Data security is rarely at the top of a new business pitch. But new research suggests it should be.
Our large-scale survey of 3,000 founders, executives, and IT leaders at small and medium-sized businesses across six countries — the US, UK, Brazil, France, Germany, and Japan — found that security has moved firmly into commercial conversation.
As many as 66% of business leaders said demonstrating secure handling of client data was “very important” or “critically important” to winning new business.
Part of what’s driving this shift is exposure. Data breaches often involve a third party — suppliers, vendors, hosting partners, or outsourced IT support. When a business works with you, they’re aware they’re trusting you with their data. Because if that data is breached on your watch, their reputation is on the line too.
Does security deserve a slide or two in your next pitch deck? Here’s what the data shows.
Clients are asking how you’ll protect their data
When a prospective client shares customer records, financial data, internal documents or any other sensitive data with you, they retain responsibility for it. Regulators, their own customers, and their board still hold them accountable.
A breach in your systems can trigger their compliance obligations, damage their customer relationships, and put their brand in the headlines. It makes sense, then, that businesses are asking harder questions before signing.
More than half of respondents in the UK (62.6%), Germany (61%), and the US (60%) said prospective clients ask about their data security practices “often” or “always” before agreeing to work with them.
If you have a clear, confident answer, there’s your opening. Without it, expect more questions, clearance delays, or — depending on how regulated your prospective client’s industry is — a lost deal.
Security has become one of the primary barometers potential partners use to decide whom to trust.
Your competition is already sharing their security practices
Businesses operating in highly regulated industries — financial services, healthcare, legal — have been ahead of this trend for years. Compliance requirements forced them to document and demonstrate their security posture early. So, they lead with it.
When asked whether they highlight secure file-sharing as a selling point when competing for new business, the overwhelming majority of respondents said yes — 88.2% in the US, 86% in Brazil, 85.2% in the UK, and 79.2% in Germany, either regularly or depending on the client.
France (69%) and Japan (48%) trail behind, but the direction is the same across every market surveyed: businesses are increasingly treating security as something worth leading with, not just something to have.
Proactively presenting your security practices makes you the easy choice. It tells a prospective partner’s IT team that their data will be handled within a defined, auditable framework. It tells the Procurement team that you’ve already done the due diligence they would otherwise have to chase. And it tells the Legal team that the liability question has been thoroughly considered.
That’s the kind of partner risk-averse buyers want to work with.
How to present a convincing data security plan
If you’re reconsidering how to pitch your security practices, here’s where to focus:
- Don’t just list the tools you use. Our research shows 92% of SMBs already have modern security measures in place — password managers, MFA, VPNs, employee training. Tool adoption is the baseline, not the differentiator. Tell prospective clients exactly how these measures protect their data: Instead of “We have a password manager,” say “All our clients credentials are managed centrally, access is role-based and limited to the team members working on your account, and we have an off-boarding process that revokes permissions the day someone leaves.”
- Strengthen your defenses around client data. Use tools that integrate naturally into existing workflows so that the secure option is the easy option. Enforce MFA across every service that supports it. Maintain and audit your credential management process regularly.
- Be prepared to show your data protection plan. As regulatory scrutiny of vendor relationships increases across industries, clients are asking more specific questions: Where does our data live? How is it encrypted? What happens to it when the relationship ends? The businesses that have clear, documented answers to these questions move through procurement faster and create fewer reasons for a client’s legal team to pause.
Security can help you build trust with businesses — and, so often, trust is what procurement decisions are made on. Use your data security practices to differentiate yourself and you’ll start seeing the results in faster deal cycles, smoother approvals, and stronger client relationships.
Get more findings and insights in the full report
Our complete Proton SMB Cybersecurity Report 2026 covers the reality of the security and threat landscape facing SMBs today, including what’s actually causing breaches despite heavy investment, where human error keeps slipping through, how cloud and AI are opening new blind spots — and the strategies to turn your security stack into something clients trust and competitors can’t easily match.
