Professional Email Closing Phrases: 50+ Examples That Work

A professional email closing is the final line before your signature that signals tone, intent, and relationship. It shapes how the recipient feels about your message and whether they take action. The right closing phrase reinforces your professionalism, while a wrong one can undermine an otherwise perfect email.

I once watched a colleague lose a deal because he closed a proposal email with "Cheers, mate." The prospect was a C-suite executive at a Fortune 500 company. That one word - "mate" - made a $200K proposal feel casual and unserious. The closing phrase you choose carries more weight than most people realize.

According to a Boomerang study analyzing over 350,000 email threads, emails ending with a thankful closing ("thanks in advance," "thank you") received 36% more responses than those ending without one. And research from SuperOffice found that 75% of business professionals consider email tone (including the closing) a key factor in deciding whether to reply.

Those numbers tell us something important: how you end an email isn't a minor detail. It's a conversion factor.

What Makes a Good Email Closing

Not all closings are created equal. The best ones share a few traits:

They match the tone of the email. A formal request to a board member needs "Respectfully" or "Best regards." A Slack-like update to your teammate can land with just "Thanks" or your first name.

They're short. One to three words. That's it. Your closing isn't a second paragraph. It's a punctuation mark for the entire email.

They signal a next step when needed. "Looking forward to your thoughts" does double duty as a closing and a soft call-to-action. "Best" just... ends the conversation.

They feel natural to you. If you'd never say "Warm regards" out loud, don't write it. Your closing should match the way you actually communicate.

Here's a simple test: read the closing aloud after the last sentence of your email. Does it flow? Or does it feel bolted on? If it sounds awkward, pick something else.

Formal Email Closing Phrases

These work for first-time outreach, executive communication, legal correspondence, and any situation where you want to project authority and respect.

The classics:

• Best regards
• Kind regards
• Sincerely
• Respectfully
• With appreciation

For executive and board-level communication:

• With my best regards
• Respectfully yours
• With sincere appreciation
• Thank you for your leadership
• I appreciate your consideration

For legal and compliance contexts:

• Respectfully submitted
• For your review and consideration
• With regards to the above
• Thank you for your attention to this matter

A quick note on "Sincerely." It's the safest formal closing in existence. Nobody's ever been offended by "Sincerely." But it's also become so generic that it communicates almost nothing. If you want warmth, go with "Kind regards." If you want professionalism, "Best regards" is the modern standard. Save "Sincerely" for cover letters and letters to people you've never met.

Casual Email Closing Phrases

For teammates, regular collaborators, and people you've already built a rapport with. These closings keep things moving without unnecessary formality.

Everyday team communication:

• Thanks
• Thanks!
• Cheers
• Talk soon
• Best

Internal and collaborative:

• Let me know if you need anything
• Happy to chat more about this
• Ping me if questions come up
• Here if you need me
• Let's sync on this

Friendly but professional:

• Have a great week
• Enjoy the rest of your day
• Hope this helps
• Appreciate you
• Thanks for the quick turnaround

One thing I've noticed: "Best" has become the default for people who don't know what else to write. It's fine. It's not offensive. But it's the email equivalent of a limp handshake. If you're going to go casual, lean into it. "Thanks" or "Cheers" says more with fewer letters.

Sales Email Closing Phrases

Sales closings serve a specific purpose: they move the conversation forward. Every closing should either invite a reply, suggest a next step, or create just enough curiosity to keep the thread alive.

For prospecting and cold outreach:

• Would love to hear your thoughts
• Open to a quick conversation?
• Worth a 15-minute chat?
• Curious to hear how you're handling this
• Happy to share more if helpful

For follow-ups:

• Any thoughts on the above?
• Wanted to circle back on this
• Still interested in connecting?
• Let me know if the timing's better next quarter
• No pressure, just checking in

For deal closing and proposals:

• Looking forward to moving forward together
• Excited about the potential here
• Ready when you are
• Let me know if you'd like to finalize
• Happy to answer any remaining questions

For post-sale and relationship building:

• Here if you need anything at all
• Always happy to help
• Looking forward to working together
• Grateful for the partnership
• Don't hesitate to reach out

The best sales closings don't feel like closings. They feel like invitations. "Would love to hear your thoughts" is infinitely better than "Please advise at your earliest convenience." The first one is human. The second one is a robot wearing a tie.

Job Application Email Closing Phrases

Job applications are a specific kind of sales email, just selling yourself instead of a product. Your closing needs to communicate enthusiasm without sounding desperate, and confidence without sounding presumptuous.

For initial applications and cover letters:

• Thank you for considering my application
• I look forward to the opportunity to discuss further
• Eager to contribute to your team
• Thank you for your time and consideration
• I welcome the chance to learn more about this role

For follow-ups after interviews:

• Thank you for the insightful conversation
• Excited about the possibility of joining [Company]
• Looking forward to hearing from you
• I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me
• Thank you for sharing more about the role

For networking and informational outreach:

• Would love to learn from your experience
• Grateful for any insights you can share
• Thank you for your generosity with your time
• I appreciate any guidance you can offer

Avoid closings that put the hiring manager on the spot. "I know I'd be perfect for this role" sounds confident in your head, but pushy in their inbox. Let your qualifications do that work. Keep the closing humble and specific.

Thank You Email Closing Phrases

Thank-you emails are their own category because the closing needs to reinforce gratitude without repeating the word "thank" twelve times. (I've seen it happen.)

