DUMOHome › Guides · Updated · By Kevin Lim, founder of DUMO Innovations
"Last salesman said the same": how to reply when a customer has been burnt before
What they meanHe isn't saying no. He has heard this pitch before, it went wrong after he paid, and he is checking whether you will repeat it.
Ask first"What exactly did he promise, and what happened after the installation? I want to be sure I don't repeat it."
Then send"I'll put the service reply time in the quotation, and you pay the last 30% only after it has run properly for 30 days."
Why the hardware shop owner went cold
You quoted a CCTV and alarm package for a hardware shop. The owner has read it and replies on WhatsApp:
The most common reply:
"We are different" is the sentence the last salesman used. "Very fast" and "guaranteed" are words with nothing behind them, and you skipped past the three weeks he spent waiting. He replies "okay, I think about it first", and the chat stops.
What he is really telling you
- The last deal broke after the sale. The installation, the service visit or an extra charge. That is the part you are now asking him to trust again.
- He is comparing promises. Yours sounds the same as the last one, so it is worth the same to him. Price comes later.
- He wants to be asked. Most salesmen go straight back to the pitch. Nobody asked him what happened.
- He is watching how you react. If you defend yourself or run down the other company, you look like the same kind of salesman.
- It can be a polite no. One honest question shows quickly which one you have.
Ask what happened, then make it checkable
The shop, the customer and every number in these replies are an example to show how the reply works, not a real DUMO SALES customer. Only promise what your company can honour.
✅ Ask what he was promised and what happened
Let him finish, and don't guess who it was or defend the other company. His answer tells you whether he is angry about a promise that was broken or about a product that failed, and the next sentence depends on which one it is.
✅ Say what you can't promise
A limit you state yourself is more believable than "guaranteed". Check the numbers with your service team before you send them, because a promise you miss is the same story again.
✅ Keep the risk on your side
He no longer has to believe you, he can check. The cost to him is nothing and the cost to you is a short wait for the last payment. Offer terms only after your boss has agreed to them.
Copy-paste replies for each thing that went wrong
Find out what went wrong last time, then send the matching line. Swap in your own product, terms and numbers.
| They say | Send this |
|---|---|
| He promised service, then nobody came | That is the part I'll fix first. If the camera goes offline on Sunday, who do you call? I'll put a name, a number and a reply time in the quotation.Answer the exact failure. A named person on paper is more believable than "fast service". |
| He quoted one price, then added charges | I'll send the quotation line by line, with "nothing else to pay" written at the bottom. Anything missing from the list, we cover.He fears surprises. Remove them in writing. |
| He disappeared after I paid | Then let's pay in stages. Part on installation, the rest after 30 days of it working. You hold the last part until then.Hands him the control that he lost last time. |
| All salesmen say the same thing | True, and you can't tell from words. What is one thing I could put in writing that would make you feel safer?Agrees with him, then asks what he needs. Often the real worry. |
| It wasn't what he showed me | Fair. Can I install one unit at your shop for a week first, so you see the real thing before you decide?Only offer a trial you can honour. |
Practise these replies on an AI customer that pushes back. Free trial →
The four-line promise sheet
Before you send the quotation, fill these four lines for this customer. If you can't fill one honestly, don't promise it. The example lines are invented, so write your own.
- What he heard last time: "One day install, free service anytime."
- What I can honestly promise: "Installed in 2 working days. Reply within 4 working hours."
- Who he calls: Name, WhatsApp number and service hours, printed on the quotation.
- What he keeps if I miss: The last 30% of the payment until it is fixed.
Three ways to sound like the last salesman
- Saying "we are different" or "we are the best". It is the sentence he has already heard. Show one thing that is different, in writing.
- Running down the other company. You don't know the full story, and he may still like part of what he bought. It also makes you look like the kind of salesman who talks about others instead of listening.
- Promising more to win him back. A bigger promise in the same words he doesn't believe makes it worse. Promise less, and write it down.
What studies say about winning trust back
No study looks at a customer who was let down by one salesman and now meets another. The closest work is below, so treat it as a hint and not as proof.
- The right answer to a broken trust depends on what broke. Two studies tested how to repair trust after an alleged violation. Trust recovered better when the accused party apologised for a failure of competence and denied blame for a charge about integrity, and apologised when evidence of guilt appeared later but denied blame when evidence of innocence did. The study is about the party who broke the trust, not a new salesman after another, so use it for one point: find out whether he lived through a service that was not good enough or a promise that was not kept, before you answer. Peter H. Kim, Donald L. Ferrin, Cecily D. Cooper and Kurt T. Dirks, 2004, Journal of Applied Psychology. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.89.1.104
- Feedback works when it names the exact line. A meta-analysis of 607 effect sizes found feedback improved performance on average (d = .41), but more than a third of it made performance worse, and it worked less well the more it pulled attention toward the self and away from the task. After a practice chat, "you got defensive" teaches less than "this sentence repeated what he said he had heard". Avraham N. Kluger and Angelo DeNisi, 1996, Psychological Bulletin. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254
- Experts practised on harder problems step by step. Interviews with 18 B2B salesmen, picked by their colleagues as experts, linked their expertise to deliberate practice at work (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 "the last salesman said the same" on their phone, with an AI customer built from your own products and prices. The customer stays guarded if you only say you are different, and opens up when you ask what happened and offer something he 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 tells me "the last salesman said the same"?
Don't say you are different. Ask what he was promised and what actually happened, say what you cannot promise, then put the one promise he cares about in writing with a first step that keeps the risk on your side, such as paying the last part only after it works.
Should I criticise the previous salesman or company?
No. You don't know the full story, the customer may still like parts of that company, and attacking someone else makes you sound like the same kind of salesman. Ask what happened, listen, and answer with what you will do differently, in writing.
What if I can't offer staged payment or written service terms?
Offer the smallest thing you can honour: a named contact and reply time in the quotation, a short trial, a site visit before he pays, or a reference he can call (with that customer's agreement). Never promise what your company won't do, and check terms with your boss before you offer them.