3

I recently received and email from someone regarding potential business. However, a small part of me suspects that they may have an alternate motive for contacting me.

Common business closings, such as regards, can come across as a bit stiff. Yet, it seems the casualness of our original interaction is likely one of the reasons they wanted to do business with me in the first place.

As such, I'm looking for a closing that can convey a sense of informality and warmth, without possibly expressing desire. Any suggestions?

Community
  • 1
virtualxtc
  • 171
  • 7
  • Can I ask where you're from, and where the receiver is from? This can make a big difference in this regard. – CLockeWork Feb 07 '14 at 09:40
  • @CLockeWork Boston, MA – virtualxtc Feb 07 '14 at 09:43
  • OK, not quite sure how it goes in America. In the UK, Kind regards is certainly formal but also warm. Cheers is common work-casual and Thanks is also a great way to go. – CLockeWork Feb 07 '14 at 09:52
  • I would have went with thanks or good luck if appropriate to the content of the email. Here 'Best' heavily used in business here, and thus has a formal connotation. Cheers is casual with a hint of warmth. – virtualxtc Feb 07 '14 at 10:09
  • I tend to favour Cheers and Thanks in work, personaly I find Regards too formal. – CLockeWork Feb 07 '14 at 10:15
  • @CLockeWork I'll end a message with thanks, but still close with regards as I often feel the need to convey respect when talking to other scientists, and thanks on it's own can come across as presumptuous and terse. – virtualxtc Feb 07 '14 at 21:31
  • I agree; it's very much down to who you're talking to. I tend towards Thanks when my email is asking for something, though dependant on how much and I'm asking for, and from whom, I may use Thank you instead. – CLockeWork Feb 10 '14 at 09:22

2 Answers2

5

How about something on the lines of

"Looking forward to doing business with you

With Kind Regards

Your name"

Or maybe "Best Regards".

Consider looking at this list for some nice suggestions.

Pravesh Parekh
  • 1,805
  • 2
  • 15
  • 35
1

Be careful when greeting across cultures. Many years ago, I was learning German. My prof told me that "Wie gehts?" was replacing the more formal "Wie geht es Ihnen?", especially among close acquaintances. Soon after, I happened to visit my "uncle" (really, a close family friend), who emigrated to the U.S. from Germany as a teen soon after WWII. I greeted him with a jaunty "Wie gehts?", hoping to impress him with my slick German. He was mortified! After growling something in German, he informed me that "Wie gehts?" was a greeting that only very low-class Germans would use, and that using it with one's uncle was insulting. (Ach, those class-conscious Germans!)

My point is, even when you think you know the culture, I would err on the side of formality for a first email. Your greetings can gradually get less formal as you trade correspondence.

dmm
  • 3,579
  • 12
  • 26