DUMOHome › Guides · Updated · By Kevin Lim, founder of DUMO Innovations
"Got proof or not?": how to reply when a customer doesn't believe you yet
What they meanThe customer wants to say yes but has been burnt before, so they ask for proof.
Ask first"Which part do you doubt most: the saving, the installation time, or the after-sales support? I'll bring proof for that part first."
Then send"You don't have to trust me. Can I use your last three TNB bills and show you the estimate line by line?"
Why the shop owner stopped replying
You quoted a solar system for a shop owner's roof. He has read your quotation, and he replies on WhatsApp:
The most common reply:
Every word of it is a claim, and claims are what the customer just said he doesn't trust. "Many happy customers" can't be checked. "Trust us" asks him to take the same risk he took last time. He says thanks, and you never hear from him again.
Why he is asking for proof
- He has been burnt before. A salesperson promised a number and the real result was smaller. Now he checks everything.
- He wants to buy but needs to justify it. He may have to show his partner or boss why your offer is safe.
- He doesn't believe one particular claim. Often it is a single number: the saving, the delivery date, the warranty.
- He is stalling. Less common. A short, checkable answer shows quickly which of these you are dealing with.
The question is a request for something he can verify. Give him that, and keep it small.
Give him something he can check
✅ Give one specific, similar customer
The customer and numbers in these replies are an example to show how the reply works, not a real DUMO SALES customer. Use only results you can back up.
One real case with a number he can compare to his own situation beats ten adjectives. Saying the real figure, even when it is lower than the headline, is what makes him believe the rest.
✅ Let him check it himself
A calculation on his own bills, a demo, a trial or a reference call moves the proof from your mouth to his hands. Only offer a reference call if that customer has agreed.
✅ Ask what would convince him
You stop guessing which claim he doesn't believe, and he tells you what to prove. The answer is often the real objection.
Copy-paste replies for each kind of doubt
Find out which doubt is behind the question, then send the matching line. Swap in your own product, number and customer, and only use results you can back up.
| They say | Send this |
|---|---|
| Last salesman promised a number and it didn't happen | Fair. What number did they promise? I'll tell you now if we can do it. If not, I'll say so.Name the burn. Honesty about a limit buys more trust than a bigger promise. |
| Your saving number looks too high | Can I run it on your last 3 TNB bills? You check each line yourself.Moves the proof from your mouth to his bills. |
| Need something to show my partner | Sure. I'll send a one-page summary: the number, one similar shop, and the warranty. You can forward it.He now has to justify you to someone else. Give him the page. |
| Never heard of your company | Understood. Want to speak to one customer who has used us? I'll ask first if they're okay to take your call.Ask the reference before you offer them. |
| I just want to see it work first | Can do. Small trial first, then you decide. If it doesn't work, nothing changes for you.A trial is proof he controls. Offer only what you can honour. |
Practise these replies on an AI customer that pushes back. Free trial →
One more check before you send any result: can you show the paper behind it? If not, change the sentence or leave it out.
Three ways to make him trust you less
- Making up a story or a number. Customers talk to each other, and one claim that falls apart ends the deal and your name with it. If you have no result yet, say so and offer a trial or a guarantee you can honour.
- Dumping every certificate and photo at once. A pile of proof looks like you are hiding behind it. Pick the one result that matches this customer.
- Taking it personally. "Are you saying I'm lying?" turns a request for help into a fight. The customer is protecting himself from the last salesperson.
What studies on trust and proof say
No study looks at this exact moment, a customer asking for proof on WhatsApp. The closest work is below, so treat it as a hint and not as proof.
- Trust helps the relationship, but it doesn't win the deal alone. Researchers surveyed more than 200 purchasing managers about how industrial buyers come to trust a supplier and its salesperson. Trust in the supplier firm, and in the salesperson through it, influenced how far the buyer expected to keep dealing with the supplier in future. After the buyer's previous experience and the supplier's performance were counted, trust did not change which supplier they chose for the current order. So proof is a start, not a magic line: show something small they can check, and let the results carry the relationship. This was industrial buying and not WhatsApp quotations. Patricia M. Doney and Joseph P. Cannon, 1997, Journal of Marketing. doi:10.1177/002224299706100203
- Knowing the product and adapting to the customer both go with better sales. A meta-analysis of studies from 1982 to 2008 found five factors linked to sales performance, with selling-related knowledge (β = .28) and degree of adaptiveness (β = .27) among them. Choosing the proof that matches this customer's doubt, and not reciting your whole brochure, is adapting. The study covers sales performance in general and not requests for proof. Willem Verbeke, Bart Dietz and Ernst Verwaal, 2010, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. doi:10.1007/s11747-010-0211-8
- Practising this before it's real helps. A study of 18 B2B salesmen found structured practice helps newer salesmen build expertise (Daniel P. Köhler and Andreas Rausch, 2022, Vocations and Learning, doi:10.1007/s12186-022-09301-y). See how to set up practice for a team.
Practise it before a real customer
DUMO SALES is an AI sales coach for Malaysian teams. Your salesmen practise replies like "got proof or not?" on their phone, with an AI customer built from your own products and prices. The customer stays doubtful if you only repeat your claims, and opens up when you give something specific they can check. After each session, DUMO SALES analyses the conversation, scores it across 8 dimensions and coaches you on the line that decided the deal. Managers get a data-driven view of who needs coaching and which objections the team keeps losing on.
FAQ
What do I say when a customer asks "got proof or not?"?
Don't repeat your claim. Give one specific result from a customer like them (what they did, what changed, in numbers if you have them), offer a way for them to check it themselves, such as a short trial, a demo or a call with that customer, and then ask what else they would need to see. Only use results you can back up.
What if I am new and don't have any customer stories yet?
Say so, then give them something to check instead of something to believe. Offer a small paid or free trial, a written guarantee you can honour, or a demo on their own numbers. Never invent a story or borrow another company's results. Customers often ask around, and one wrong claim costs you the deal.
Is "got proof or not?" a sign the customer wants to buy?
Often yes. Someone who asks for proof is thinking about how to say yes safely, and usually has been burnt by a salesperson before. A customer who has already decided against you rarely bothers to ask. Treat it as a request for help, not an attack.