ones resonate best with your specific buyer personas.
Hubspot research found that personalizing subject lines with the recipient‘s first name, company name, or geographic location can boost open rates by up to 20%. So consider working those elements into some of the examples above.
It‘s also smart to track your open and response rates for each breakup email you send to gauge which subject lines are most effective. Sales engagement platforms like SalesLoft or Outreach can provide this data (as well as help automate your breakup email sequences).
For instance, Yesware analyzed sales email data and found that subject lines containing between 1-4 words had the highest response rates, followed by 5-7 words. So when in doubt, err on the side of brevity.
Know When to Walk Away
As valuable a tool as breakup emails can be, it‘s just as important to recognize when you‘ve reached the end of the line. If a heartfelt "Closing your file soon" and "Yes or no?" fail to elicit a peep from your prospect, it‘s probably time to cut bait.
There‘s no magic number of breakup emails to send before throwing in the towel, but roughly two attempts spaced a few business days apart is a reasonable limit. You don‘t want to appear desperate or disrespectful of their time.
"I typically advocate sending one or two ‘Hail Mary‘ emails tops," advises Richard Harris, sales trainer and founder of Harris Consulting Group. "If they don‘t respond, mark it closed-lost, do an autopsy, and rechannel that energy into opportunities that deserve your attention."
Life After the Breakup Email
Deciding to part ways with a once-promising prospect is never fun. But these moments are an inevitable part of managing a clean and healthy sales pipeline.
Breakup emails empower you to professionally cut ties when a deal has run its course so you can prioritize accounts that have a realistic chance of closing. And while the goal is always a revived conversation, sometimes the real win is simply getting the closure you need to confidently disqualify the lead and narrow your focus.
So embrace the breakup email in your pursuit of a stronger pipeline and more efficient prospecting process. Pair a powerful subject line with a concise call-to-action and you‘ll gain insights into how to close more of the right deals going forward – even if it means losing a few along the way.
