Sales breakup email
The last email in the sequence
The last email asks who owns the problem instead of making them feel guilty. Three variations, the breakups we skip, and what to do with the replies.
TYPE
Breakup email
SITUATION
Final touch
PERSONA
Any B2B buyer
SHAPE
One email, three variations
When to use it
Use this as the last email of a cold sequence, when two emails have gone out and nothing has come back. It closes the loop politely and asks one question that’s easy to answer.
Most people who don’t reply aren’t saying no. The email reached the wrong person, or the right person in the wrong week. A breakup email that asks which one it was gives them something easy to answer, and in almost every sequence we write, it’s how we end.
THE COPY
Send it about four days after your follow-up, a week after the first email, in the same thread. It’s the shortest email in the sequence: one or two lines. It ends with your signature and the same one-line opt-out as the others (“If this isn’t relevant, just let me know and I won’t reach out again.”).
All three variations ask the same thing, who owns this, in a different way. Pick one, or test two against each other.
SUBJECT
The same as the rest of the sequence, for example forecast.
The email
Day 7
For variation C, take the two names from the same company on your list, in the roles closest to the area. Check they're real people still in those roles before it sends.
Want this running
on your account?
We run outbound for B2B companies and build the system underneath it, which you own. First campaigns live in two weeks.
What to personalize
Line | Weak | Strong |
The area | “this” | “renewals forecasting” |
The routing question | “Are you the right person?” | “Is renewals forecasting yours, or should I ask someone else?” |
The colleagues | Two names pulled at random from the company | The head of the team and the person who runs it day to day |
The area is the line that does the work. Name it the way their team would, narrow enough that they know straight away whether it’s theirs.
Why it works
It’s an easy question. “Is this yours?” takes five seconds to answer and commits them to nothing, which a pitch never manages.
It doesn’t pitch. By now they know what you do. One more pitch is a third reason they already passed on.
It assumes good faith. It treats the silence as the wrong person or the wrong week, which it usually is, so it reads like a person and not a tactic.
Every answer is useful. A name, a “not now”, or a “no” all tell you where you stand, which is more than silence did.
It’s the shortest email you’ll send them. A real thread gets shorter as it goes, and so does this one.
Breakups people send, and why we don’t
You’ll see all of these in the wild, and some get replies. We still recommend the routing question.
The guilt trip. “Should I close your file?” or “I guess this isn’t a priority for you.” It gets replies, mostly annoyed ones, and you’ve spent the goodwill you’d need later.
The multiple choice. “Reply 1 if you’re not interested, 2 if the timing’s off, 3 if…” It can work, but it turns a conversation into a form, and it’s been sent so often that many people recognise it on sight.
Memes, GIFs, and pet pictures. They stand out, and they can land with the right reader. They also add images to a plain-text email and make you look like everyone else who tried it this month.
“This is my last email.” Fine if it’s true and the email says something. On its own it’s a line that carries nothing.
What to do with the replies
They name someone. Write to that person the same day, and say who sent you. A named colleague is the warmest lead the sequence produced.
“Not me”, and no name. Find the right person yourself, in your data tool or on LinkedIn, rather than asking again.
“Not now.” Note it and come back later with something new. We wait at least three months when there’s a good reason to reach out again, six when there isn’t.
“No.” Thank them and stop. Take them off the sequence and leave it there.
The method behind this template: How we write cold email sequences.
More templates
More on cold email
→
B2B cold email sequence template
The three-step sequence we start every cold campaign from, with two variations per step and the reasoning behind each line.
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Cold email to a founder
Founders read their own inbox and have no patience for a pitch. A three-step sequence in plain language, written to their week, not their title.
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Cold email follow-up
A follow-up that brings something new instead of "just checking in", in three variations: proof, a different angle, and a smaller question.
One email, three variations
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