The promise currently outruns the evidence behind it
Credibility
What this means
The claimed result is material, but what supports it is closer to assertion or general reputation than to evidence the specific buyer can apply to themselves.
Why it matters commercially
Buyers who find the promise attractive still cannot justify the decision internally, so they stall rather than object. Hesitation shows up as silence, not as a stated reason.
Recommended intervention
Build a self-evidencing step in front of the sale: a diagnostic, a measured baseline, a bounded pilot, a demonstration using the buyer's own data, or objective milestones.
Why this has leverage
Evidence the buyer can verify on their own data raises Credibility and lowers perceived risk (contingent Cost) at the same time — without changing the promise.
Missing information
Outcome data from comparable customers, and whether any current buyer has verified the result themselves.
Double-counting check
Counted once, under Credibility. The delivery burden it implies is handled separately under Cost.