The Brief Ep 20: Fight the FOMU – tapping into the emotion behind B2B relationships

We’ve all felt FOMU (the Fear of Messing Up) – but the emotions that drive B2B purchases are often overlooked and misunderstood. The result? $80billion of B2B deals in legal arbitration and missed opportunities.

In this episode, we’re joined by Asli Yilmaz, Managing Counsel, at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Mimi Turner, Head of Marketplace Innovation at LinkedIn, and Gideon Wilkins, EVP Commercial Intelligence at Truth Central, to discuss the uncomfortable truth about emotion in B2B relationships and the key opportunities and challenges for marketers.

We’ll dive into the eye-opening research by ICC, JusConnect and McCann, as well as LinkedIn’s findings on buyability.

What we cover in the episode

• Why emotion is so important in B2B
• Why B2B decisions are 2X more emotional than consumer decisions
• Burger vs steak – the scale of risk
• The emotional rollercoaster of B2B
• Is fear really the key emotion in B2B buying? Orare we more worried about the fear of messing up?
• The rise of AI in B2B decision making
• The role of ‘defensibility’ and trust
• Preparing your ‘prenup’ and facing awkward conversations
• Connecting with the right emotion at the right time

The research

Learn more about the ICC and McCann's research here.

Learn more about LinkedIn's research here.

About the speakers

Asli Yilmaz is Managing Counsel at the ICC InternationalCourt of Arbitration, where she oversees the work of 13 case management teams, including five overseas offices. In this role, she is part of the leadership team leading strategic operations, resolves high-level procedural and institutional issues, and helps shape the ICC’s global approach to arbitration.

Before taking on this leadership position, Asli served asCounsel for the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East team at the ICC Secretariat, managing hundreds of arbitration cases and reviewing arbitral awards across a wide range of industries and jurisdictions.

Her legal career prior to the ICC spans international law firms in Istanbul, Paris, and New York in the disputes sector. She holds a law degree from the University of Warwick and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. Asli is admitted to practice in both Istanbul and New York, and works in English, Turkish, German, and French.

Mimi Turner is a brand-builder and strategist with a track record of delivering transformational outcomes in media, marketing and politics. She joined LinkedIn as Head of EMEA and Lat Am of LinkedIn’s marketing strategy think-tank, The B2B Institute, in August 2021 and in 2024became head of Marketplace Innovation for LinkedIn. She has led IP creation on marketing and advertising including on the Harvard Business Review featured research The Right Way To Build Your Brand. Previously, she was Director of Strategy, Messaging and Research at the Liberal Democrats, the first Marketing Director of The LAD Bible Group, and Marketing Director of The Health Lottery. Mimi was special advisor to The Cairncross Review, the government inquiry into the future of high-quality journalism. She began her career as a science journalist with the Sunday Times and the Times newspapers.

Gideon Wilkins is EVP of Commercial Intelligence at McCann Truth Central, McCann Worldgroup’s global intelligence unit. He leads research on B2B audiences, brands and thought leadership that help businesses connect insight to impact. Gideon has worked across global B2B and B2C projects with a focus on the emotional and cultural forces that shape decision-making.
His recent work, The Truth About B2B Relationships, produced with the International Chamber of Commerce and Jus Connect, challenges the assumption that B2B is purely rational and has been presented at international conferences and published as a series of white papers shaping global best practice.