Aivaras Janušauskas, Head of B2B Commerce at Telia Lithuania, brings nearly two decades of know-how in sales, marketing, and business strategy. Before joining Telia in early 2024, he spent over 11 years at Swedbank. At Telia, Aivaras oversees B2B sales strategy, ensuring that the company’s sales teams have the right tools, support, and market positioning to drive growth.
What do you do at Telia—what’s your job like from day to day?
I’m heading the B2B commerce team who is primarily responsible for setting sales targets and then providing full sales support to our direct salespeople. We have distinction between services: one is face-to-face, where we have dedicated managers, and the other is SOHO/SME, which is more or less a remote service handling inbound and outbound communication with customers.
Together with the marketing team, my team prepares sales and marketing offers, and we also invest heavily in marketing and brand awareness for our larger B2B customers. We organise a lot of customer meetings and events—some related to our products, others focused on broader market trends like artificial intelligence or sustainability.
We act as the sales middle office, providing targets, materials, and support to the salespeople so they can deliver results. If needed, we also develop special pricing strategies and marketing campaigns, though the final execution of marketing efforts falls under our marketing colleagues.
In many organisations, the cooperation between sales and marketing is a challenge. There’s often blame-shifting—sales thinks they’re the ones bringing in revenue, while marketing is seen as just spending money. Can you elaborate on how sales and marketing collaborate at Telia?
I can speak for B2B. In our case, we’re lucky because we have highly competent colleagues in the marketing team and we have clearly split responsibilities between commerce and marketing.
We conducted in-depth exercises, led by the marketing team, with our frontline —discussing our brand promise, our positioning within the Lithuanian B2B community, and how we "walk the talk."
Traditionally, B2B people don’t care much about marketing—it’s usually seen as more relevant for retail and mass market services. But in the past few years, we’ve established a clear understanding of marketing’s value within our sales team. It’s not just about campaigns or customer satisfaction surveys; it’s about strengthening our image and defining how we want to be perceived by our customers.
We conducted in-depth exercises, led by the marketing team, with our frontline —discussing our brand promise, our positioning within the Lithuanian B2B community, and how we "walk the talk." These were time-consuming but valuable efforts that now guide our communication and reinforce our image through live customer events.
Well, Telia is a very strong and well-known consumer brand as well. Do you see any differences in how business people—B2B customers—perceive the campaigns you target at the general public? How do you ensure that the Telia brand image for consumers and B2B customers is aligned, or are there any differences at all?
One way we align things is through our marketing campaigns. When we launch them, we often take a B2X approach—meaning both B2B and B2C—since it is more efficient. Just adding a ribbon that says, "For businesses too," or "Also for B2B," and that helps us save resources while keeping a consistent brand image.
Within the B2B community, we are quite well-known especially when it comes to reliability and quality. Our customers understand that we are more than just a telco provider offering mobile services, fixed voice, or fixed internet. We are also a strong IT service provider. We manage our customers’ IT infrastructure, have our own data centres, and hold a strong position in cloud services.
Five years ago, it was a challenge to get customers to attend our events when we talked about more than just mobile and internet services. Now, they know what to expect from us—it’s no longer just about connectivity.
A major shift has been in changing the perception that we are just a traditional telecom company. We’ve heavily invested in positioning ourselves as an IT partner, and now we’re seeing the dividends. Five years ago, it was a challenge to get customers to attend our events when we talked about more than just mobile and internet services. Now, they know what to expect from us—it’s no longer just about connectivity, and it’s much easier to engage them. The ice has been broken.
Speaking of events and all the content you create for B2B, what’s your strategy when it comes to webinars, podcasts, and live events?
It all depends on our sales targets and where we want to place a stronger push among our salespeople. For example, last year, we made a strategic decision to focus heavily on cybersecurity. So, all our IT service-related webinars—eight in total—were intertwined with cybersecurity themes.
And it paid off. Two years ago, everyone was talking about cybersecurity, but nobody wanted to pay for it—until the moment of actual breach.. Then it was, Save me! I don’t care how much it costs! But last year, we started seeing a real shift—businesses began opening their wallets and investing in security before the crisis happened.
Last year we organised ICT events across Lithuania’s 5 major cities and there were customers who had been hacked sharing their experiences. Having specific examples amplifies the message compared to just a formal service provider presentation. When we decide to push a certain topic, we align all our efforts—webinars, live events, customer communications, and media coverage—so that the message is clear and consistent. And we see the results.
But in the cybersecurity space, and even more broadly in IT, there are so many webinars—countless competitors, both local and international, offering free content all the time. Realistically, someone could spend their entire week just watching webinars. So how do you make sure yours stands out?
We take a personal approach. If you were my customer, I’d be your key account manager, and one of the things we train our people to do is sell webinars—not just send a generic invite. We actively ask customers if they’re interested by explaining the topics covered and why they might be relevant. This private approach makes a difference.
We have a solid B2B customer base, so there is a direct channel to inform the right people. After a webinar or live event, we provide sales teams and key account managers with data on which customers attended. Then, we follow up—was it useful, any questions, any next steps? If it’s a live event, our account managers are always present.
With B2B, especially larger customers, relationships matter. That’s why, four years ago, we invested in training our salespeople on how to behave at live events—not just standing in a corner with a name tag. We ensure there’s a structure: managers and directors personally greet customers, thank them for coming, and introduce them to key people. Account managers mingle and engage, while product specialists are available to answer technical questions in normal language—not buried in technical jargon. It’s like a buzzing beehive, but with structure. And customers appreciate that—it’s not just “buy, buy, buy.” It’s a real engagement, where they feel valued.
What’s the average attendance rate for your webinars?
