6 Things You Should Say Other Than “Hope You’re Well” in a Sales Follow-up Email

Wishing someone well in an email is a thoughtful and courteous practice, but doing it in the subject line screams “I want something!” Ironically, what should be one of the most personable greetings ends up coming across as decidedly pushy.

Sales reps fortunately have a million other options at their disposal for sales email subject lines. You can try a different polite tack, or you could come out of left field with something genuinely attention-grabbing. So, as you sit down to email a cooling lead and try to come up with a subject line better than “Hope You’re Well”, consider these six sales email subject line alternatives.

“Found an Article on ___ I Think You’ll Love”

The issue with “Hope You’re Well” is that the recipient knows the email is only pretending to care about them. There’s no real value to the lead to opening it since they are just being asked to make another sales appointment.

Restore their faith that you have some sort of value to contribute by sharing an article, infographic, video or other material you think they’d find genuinely interesting. Try to tie the content to their specific position, industry or personal interests. Also, read the article in its entirety to ensure it actually has value, and summarize what you think the recipient’s most interesting takeaways might be in the email body.

Sharing helpful articles is a great way to build a relationship with a lead and show that you care about them.

“Some Exciting Company/Product Changes Just Came Through”

A company update may not seem like it has as much value to the recipient as a shared article, but they may genuinely be interested in your updated offerings. Whether your product has a new feature, you’re optimizing the way it can be bought, or your company just went through an interesting change, hearing the news directly from you makes a huge difference compared to learning through the grapevine.

“Excited About [Industry Event/Change in Their Company] Coming Up Soon?”

Similar to the first suggestion, this approach considers things the lead will directly care about, as opposed to something only you may care about. If the company is preparing for a big industry show, a marketing event, a product launch or just a major project coming up, checking in with them and their feelings towards the event is a great way to open the conversation towards your solution and the benefits it brings.

“Touching Base About [Last Activity]”

This more-direct approach shows you have nothing to hide. It also jolts their memory as to the last touchpoint you and they shared. Whether it was a full-scale presentation or just a chat on the phone, picking up where you left off is a great way to kickstart a stalled conversation.

The recipient will likely appreciate you being direct, too, as opposed to opening with a half-hearted gesture like “hope you’re well.”

“42.7 Percent of All Statistics Are Made up on the Spot” or a Similar One-Line Joke

Want to get someone’s attention in their inbox? Provide a bright spot with a clever but short one-line joke or pun. Referencing a recent popular phenomenon like Game of Thrones or a chart-topping song also often works. Just imagine seeing “We Promise We Know More Than Jon Snow” next to a hundred dry business emails.

Sure, it may risk sounding less-than-100%-professional, but the reward is that they can feel warmer towards you after a quick laugh.

“I Hope You're Having a Two-Coffee (Versus a Four-Coffee) Day” or Anything Other Than “Hope You’re Well”

Sometimes “I Hope You’re Well” is really the gist of what we want to say because we genuinely are checking in with someone. If this is your aim, there are plenty of cute, original or funny ways to rephrase the same idea, helping you sound sincere and interested in the lead’s well-being.

Hubspot has compiled a huge list of these possibilities, and while some are hopelessly dated (“I just met you, and this is crazy. But here’s my meetings link: [Meetings Link]. So call me maybe?”) others may provide the inspiration you need to shake up your approach.

Improving Sales Email Subject Lines With Video

A great way to share information and get the attention of your lead at the same time is to send a personalized sales video their way. By recording a short video giving them a summary of what you want to say or your unique commentary on something you shared, you restart a 1:1 conversation where they feel as if they are part of a relationship, not just another sales lead.  Plus, including “video” in the subject line of an email boosts email open rates by 19%.

Explore ways to make creating, sharing and monitoring sales videos easier by looking to a cloud-based sales video hosting platform that allows you to control the viewing experience, monitor engagement and connect video to your overall sales strategy.