Read the Room. Close Any Deal. examines a pattern that costs UK businesses more than most owners realise: deals that stall for reasons that were never really about price or terms, and offshore hires that underperform for reasons that were never really about skill. In both cases, the underlying cause is the same — a gap in reading people and context accurately, known as cultural intelligence (CQ).

This session brings together Zahida Omar, Director of Axis Consulting, and Kemka Emereole, Founder of SpecifiVA, to unpack that connection and equip attendees with a practical way to close the gap. Zahida introduces the CQ framework, Drive, Knowledge, Strategy and Action,  using real deal case studies and a live “Read the Room” table activity to show how misreading a client, partner, or market is one of the most common, and most preventable, reasons international business relationships stall. Kemka then applies the same framework to a decision that growing businesses face constantly: building capacity through offshore and remote talent. Drawing on direct experience placing and integrating offshore teams for UK SMEs, she shows why the hires that succeed are the ones where this skill is built in deliberately from day one, not left to chance.

Attendees leave with a practical framework they can apply immediately to sales conversations and team-building decisions alike, a business growth scorecard, and a clear next step for building the skill, and the team, their growth depends on. The session is directly relevant to any UK business owner looking to close more deals, retain talent, and reduce the cost and risk of getting either wrong.