Chief Sales Officers: How to Get Customers to Come to You
Ainar Nurk, Chief Sales Officer at Nexi Group, argues that in today’s distrustful climate, trust is the decisive currency of B2B growth, demanding company-wide transparency, realistic promises, and long-term value over quick wins. He explains how Nexi’s culture, rooted in responsible commitments and continuous feedback, converts credibility into lasting customer loyalty. His blend of lifelong learning and outside interests models the personal discipline that reinforces professional excellence.
Trust is no longer a feel-good aspiration, but it is the hard currency that determines whether prospects reach out or walk away. Ainar Nurk, Chief Sales Officer at Nexi Group, leads one of Europe’s largest payment providers and views trust as the prime lever that converts tentative interest into committed partnerships. In this conversation, Ainar explains why every employee from onboarding to testing must own a share of the credibility equation.
“Everyone must understand their role and the value they bring to the customer. If you cannot deliver a service, do not promise it. Instead, tell the customer, ‘If we cannot help, I know someone who can.’ The goal is always the best solution for the customer.” – Ainar Nurk
Key Takeaways:
- Trust, when woven through every customer touchpoint, turns the exhausting grind of outbound prospecting into a dependable flow of inbound opportunities that arrive already confident in a supplier’s integrity.
- Networking, approached as a lifelong discipline rather than a quarterly KPI, compounds relationship equity and ultimately shortens sales cycles while lowering acquisition costs.
- Transparent guidance, even when it includes recommending a competitor, fosters a reputation for honesty that ultimately wins more deals in the long run than any promise made solely to close business today.
Listen to the full podcast or watch it on YouTube directly below.
Article: “Chief Sales Officers: How to Get Customers to Come to You”
From a podcast interview with Ainar Nurk, Chief Sales Officer at Nexi Group
Trust Is the New Currency
Trust has to precede every demo and proposal. “We sell software solutions, and that is more complicated than selling a ready-made product. Trust has to be built long before launch.” Ainar believes clarity about limits and capabilities stops misunderstandings before they start. By spelling out precisely what will happen once the platform is live and inviting customers to validate that picture, Nexi removes the fog that often clouds complex payment deals.
“Everyone must understand their role and the value they bring to the customer,” he adds, insisting that honest guidance sometimes means pointing a prospect elsewhere. That principled stance signals reliability in a market where uncertainty is high and patience is scarce. When buyers can visualize success and feel the supplier’s integrity, commitment follows quickly and lasts longer.
Balancing Short- and Long-Term Wins
Targets still matter, yet they do not override credibility. “We have the same KPIs. Targets we must hit annually and quarterly,” Ainar reminds his team, but he keeps promises tethered to operational reality. Overloading onboarding would “bring too many customers into the queue, you will be in trouble because you cannot onboard them all,” so prospects are prioritized by fit, readiness, and downstream capacity.
This disciplined triage protects delivery quality while satisfying quarterly revenue goals. When sales leaders demonstrate that sustainable growth and integrity reinforce each other, the entire business learns to resist shortcuts that damage both reputation and margin.
From Network Building to Inbound Momentum
Early in his career, Ainar cold-messaged executives night after night; now “good connections generate inbound sales,” and his inbox fills daily without a single outbound call. He credits that reversal to years of treating networking as an investment rather than a chore. “Networking often happens in what others might call free time,” he laughs, citing marathon training, military courses, and constant reading as activities that supply both energy and conversation starters.
Those diverse interests humanize the seller and spark genuine curiosity on the buyer’s side. When contacts know they will receive insight, not a pushy pitch, they initiate the following conversation themselves, turning once-distant prospects into recurring referrals.
Elevating Salespeople to Strategic Informers
Frontline sellers are Nexi’s market radar. “Only salespeople can bring this information back; no one else,” Ainar tells senior leadership. By positioning them as experts and informers, he ensures product roadmaps reflect authentic client priorities rather than internal assumptions. His start-up background shapes an advisory style: “I act as an adviser. I explain what decision I would make if I were in their place and why.”
That counselor mindset changes the dialogue from features to outcomes, giving customers a partner who shares accountability for strategic success, rather than merely supplying technology.
Conclusion
Trust cannot be bolted onto a slide deck; it must weave through culture, capacity planning, and every customer touchpoint. By pairing transparent guidance with rigorous follow-through, Ainar proves that credibility is the most scalable and defensible asset a sales organization can own. In an era when buyers are skeptical and options are abundant, the companies that win will be those whose integrity speaks louder than their pitch.
ELEVATING CONTENT MARKETING STANDARDS RAISES A CRUCIAL QUESTION:
Why shouldn’t the very act of creating thought leadership content also spark new conversations with in-pipeline deals, top prospects, and high-priority customers for revenue expansion? Or serve as the cornerstone for learning and applying voice-of-customer strategies? That’s the power of ABM Podcasting—engaging B2B buyers and customers in meaningful conversations that uncover essential go-to-market insights, support long sales cycles, reinforce your market perspective, build peer-level trust, and dismantle objections that kill deals.
Steven MacDonald
Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.
Steven MacDonald
Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.
Explore more articles
Unlocking the Business Value of AI Personalization
Episode #349: Alysha McCree, Head of Marketing at FPT Americas, explains why simply claiming AI leadership no longer sets a company apart. She shares how ...
Read More
(2:19 Q&A Video) “Improve AI Learning With Prompts, Documentation, and Practice”
In this 2:19 video, Alysha McCree shares how her team learns to use AI through ongoing experimentation and peer teaching. They build documentation and prompt ...
Read More
Category Leadership: Setting the Foundations of Success
Episode #348: David Carrel, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Thomson Reuters, explains how category leadership goes beyond thought leadership to shape how a market thinks. ...
Read More
Part Seventeen: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession
Episode #347: Melanie Zmetek Naconecy de Souza, Chief Marketing Officer at AERTEC, explains why customer obsession begins with clarity. She shares how purpose, shared customer ...
Read More
(1:54 Q&A Video) “Customer Understanding Is a Core Business Discipline”
In this 1:54 video, Melanie Zmetek Naconecy de Souza explains why B2B customer understanding must begin with people. She shares how buyers bring priorities, challenges, ...
Read More
The Growth Asset Most Companies Barely Use
Episode #346: Ashley Deibert, a three-time Chief Marketing Officer, explains why customers are one of the most valuable growth assets B2B companies often underuse. She ...
Read More