Three salesmen walked into a room… and delivered something between a stand up set, a masterclass, and a confessional. Needless to say, the fourth edition of Business Unusual did not disappoint.
On March 25, the 13th floor of Infinum’s Zagreb office filled up fast. The fourth edition of Business Unusual brought together the local business development community for an evening focused on the moments that truly decide a deal: not the playbooks, but the messier, more human factors: timing, ego, luck, and knowing when to walk away.
The format shifted slightly from the previous edition. Instead of a panel, three speakers took the floor solo, and each one treated the stage with the seriousness of a stand-up set. Naturally, what they delivered was part war story, part life lesson.
Hosted by Nikola Vrabec, Business Development Manager at Infinum, the event featured Domagoj Ostović, CEO & Founder of Lloyds Digital; Mladen Milavić, entrepreneur and seasoned sales leader; and Vedran Sorić, CEO & Business Co-Owner at Prodajni Mindset.
The human side of the pitch
Domagoj Ostović, CEO & Founder of Lloyds Digital, opened with three stories from the field that covered the full emotional spectrum of business development: luck appearing at exactly the right moment, a project that unraveled because of ego, a situation where the smartest move was walking away entirely.
The common thread was that while skill – and sometimes luck – gets you to the table, judgment determines the outcome. “Stay present, take your chances, keep your ego in check, and be clear on the rules,” – he said. “But most importantly, know who not to play with and when to walk away.”
Success in business development isn’t about how many games you play, but how you play them.
CEO & FOUNDER, LLOYDS DIGITAL
Mladen Milavić, entrepreneur and sales leader with more than 30 years of experience at global corporations including Microsoft and SAP, tackled a topic that almost never gets airtime in the local tech scene: selling IT solutions to the public sector.
What does it actually take to win government clients? When does it even make sense to try? And what are the traps that most companies walk straight into? For many in the room, it was the first time they’d heard this particular conversation happen out loud.
His broader point on sales applied just as well beyond the public sector: intention matters as much as execution.
What you can’t imagine, you won’t achieve. But if you believe you can, you’ve already taken the first step.
SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR AND SALES LEADER
Vedran Sorić, CEO at Prodajni Mindset, author of the book by the same name, and a man with more than 10,000 hours of sales workshops behind him, closed the evening with something personal.
Drawing on lessons from the 2008–2009 financial crisis that only made sense years later, he made the case that identity shapes sales performance more than technique ever could – and that confusing knowledge with skill is one of the most expensive mistakes a salesperson can make.
Vedran emphasised that knowing every sales technique in the world counts for little if the fundamentals are missing: the way you listen, the way you wait, the energy you bring to the person across from you.
In sales, it’s not just patience, listening, and asking the right questions that matter. What’s crucial is your attitude. You can know every sales technique in the world, but if you’re not a human being first, sooner or later everything falls apart.
Once the mics were down
After the formal program, conversations continued well into the evening. New connections were formed, ideas exchanged, and, naturally, business cards circulated–because no BizDev event is complete without it.
Four editions in, Business Unusual has firmly established itself as a relevant fixture in the local sales and business development landscape.
As Nikola Vrabec, moderator and part of the organizing team at Infinum, put it: sales is often a solitary craft — you’re deep in your own deals, rarely getting the chance to see how others handle the same challenges.
“Events like Business Unusual change that – it is a space where experienced sales and BD professionals come together to share real stories from the field: the lucky breaks, the hard lessons, the deals that slipped away,” – he added.
Hearing different approaches and perspectives doesn’t just give us new ideas, it helps us reflect on our own practice and grow. And more often than not, the most valuable insight comes from a conversation during networking, not a textbook or a training session.
BD MANAGER, INFINUM
We’re already looking ahead to the next edition. If you want to be part of the conversation, stay tuned for what’s coming next.