Our world is saturated with advertisements around every corner and on every screen, so how can your brand and value proposition make an impression on a potential buyer who is exposed to quite possibly thousands of messages daily?

Multi-touch sales communication has quickly arisen as one of the top ways to catch a potential buyer’s attention. The only way to break through the sales noise is by providing your targeted audience with varied and repeated messages that are targeted towards their industry or role.

Consistently reaching out to them through social media, email, phone, and handwritten letters are all key touchpoints to persuading a potential customer to take an interest in what your company has to offer. Once you’ve got your customer’s attention, making the actual sale should be easy, right?

Yet, what do you do when the trail runs cold? What had seemed like a promising sale in-the-making has devolved into radio silence. Have you lost your prospect? Have they found another company to partner with, or have they simply been too busy to respond to your calls? Enter the power of the “break-up email.” This style of email message is designed specifically to get a response from a potential client who hasn’t been very responsive. On average, you can expect a 64% response rate if your potential buyer has been in contact with you.


When drafting your break-up email, there are two key elements to keep in mind:

1). Tone — A potential client doesn’t want to hear from a sales rep who is clearly trying to make this deal for quota’s sake. Relate to them and draft an email that is polite and understanding. No one enjoys feeling like they’re being reprimanded for not having responded to an email or phone call. Rather than sounding like their boss, address them politely and emphasize that it’s understandable you haven’t heard from them yet. Everybody gets busy right? Sometimes messages slip through the cracks, and that’s okay! You’re here to help them, not just land some sales, because your product is going to improve their business and day-to-day life.

2). A Call to Action — Getting your client’s attention and setting them at ease is important when trying to solidify a sale, but without giving them a concrete reason to respond, you may be right back where you started; silence. A call to action is exactly what it sounds like—you’re encouraging (or perhaps even causing) the reader to take a specific action based on what you’ve written. Perhaps the most straight-forward CTA is to end your email with a request. By doing this, you aren’t simply providing them with more information about your company and product for them to take or leave, you’re giving them a reason to respond. Here are a few examples of question-based CTA’s:

  1. Can we set up 30 minutes to clarify our next steps? 
  2. Can you help me understand what I missed? 
  3. For my own professional development, can you let me know how I can improve?
  4. If you’re still interested, what do you recommend for a next step?

Another commonly-used CTA strategy is to provide your potential client with a directive at the conclusion of your email. Examples of this include statements like “ Give me a call today,” or “Let me know if you’re still interested.” These offer a clear next step to take after reading your break-up email.

Below are some possible subject lines you can use when drafting a break-up email, along with a couple of templates. Feel free to fill in the blanks, or use these as a springboard to creating your own unique email. Let the break-ups begin!


Possible Subject Lines: 

  1. , should we say goodbye for now? 
  2. Thank you for your time – assuming this wasn’t a good fit
  3. It’s not you, it’s me
  4. I enjoyed the conversations and will assume we are not moving forward

Message Templates: 

Hi There, 

I have not heard back from you about my last message. In our previous meeting we discussed (X,Y,Z) and I was under the impression we were aligned. 

Can we setup 30 minutes to clarify our next steps?

If not, I will go ahead and stop reaching out.

Thank you for your time and it has been a pleasure speaking. 

Hi There, 

It’s the end of the month and we have not heard back from you. I typically close a file if I have not heard back for an extended period of time. However, I was compelled to reach out one last time based on our discuss (X,Y,Z).

Can you help me understand what I missed from our last meeting?

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