Business Development Representative

Common Sense · Los Angeles, CA

Base: $85K–$100K
OTE: $200K
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 Common Sense's careers page

Apply on Common Sense →

The job

What you'd do: Book qualified meetings with city and county decision-makers through daily cold calls, email, LinkedIn, and events, selling AI tools that help local governments run more efficiently. First BDR hire.
Who you'd sell to: Still reading the posting. Check back within the hour.
Where deals come from: Mostly you. Expect a lot of outbound: cold calls, emails and LinkedIn.

The Braun Read

Ask hard questions

Some good signs, but there's a red light here. Get it answered before you invest.

Pay: Base and OTE both listed. Roughly a 43/57 base-to-variable split.
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 39 days. Normal, but not fresh.
Company hiring: This is their only open sales role.

Red lights

Most of the pay is variable. OTE is more than double the base. You only make the big number if you hit quota.

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 percent of the variable did reps actually earn last year?
When most of the pay is variable, this is your real salary.
2.
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.
3.
What percentage of reps on the team have been here more than 18 months?
Tenure shows whether people stay long enough to get paid.
4.
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.
5.
Who sits with reps and reviews calls each week?
Coaching is often what's behind a good or bad attainment number.
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.

Josh's top five questions for any sales interview →

Going for your first AE role? Get the free interview kit → 24 questions, what good and bad answers sound like, and an offer comparison sheet.

Got an offer from Common Sense? Not sure about it?Ask me. I read every message myself. · JoshAsk Josh

Full posting

Common Sense is restoring trust in local government. We build AI for public servants and the communities they serve. Our products help cities operate more efficiently, freeing public servants to do the work they signed up for, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for the people who depend on them. Our team comes from technology leaders like Palantir, Apple, SpaceX, and Amazon, with a fundamental belief that the top technologists and operators should serve the public good, rather than optimizing social media feeds. Our team is based in Los Angeles and we are looking for candidates that can work out of our office 3-4 days a week when not traveling. Regular domestic travel for conferences and customer meetings is involved. The Role: We're hiring our first BDR. You'll be responsible for generating qualified meetings with decision-makers at cities and counties across a targeted set of states through cold calls, email outreach, LinkedIn, and in-person events. You'll also help plan and staff industry conferences. You'll work directly with the Head of Growth and founding team to accelerate our outbound sales motion. You'll thrive in this role if you: - Are high agency. You see a gap and move without being told. - Actively seek out coaching and feedback because you genuinely want to get better. - Are naturally curious and eager to learn, especially about how local government actually works. - Have high empathy. You listen well and care about the people you're selling to. - Can handle a lot of rejection or ghosting and keep picking up the phone. - Treat sales development as a craft, not as a stepping stone. - Take ownership of your numbers and your process. - Use AI to work faster, but have the taste to know when something needs a human touch. We're an AI company and love the tools themselves, but we have zero tolerance for slop. What You'll Do: - Make a high volume of cold calls to municipal decision-makers every day. - Run outbound email and LinkedIn campaigns with personalized, well-researched messaging. - Research target cities, map out org charts, and identify the right people to talk to. - Help plan, coordinate, and attend industry conferences to build relationships and generate pipeline. - Keep our CRM clean and up to date (we have an awesome AI powered one that makes this fun!). - Work with leadership to test and refine messaging, targeting, and outreach tactics. - Experiment with sales tooling (sequencing tools, AI workflows, etc.) to make our process better. Requirements What We're Looking For: - 1-3 years of professional experience. Sales, business development, consulting, political campaigns, or any client-facing work all count. - Strong writing skills. Your outreach needs to sound like a person, not a template. - Comfortable building process where none exists yet. - Results-oriented. You keep score. - A background in political science, public policy, government, or something adjacent is a plus but not required. - Experience selling to state, local, police, fire, or education (SLED) customers is a bonus. - Based in Los Angeles or willing to relocate. Benefits Why Now? Why Common Sense? This is a ground floor opportunity at a well-capitalized venture-backed company that's growing fast. You'll learn how to sell, help build a go-to-market engine from scratch, and have real room to grow into a closing role or leadership position. If you want to work on something that actually matters, let's talk. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas at this time. - Compensation: $85,000–$100,000 base salary + commission (Estimated OTE: $200,000)

Apply →