When you do something you love, everything seems to fall into place. Giovanni is our SME Team Lead in the Sales team who knows everything about finding your direction and going the extra mile for the job you love. 

We asked Giovanni how he realized sales was his calling, what it’s like to work in an international team, and why he chose Interactio. 

Discovering your passions

Finding your life calling is all about decisions and directions. I think about it as a metaphor: you drop a pin on a map for a position you want to be in and say to yourself, "I want to go there!" Then, the path may be challenging, but the direction is set.

It's like you're dropped in a jungle, and you know where to get out, but you don’t know how to get there yet. The moment we decide where we're going is essential for becoming who we want to be.

Languages and sales

There were two vital discoveries that I made before starting my sales career. 

One was my love for languages. When I was doing my studies, I moved to France for an Erasmus program and realized that I have a talent for languages. It wasn't just love but rather a never-ending curiosity about them. I was even considering becoming an interpreter myself, but life had different plans. 

One day, I read about a one-year Master's course on International Marketing, where the second epiphany occurred. I discovered I actually love sales! And that point was a turning one for me as I understood that sales are my vocation. It's more than a profession. There will always be a salesman behind whatever I do in my life. 

Exploring Lithuania

After I came to that discovery about my two passions, I took a step back and started from a complete scratch career-wise. I always knew I would live in a different place than my home country of Italy, and I eventually ended up in Lithuania, following my wife. Two years into my life here, I discovered the vibrant and promising IT startup sector that I was immediately drawn to. My friend pointed out Interactio to me, and it was a match on all levels. 

Finding a place in Interactio

In May 2020, I joined at the beginning of Interactio we know today. What was Interactio at the time? I have a couple of images to give you an idea. Every week, for example, we had a meeting where we would all share how our week was going. It wouldn’t take more than one hour. Now, it would take days to listen to all 250+ people. In July, we also had a yearly party in Klaipeda on a boat with no more than 40 people. We'd need a whole cruise ship now!

We witnessed the start of the industry disruption and the rise of RSI, and the team followed with numbers, quality, and love for the mission. Yet one thing remained the same: Interactio is a place full of trust, space, and shared values.

I started as an Account Executive. In 7 months, I became a Senior Account Executive, working with mid-size corporate clients. During my very first days, I remember a meeting with Simona, our Co-Founder, and she asked me, "Giovanni, where would you like to grow in general?" 

It had always been a dream of mine to lead a team, and I felt that Interactio was the place for me to grow into that position. So it happened! I was promoted to SME (Small-Medium Enterprises) Team Lead, leading a multi-cultural and multi-country team. Their love and dedication make me smile every day.

I am a foreigner in Lithuania, and when working at other companies here, I’ve always felt like locals looked past me. A Lithuanian would usually be the preferred person, no matter my skills and goals. I remember a phrase by Simona that changed my life. "Sometimes, I forget that you are from a different place at all," she said. And she meant it! 

This was so meaningful to me because I was finally evaluated and looked at as a professional, no matter if I'm Lithuanian, Ukrainian, or Italian. I was considered a professional willing to contribute as best as possible.

Uncovering sales

Why do I like sales? We share a job title with other people in this company – developers. There are software developers, and there are business developers. What I love about my profession, a "life calling," if you will, is creativity. 

Selling is creating

Why? People might say, "You're always selling the same product. What's creative about that?" One of my previous colleagues' best advice was, "This product doesn't exist." RSI is software that disappears when I close my laptop. I don't go to a shop to buy it, I don't touch it or see it. The process of selling RSI is creating it with a client. 

Creating the experience they will have is why I like working in tech and SaaS. Sales might seem transactional: a client asks for something, I provide it, and they give me the money. But it's nothing like that here. My work is to understand what that experience means and how we as a company can meet those expectations. In terms of a broad picture, not just using Interactio for one's meeting today, but how can we empower our clients and make their lives better.

Selling is helping

Building the future together with clients and helping them is the key. I don't want to be too romantic, but people were greatly affected by all this revolution we experienced due to COVID and the transition to remote. People are saying that screens are making all of us sick, and the psychological impact of the pandemic is overwhelming. I myself have spoken with people who have experienced this. 

For me, it's crucial to convey the human layer that is behind the tech and the software. Thanks to Interactio, I think I am doing my part by addressing that problem of the post-pandemic world. I am the person who helps clients overcome this challenge of remote fatigue, language barriers, and interpretation. I am that person a client can rely on and call when they have problems, want to brainstorm an idea, and need someone to make it happen exactly how they envision it. 

We play with ideas and problems. I live for problems! This is what I like about sales.

Selling is connecting

I’m also an extrovert, so connecting with people is a big part of sales. I will definitely sound like a salesman saying this, but I love people. Whatever story they have to tell or the life situation they're in, I am curious to just sit for an hour and listen to their story. It's a blessing. The fact that I can do it in many languages is one of the most empowering things in the world. 

As I said, it all wouldn’t happen without a company full of trust and space to discover yourself and be seen for who you are, not what you represent. There is a place for everyone with passion and a shared vision in Interactio.