It’s relatively low—around 20 to 30 percent. Compare that to our live events, where we see attendance rates of about 65 to 70 percent.
What’s your ideal customer profile? These days, decision-making isn’t just in the hands of one person. Research shows that buying committees are expanding—it’s no longer just one boss saying, “I choose Telia or Tele2.” Instead, six, eight, or even more people are involved in the decision. How do you manage that?
This ties back to our brand promise and how we position ourselves in the B2B market. We emphasise quality and being a one-stop shop for ICT services—whether it’s connectivity, IT infrastructure, or advanced tech solutions.
Our ideal customer is someone who recognises Telia as a partner, not just a service provider.
Our ideal customer is someone who trusts us and sees the value we create. They might only use our mobility services or have just a small internet connection with us, or they might have half their IT infrastructure managed by our team. But what matters is that they don’t see Telia as just a faceless corporate machine. They don’t feel like a case number lost in a system. Instead, they recognise Telia as a partner, not just a service provider.
This is a crucial shift because, in the Baltic market, mobility services have become a price-driven, cutthroat game. To grab market share, many providers just lower prices. Customers follow the discounts—but it’s short-lived because, in the end, you have to deliver.
How do you find out who the decision-maker is within an organisation?
If it's a small company, internal CRM shows who represents the company or you just check https://rekvizitai.vz.lt/, which is publicly available, and you’ll usually find the key person there. In the case of a dedicated key account manager, we train them to go beyond that. They need to know who they are meeting—whether it’s the technical director, an administrative director, or just an assistant to the managing director. More importantly, they must understand the decision-making process within that company, what the key pain points are, and how decisions are actually made.
The bigger the company, the more complex the network and "grapevine" of decision-makers becomes. It’s one thing to know what to do—it’s another to have a structure that ensures continuity. Salespeople come and go, and if a key account manager leaves, we need a system that maintains that customer knowledge. That’s why we’re reinforcing the structure behind it.
Telia operates across the Baltics and also in Scandinavian countries. How different is the Lithuanian B2B sales and marketing approach compared to, say, Estonia or Sweden? How much can you copy from other markets, and how much is unique?
We have commerce and sales management meetings a few times a year, where we exchange experiences, share best practices, and learn from each other. Usually, Lithuanians and Estonians are quite similar in approach. Latvians are also involved, but they focus almost exclusively on mobility and internet services—pure telco. Sharing the lessons learned from different pricing campaigns, competitor moves and the market reaction allows us to broaden our understanding and brings new ideas for future actions.
Estonia has this huge conference—what about Lithuania? Do you have anything similar?
As I mentioned earlier, we host live ICT events where we present the latest industry developments to our customers. But we don’t have a mega event like Estonia.
Instead, we focus on regional events, typically gathering:
60–80 customers in smaller regions
150 in mid-sized cities
200+ in Vilnius
These are our own events, featuring our CTO and other key speakers, followed by networking. Last year, we had five such events across Lithuania. In Estonia, it would be equivalent to hosting events in Tartu, Pärnu, Tallinn.
We also have a VIP customer event, which focuses on strengthening our image as ICT services leader among top Lithuanian companies inviting their CEO/CTO/CFO level participants.
Last year, however, our efforts were heavily impacted by compliance regulations. A new directive—DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act)—came into effect for the banking and financial sector. We saw an opportunity to engage our customers in this area, so we hosted dedicated events explaining how it affects them and how Telia fits into the picture.
One lesson we learned from last year’s VIP event is that when CTOs and CEOs attend the same event, it doesn’t always work. The agenda can’t be tailored to both at the same time.
We’ve intentionally chosen a more exclusive, focused approach. One lesson we learned from last year’s VIP event is that when CTOs and CEOs attend the same event, it doesn’t always work. The agenda can’t be tailored to both at the same time—what’s relevant for a CEO might be too superficial for a CTO, and vice versa.
Business culture has changed a lot. I remember when it was normal to go to a strip club and drink all night at corporate events. In some cultures, you still have to drink a lot to seal the deal.
Today, at formal business events, there’s no alcohol—just soft drinks and small snacks. It’s about content and relationship-building. Later in the evening, at bigger events, there might be a glass of wine, but that’s it.
We’re selective about which events we attend because public events also attract competitors. Why go to an event where our rivals are also hunting for the same customers? Instead, we set our own perimeter for engaging with customers.
What about SMBs? This is an interesting segment—it’s in between private individuals and large enterprises.
We invite the biggest SMBs—the ones with the highest growth potential or those ordering more advanced services. We also identify market opinion leaders—new business owners who are making an impact—and invite them. Key aspect here is relevance to the audience.
But with tens of thousands of SMBs, we can only invite 80-100 per event. So, we have to cherry-pick.
To reach a broader audience, we create:
Short event videos for YouTube
Dedicated SMB content on our website
Small Business Live webinars, where we bring in market experts on topics like Christmas season marketing strategies or alternative financing options beyond traditional banks
In your professional career right now, what’s your biggest challenge? What keeps you up at night?
Two things.
First, regulations. Last year was quite a rollercoaster implementing NIS2 and DORA compliance within the company, now it shifted towards business interactions with customers.
Second, balancing customer expectations within an aggressive pricing market and company profitability requirements. But my job is not just to sell—it’s to sell profitably. Balancing sales growth with profitability is my most important challenge.
How do you increase both market share and profitability? Isn’t that impossible?
No, it’s possible—it just takes time.
Over the last three years, we’ve built a strong foundation within B2B customers. Our mobile coverage, network speed, and track record—including handling NATO projects—have positioned us as leaders in quality. Customers recognise this, and that allows us to grow.