Senior Account Executive, Germany PUBSEC (Berlin, Germany)
Cohere · Remote · Germany
- Base
- Not disclosed
- OTE
- €250K–€280K
- Quota attainment
- Not disclosed
- Posted
- 27d 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
The job
- What you'd do
- Find and win new customers among German government agencies, from defense to federal and local departments. You'll do much of your own outreach, with teammates helping to find leads.
- What you'd sell
Private AI models companies run on their own servers
When a company wants to use AI on its own data, it has to decide where that data and the model will live. The problem is, many of these buyers need their data to stay in their own country or building. Cohere builds AI models that companies can run privately, on their own servers or inside their own country, so they keep control of their data while using AI.
In plain English, from their own job posts. Something wrong? Tell me · More AI & data companies →
- Who you'd sell to
- Defense, federal civilian and local government agencies at big companiesIn their words: “with Defense, Federal Civilian and Local Government Agencies in Germany.”
- Where deals come from
- Mostly you. Expect a lot of outbound: cold calls, emails and LinkedIn.
The Braun Read
Worth a lookSolid on the basics. Use the first call to fill in the gaps.
- Pay
- OTE is listed. Ask what the base is.
- Transparency
- Shares 1 of 5: quota, attainment, deal size, territory, sales cycle.
- Time on market
- Open 27 days. Normal, but not fresh.
- Company hiring
- Ramping up: posted 5 sales roles in the last 30 days.
Red lights
None spotted.
Yellow lights
- German required. The posting asks for fluent German. Worth knowing before you apply if you only sell in English.
Green lights
- Publishes OTE. It tells you the on-target earnings up front. Most postings don't.
Based only on what the posting says. Lights 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.
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.
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.
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.
Who sits with reps and reviews calls each week?
Coaching is often what's behind a good or bad attainment number.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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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