Braun Board

Business Development Representative

Cohere · Hybrid · Toronto, ON, Canada

Base
Not disclosed
OTE
C$115K–C$170K
Quota attainment
Not disclosed
Posted
1mo ago

Why it matters: OTE tells you what you could earn. Attainment tells you how realistic it is.

Ask: “What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?”

Still open · checked 1h agoon Cohere's careers page

What Cohere sells

AI that runs on a company's own servers

Big companies want to use AI, but they worry about where their private information ends up and who can see it. Cohere builds AI models that can run on a company's own servers or inside its own country. The company gets the AI help while its data stays under its control.

In plain English, from their own job posts. Something wrong? Tell us

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The Braun Read

Ask hard questions

Too much is left unsaid. Make them answer before you invest.

Pay
OTE is listed. Ask what the base is.
Transparency
Says nothing about quota, attainment, deal size, territory or sales cycle.
Pipeline
Mostly self-sourced. Great if you like outbound, rough if you don't.
Time on market
Open 50 days. Ask why it's been hard to fill.
Company hiring
9 sales roles open, hiring at a steady pace.

Red flags

None spotted.

Green flags

  • Publishes OTE. It tells you the on-target earnings up front. Most postings don't.

Based only on what the posting says. Flags are a starting point for your first call, not a final judgment.

Questions to ask on the first call

Built from what this posting leaves out. How they answer tells you as much as what they say.

  1. 1.

    What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?

    OTE is what you could earn. This is how likely you are to earn it.

  2. 2.

    What percentage of reps on the team have been here more than 18 months?

    Tenure shows whether people stay long enough to get paid.

  3. 3.

    Has the comp plan changed in the last 12 to 18 months? What changed?

    A plan that changes every year means the goalposts keep moving.

  4. 4.

    Who sits with reps and reviews calls each week?

    Coaching is often what's behind a good or bad attainment number.

  5. 5.

    What's the base, and how is the rest paid out?

    OTE without a base doesn't tell you what you can count on.

  6. 6.

    Why is this role open? Did someone leave, or is it new?

    New headcount is growth. A replacement means someone left. Ask why.

When the offer comes

Save these for later. They land better once they've said yes to you.

  1. 1.

    Can I see the full comp plan in writing, including clawbacks and accelerators?

    What's in writing is what gets paid. Read it before you sign.

  2. 2.

    Can I see the actual comp distribution for the team last year, not just the OTE?

    The spread shows what most reps really take home. OTE is just the target.

  3. 3.

    I'd be walking away from earned commission to join. Is there room for a sign-on bonus to help cover that?

    Leaving money behind is a fair reason to ask. The worst answer is no.

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The role

You'll prospect net-new enterprise accounts in finance, healthcare, public sector and other industries, making 40+ outbound calls and emails daily to CTOs, CIOs and business unit leads to qualify with BANT.

Enterprise · New Logo · Outbound

Selling motion

New Logo

Who you're selling to

Buyer:
CTOs, CIOs and business unit leadsIn their words: “engage decision-makers (e.g., CTOs, CIOs, and Business Unit leads)”
Industry:
Finance, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, public sectorIn their words: “industries such as finance, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, public sector, etc.”
Company size:
Enterprise

Pipeline expectations

Mostly self-sourced. Expect a lot of outbound.

Compensation

C$115K–C$170K OTE

What is not disclosed

This posting doesn't tell you:

  • Base salary
  • Quota size
  • Quota attainment
  • Average deal size
  • Territory
  • Sales cycle length

The questions above cover the big ones.

Full posting
Who are we? Cohere is the leading security-first enterprise AI company. We build cutting-edge foundation AI models and end-to-end products that are designed to solve real-world business problems. We’re training and deploying frontier models for enterprises who are building AI systems. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI and we are looking for folks that want to be part of that. We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are all passionate about their craft. We are a global technology company headquartered in Toronto with key offices in London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin and Seoul. Join us! ROLE OVERVIEW: As a Business Development Representative (BDR) at Cohere, you will drive revenue growth by identifying, qualifying, and nurturing high-potential leads for our enterprise AI solutions. You’ll act as the first point of contact for prospects, understanding their business needs and aligning them with Cohere’s products to solve complex challenges like natural language processing, AI integration, and scalable language models. You’ll also have the opportunity to sell cutting-edge IP, that is being newly productised, within your own book of business.   KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: - Proactively research and identify target accounts across region in industries such as finance, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, public sector, etc. using tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator and CRM platforms to prioritise high-fit prospects. - Conduct 40+ outbound calls and personalised emails daily to engage decision-makers (e.g., CTOs, CIOs, and Business Unit leads), focusing on understanding their pain points and demonstrating how Cohere’s AI solutions can address them. - Qualify leads using the BANT framework (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) and document interactions in Salesforce, ensuring a clean and actionable pipeline for the sales team. - Collaborate with marketing to refine messaging and campaigns based on prospect feedback, contributing to a 15%+ improvement in campaign response rates. - Stay updated on industry trends, competitor offerings, and Cohere’s product roadmap to position our solutions effectively and anticipate customer needs. - Run independent sales cycles on smaller opportunities with less overhead, from intro to close. QUALIFICATIONS: - 2+ years of experience in business development, sales, or a related role, with a proven track record of exceeding lead generation targets in a SaaS or tech environment. - Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and build rapport quickly over phone and email. - Familiarity with CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) and sales enablement platforms, with the ability to analyse data to optimize outreach strategies. - Experience in AI, machine learning, or enterprise software sales, with a basic understanding of natural language processing (NLP) concepts. - Closing experience is seen as an advantage. - A builder mindset is necessary to succeed here, the challenges will be unique based on the team you’ll be working with, and the role will evolve over time. FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AT COHERE ENJOY THESE PERKS: - A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch. - Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health. - RRSP matching, 401K, Pension Scheme. - 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months, for either parent. - Annual enrichment benefits: Arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and a workspace improvement credit. Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching. - 6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days!) - Budget for traveling to other offices if you are remote, plus an annual company offsite. HOW AND WHERE WE WORK: - Cohere is remote-friendly, but we also have offices in Toronto, London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin and Seoul with more opening soon. - For those in the office: a daily lunch program, plenty of snacks, and regular community and social events. - For those not near an office: a co-working benefit so you can work alongside others in your city. - Everyone receives a $500 home office stipend to set up your workspace properly. If any of the above doesn’t line up exactly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply. We strive to create an inclusive work environment for all; we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12a6IrLdF3kI2nonKSr4tiFuz18rLQbaeYV-JM9L4o9Q/edit, and we will work together to meet your needs. We may use AI-enabled tools to screen and assess applicants against the criteria for this position. This helps our recruiters identify potentially qualified candidates, but it doesn't limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider. Beware of Scams: Cohere will never ask for payment or third-party services (e.g., CV writing) as part of our hiring process. All legitimate roles are listed on the Cohere careers page and LinkedIn only, with all communications from Cohere employees coming from an @cohere.com or @cw.cohere email alias. If jobs are viewed on other sites then please verify these through our official careers https://cohere.com/careers page.
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