Here's an uncomfortable idea for any B2B business competing for a high-value deal: your biggest competitor may not be a better business. It may simply be one that's easier to believe.

That's the starting point for the second year of the Trust Advantage research from Emmett & Churchman, which surveyed 200 senior technology decision-makers and sat down with 19 CEOs making real, high-stakes buying decisions. The finding: capable businesses lose deals constantly, not for lack of capability, but because of what the research calls the commercial credibility gap, the distance between what a business can deliver and what a buyer can see, believe and defend.

Joel is joined by Lorraine Emmett, founder and managing director of Emmett & Churchman and the lead author of the research, to unpack why 45% of senior buyers say they've ruled out a supplier for failing to prove its credibility, and what leadership teams can do to close the gap in their own business.

Download the 'Trust Advantage' report here: https://emmettandchurchman.com/trust/

What you'll learn

• What the commercial credibility gap actually is, and why it explains lost deals that looked like safe wins on paper.
• The three questions buyers are really asking of every supplier, and which one businesses most consistently fail to answer.
• Why a frank discussion of limitations and risk can build more trust than a flawless pitch.
• What a smaller or less recognised B2B business can do to compete credibly against a better-known incumbent.
• The first practical step for any leadership team that wants to close this gap in its own business.

Chapters

• Introduction: the commercial credibility gap
• Why Emmett & Churchman ran this research for a second year
• The three questions every buyer is asking: can I see it, believe it, defend it
• Why “can I see it” is the one businesses fail most
• Overpromising versus candour: the biggest destroyer of trust
• The human side of commercial negotiation
• Equipping your champion: evidence that travels beyond the room
• Challenger opportunity: why 57% would choose a trusted smaller supplier
• Reframing commercial credibility as a leadership issue
• The CEO commercial credibility test
• Closing thought: where to start closing the gap

Follow Lorraine Emmett

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorraineemmett-b2b-strategic-comms/
• Emmett & Churchman: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emmett-churchman/home/

Closing boilerplate

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