Nikita Balanov on Enterprise Sales and the Baltic Advantage
When you listen to Nikita Balanov talk about sales, you notice something fast. He is not obsessed with tricks. He is obsessed with basics done at a very high level.
Nikita is Head of Baltics at “Brite Payments” and previously Enterprise Account Executive at “Deel”. Before that he sold everything from internet sticks in shopping malls to tech solutions for global startups. As he puts it, “I kind of did it all. B2C, B2B, shopping malls, tech startups. The industries change, but the sales basics remain.”
Enterprise sales is a different animal
For Nikita, selling to enterprises is a completely different sport from selling to small companies.
“With SMBs it is usually one person. You just have to get the pitch and the value right. With enterprise, you never have one decision maker,” he says. “You have to make sure you are communicating the right information to the right people at the right time. And it all needs to stay aligned.”
He starts high on purpose. A classic move for him at “Brite Payments” is to write the chief executive and say something like, “Should I speak with you about payments, or should I first talk to your specialists and then come back to you?” That simple question gives him a map of the real power structure.
Champions are non negotiable. “If you do not have champions in a complex case, it is very hard to make a sale,” Nikita says. But he is realistic about what champions can and cannot do. “The worst thing that can happen is somebody else selling for you in front of the board.” So he tries to be in the room when big decisions are made, or at least to equip the champion with tight, clear material, not a folder full of vague decks.
Why honesty closes more than it loses
Nikita is very direct on one point. If the product is not ready, say it.
“Sometimes you are pitching and you know you do not have those features yet,” he explains. “If you hide it, you end up in a very frustrating situation for everyone.”
His alternative is simple and rare. Tell the prospect, “We are building this, it may take three to six months. Do you want me to keep you updated or do you prefer to look for something that fits you better right now”
Executives notice this. Even if they do not buy today, they remember the rep who respected their time and did not oversell. “They will respect that you respect their time,” Nikita says. “And maybe they will not buy from you now, but they might send you a friend who will.”
Cold calling is back
In a world full of automated sequences and copy pasted LinkedIn messages, Nikita sees an old skill making a real comeback.
“Cold calling is standing out again,” he says. “Everybody is sending automated outreach that is very generic. If you do proper research, pick up the phone, and call, you have a huge advantage.”
At “Deel” he saw this play out in real numbers. While most of the market leaned into mass sequences, the teams that combined research with calls were winning attention and deals. “I have massive respect for SDRs who still do it,” he adds. “They have a huge advantage right now in the market if they are good at it.”
Startups as the most fun buyers
Of all segments, Nikita has a soft spot for startups.
“Selling to startups is my favourite thing,” he admits. “There is a lot of enthusiasm. I am an emotional person, so high energy connects with me.”
But he is careful not to rely only on that energy. “You have to make sure there is actual value behind your enthusiasm,” he says. It is not enough to be excited about your product. The founder has to see clearly how it saves time, money, or risk in their world. Otherwise they are just buying your mood for thirty minutes, not your product for three years.
Building a sales community in Estonia
Nikita is not only selling for “Brite Payments”. He is also building “Perform8”, a sales community in Estonia.
“I was going to all sorts of events. Business, marketing, startup. But there was nothing for salespeople,” he recalls. “We talk a lot at work, but we were missing a place to talk to each other.”
“Perform8” runs monthly offline events in Tallinn, bringing together local reps, leaders, and more and more expats. Topics range from discovery calls to AI tools to self serve trends. The core idea is simple. Learn together and raise the bar for the whole region.
“We have a lot of talented people in Estonia and in the Baltics,” Nikita says. “But many foreign companies still assume that high level sales has to be done by someone in the US or the UK. We want to prove that is not the only option.”
He also sees “Perform8” as a way to support international talent who move into the region. A real place to meet founders, sales leaders, and peers who actually understand what they do all day.
How to avoid losing deals at the board stage
Nikita is very familiar with the sentence that makes every seller nervous. “I like it, but I have to take this to the board.”
His advice is to stay involved instead of sitting and hoping. “Ask how you can support. Ask if you can join that meeting,” he says. “If they say yes, you can answer questions live and not stretch the process for months.”
If he cannot join, he does everything he can to arm his champion. Clear numbers. Short business case. Crisp answers to likely finance questions. And then he accepts something most do not want to admit. Sometimes the timing or internal politics just will not go your way. No tool solves that.
The one mindset shift he wants every seller to make
The most personal thing Nikita shares is not a tactic. It is a decision.
He sees too many reps sitting still. “A lot of people stay five or ten years in the same place,” he says. “They are not developing. They are not learning. They are waiting for something to change. For the manager to change. For the structure to change. For next year.”
His advice is blunt. “If the mountain is not coming to you, you have to go to the mountain,” he says. If the company, role, or manager is blocking your growth, move. Even if the next step is not perfect, you learn something about yourself and what you want.
Under all of this, his idea of sales is very human. “Just be a normal human being,” Nikita repeats. Respond on time. Respect the other person’s goals. Speak clearly. Tell the truth about what you can and cannot do.
The tech stack, the channels, and the titles keep changing. For Nikita Balanov, the rules do not.
