Sales persons go to great extent to grab the attention of prospects – personalize emails, mention references, show social proof, give freebies, etc. In order to address all of these, importance of email subject lines and opening lines have been discussed to the nth degree. While we spend considerable amount of time on fine-tuning subject lines and opening lines, we must also pay equal attention to the closing line. This is where we can leverage the build-up done in the rest of the email to leave a lasting impact and induce response from the prospects. Basically we need to plant a call-to-action at the end. This will make sure that the prospect is crystal clear about the next action he should take. We have come up with 25 compelling closing lines to drive your sales to the next stage.

Conversation initiators by catering to self-interest of the prospect:

These lines help you get the ball rolling by delivering something that would help the prospect professionally or personally. People love it when someone takes the extra step to help them out.

1. I saw a press release by your company and came to know that you’re opening up a new office in Georgia. I can refer some of the trusted office suppliers – would you be interested?
2. I used your mobile app and found couple of bugs. Should I send my findings?
3. I’ve created a two minute video on B2B lead generation via Twitter. Would you like to watch?
4. Here were couple of issues affecting your website ranking. I’ve prepared a detailed list and ways to fix them. Would you like to check them out?

Thought-provoking questions:

Though-provoking questions can etch your email in the mind of your customers. The response will give valuable insights with respect to the thought process and problem statement.

1. How did you implement referral marketing program? Did you experiment with ‘one-way’ and ‘two-way’ referral program?
2. Let me know if the attached deck changed the way you handled product prioritization?
3. Could you please let me know if you’re currently focusing on reduction of ticket resolution time or development of training program?
4. I’m curious about the results of your employee benefits program. Are you noticing better retention rate?

Educating the prospect:

You can educate the prospect by providing latest news or statistics that can impact the decision making process and bolster your solution’s position.

1. Did you know that 51% of marketers plan to increase content marketing spending this year, but nearly 2/3 of marketers are boosting social media budgets for ad spending?
2. Did you know that more than a third of the U.S. working population is employed at businesses with fewer than 100 employees?

Establishing a common ground:

At the beginning of the sales cycle if you find something (hobby, interest, etc.) with which the prospect would connect, then leverage that to start the conversation and make him open up. Treating someone as a specialist or thought leader and seeking their opinion can do wonders as well.

1. I saw your LinkedIn update about the little productivity experiment you did – I’m trying that out as well. How did you come up with this?
2. Congratulations on getting your article published on NY Times! I’m also trying to get published. How was the submission process for you?
3. Saw your comments on small business reforms. I’m running an online campaign on the same issue. Could you please take a look and give your feedback?

Leveraging social proof:

If you have a proven track record of delivering great solutions, citing those at the end can reinforce your claims and add credibility.

1. By the way, the mobile app that we had developed for them was showcased at TED.
2. We were consulting that startup on their growth strategy and last year  they raised $10 million.
3. They significantly reduced their Total Cost of Ownership by leveraging our integration partnerships.

To the point CTA:

These are the straightforward CTAs to be used after the initial stages of the sales cycle. The idea is to ask for a very specific action and provide maximum two choices –  none wants to confuse the prospect.

1. Would it be fine with you if we go ahead with pricing discussion or should I get on a call with your compliance team?
2. It’d be really great if you could let me know by [date] to start the legal consultation process?
3. Just wanted to confirm that next point in the agenda is for you to [task].
4. Looking forward to demonstrate the capabilities of our LMS solution. Would you be available on Monday at noon or Tuesday 2 p.m.?
5. All I need from you is [action] on [task] and I’ll take care of the rest. With that said I’d like to aim for [date]. Would that be manageable on your end?

Reminders:

Sometimes we don’t hear back from the prospects. May be they are too busy to reply, forgot to reply or not interested in the offer. It’s better to jog the memory and push for the deal’s progress.

1. A gentle reminder. Whenever you have a moment please let me know your thoughts on our proposal.
2. I didn’t receive any update. Would you need any more information from my end to help you wrap this up?
3. My office will send a calendar invite/reminder on [date] to resolve the queries raised on the proposal. Sounds good?
4. I understand you are completely occupied. Could you please redirect me to someone else from your team?

When so much effort goes into writing emails to move the deal through the sales stages, using these compelling closing lines will give that extra edge to your messages.

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