After receiving help or a favor:

• Truly appreciate this
• This means a lot
• Can't thank you enough
• Your help made all the difference
• Grateful for your support

After meetings and events:

• Great connecting with you
• Valued our conversation
• Appreciate you making the time
• Looking forward to staying in touch
• Thanks for the generous insights

For client appreciation:

• Your partnership means a great deal to us
• We value your continued trust
• Grateful for the opportunity to work together
• Thank you for choosing to work with us
• Looking forward to what we build next

The trick with thank-you closings is specificity. "Thanks" is generic. "Thanks for walking me through the onboarding timeline" shows you were actually paying attention. Specific gratitude always lands harder than general politeness.

Email Closing Phrases to Avoid

Some closings should be retired permanently. Here's why:

"Please advise" - This sounds like you're filing a support ticket, not having a conversation. It puts the burden entirely on the recipient without giving them direction.

"Sent from my iPhone" - It's not a closing, it's a default footer. It signals "I didn't care enough to type a proper response." Remove it from your phone settings.

"TTYL" / "xoxo" / "Laterz" - Unless you're texting your college roommate, these have no place in professional email. Even in casual environments, they read as immature.

"Humbly" / "Your humble servant" - This was charming in the 18th century. Now it just makes people uncomfortable.

"Thx" - If "thanks" is too many characters for you, the recipient notices. Abbreviations in closings feel dismissive.

"Regards" - On its own, without "best" or "kind" in front of it, "Regards" reads cold. Almost curt. It's the email equivalent of a nod from across the room when you expected a handshake.

"Hope this email finds you well" - Technically an opener, but some people use it as a closing. Either way, it's the most overused phrase in business email. Everyone is tired of it.

How Your Closing Connects to Your Signature

Your closing phrase and your email signature are a package deal. They appear together in every email, and they should work together visually and tonally.

Here's what I mean: if your closing is "Warm regards" but your signature is a wall of text with three phone numbers, six social media links, and a legal disclaimer, the warmth gets buried under noise.

A few principles for making them work together:

Keep your signature clean and minimal. Your closing handles the emotional tone. Your signature handles the practical information. Name, title, company, one phone number, website. That's your baseline.

Match formality levels. If you close with "Cheers," your signature shouldn't look like a legal document. If you close with "Respectfully submitted," a bright-colored signature with emoji icons will feel dissonant.

Use your signature as a continuation of the conversation. A well-designed email signature can include a subtle call-to-action, a campaign banner, or a scheduling link that picks up where your closing phrase left off.

If you're managing email signatures for a team, consistency matters even more. When 50 people use different closings with different signature formats, the brand experience is fragmented. One template, one standard, applied to everyone. That's how professional organizations handle it.

Want to make sure your entire email, from opening to closing to signature, follows best practices? Our email signature etiquette guide covers the full picture.

Quick Reference: Email Closing Phrases by Situation

Situation	Best Closings
First email to a CEO	Best regards, With appreciation
Weekly team update	Thanks, Cheers
Cold sales outreach	Would love your thoughts, Worth a quick chat?
Job application	Thank you for your consideration
Thank-you after meeting	Great connecting, Valued our conversation
Client relationship	Grateful for the partnership
Internal Slack-style	Thanks!, Here if you need me

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most professional email closing?

"Best regards" is widely considered the most professional email closing for modern business communication. It strikes the right balance between formal and approachable. Unlike "Sincerely," which can feel stiff, "Best regards" works across industries, seniority levels, and cultures. For highly formal contexts like legal correspondence or government communication, "Respectfully" is the safer choice.

Should I use a different closing for every email?

Not necessarily. Most professionals settle on two or three closings they rotate based on context. You might use "Best regards" for new contacts, "Thanks" for colleagues, and "Looking forward to connecting" for sales prospects. Consistency within a relationship matters more than variety. Switching closings randomly can feel inconsistent or signal a shift in tone the recipient didn't expect.

Is "Best" too informal for business email?

"Best" is acceptable but borderline. It's become so common that it reads as neutral rather than warm or professional. For internal communication and established relationships, it's perfectly fine. For first impressions, external clients, or senior leadership, "Best regards" or "Kind regards" carry more weight. Think of "Best" as the jeans of email closings. Fine for most days, but not ideal for the board meeting.

How does my email closing affect response rates?

Research shows that email closings directly impact whether people reply. The Boomerang study found that thankful closings ("thanks in advance," "thank you") generated 36% higher response rates than emails with no closing or neutral closings. Closings that include a question or next step ("Any thoughts?" or "Open to a quick chat?") also improve reply rates because they give the recipient a clear reason to respond.

Should my email closing match my email signature style?

Yes, and this is something most people overlook. Your closing and signature appear together, so they function as a visual and tonal unit. A warm, casual closing followed by a cluttered, overly formal signature creates dissonance. Keep both aligned in formality, length, and design. If your team uses a centralized signature platform like Signkit, you can ensure everyone's signature complements their closing consistently.

Key Takeaways

• Your email closing directly impacts response rates. Research shows thankful closings generate up to 36% more replies than neutral or missing closings.
• Match your closing to the context, not your mood. A formal closing for executives, a casual one for teammates, and a forward-looking one for sales prospects.
• Keep it to one to three words when possible. Your closing is a punctuation mark, not a paragraph. Brevity signals confidence.
• Avoid overused, hollow phrases. "Please advise," "Sent from my iPhone," and lone "Regards" all undermine the message you just crafted.
• Your closing and email signature are a package deal. Design them together so tone, formality, and visual style align across every email your team sends.