C. K. Kruse
DE Private

Telematics · SaaS & hardware sales · DACH

Christopher K. Kruse

I sell telematics: SaaS, hardware and complete solutions for companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, through long buying processes with many people involved. Today I manage a partner portfolio with EUR 3 million in yearly revenue across DACH. Along the way I have learned to build real things with AI.

Portrait of Christopher K. Kruse
Role
Partner Manager DACH, Digital Matter
Portfolio
EUR 3M yearly partner revenue
Market
Telematics & IoT · SaaS · hardware
Based in
Berlin
Focus
Go-to-market DACH
Languages
German (native) · English (fluent)
Get in touch LinkedIn profile ↗
2013ErfurtErfurtB.A. Political Econ.2016Kalms ConsultingKalmsJunior Consultant2017HamburgHamburgM.Sc. Health Econ.2019TaipeiTaipeiNTU seminar2020AtmocareAtmocareSales Ops & Mktg2021Verizon ConnectVerizonBDR2022GeotabGeotabLead Inside Sales2026Digital MatterDigital M.Partner Manager DACH
Select a station to jump to it in my experience.

Now

Where I am in my career

Every step added a layer to what I sell. The line is my role, the layers are my scope. Tap a step for the story.

20222023202420252026ScopeBDR230% best monthLead Inside Sales129% · top 10%Partner Manager DACHEUR 3M partner revenueSaaS & telematicssince 2021Hardwareadded 2022Partner channeladded 2026Today

What I do

Opening doors: 40+ prospects a day, qualifying the need for SaaS GPS tracking and booking the first meeting.

Proof

230% of target in my best month

What I do

Owning the whole deal for software and hardware: demo, IT and security review, negotiation, contract. Training the team on the product.

Proof

129% of target in 2024 · top 10% in 2025

What I do

Selling through partners: a portfolio across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, joint go-to-market and the market's voice to headquarters.

Proof

EUR 3M yearly partner revenue

Want to know what I work on every day?Learn more about Digital Matter

Telemetry

Results, measured against target

Personal attainment from my sales roles, and the numbers behind it.

230%
BDR · best monthVerizon Connect
>120%
BDR · full yearVerizon Connect
129%
Inside Sales 2024Geotab
105%
Inside Sales 2025Geotab · top 10%

Dashed ring = 100% of target. Bubble area = attainment.

EUR 3Myearly revenue in my DACH partner portfolio
60+contracts closed per year
200+accounts managed in parallel
EUR 150Klargest single deal, closed in three months
5 yearscarrying a quota in DACH B2B tech

AI in practice

What I've learned to do with AI

I work with ChatGPT and Claude every day. I've gone from asking questions to building real things: I write the brief, give the AI the right material, check what comes back and decide what goes live. I'm not a developer. I'm a salesperson who knows what to ask for.

Vibe coding · 2026

This website

Two languages, legal pages, search-engine setup, the live search demo below and automatic publishing from GitHub to my own server. Built with Claude Code from my brief and my CVs.

I set the goals, reviewed every version, asked for changes and decided when it went live.

Vibe coding · 2026

A private web app

A password-protected planner for a private project: shared to-do lists and notes, idea boards, photo uploads, its own login protection and a daily backup. It runs on the same server.

Real users and real data, not a demo.

Geotab · 2024–2026

Sales knowledge base on Claude

Product knowledge was spread across many systems. We gathered it into a Claude-based knowledge base: ROI and pricing calculators, objection handling by topic, use cases.

Adopted by the German sales team and shortlisted by management for the wider organisation.

Every day

ChatGPT and Claude in daily sales

Account research, call preparation, follow-up emails and proposals in German and English. Claude is connected to Notion for my briefings.

Less time on preparation, more time with customers and partners.

How I work with AI

  1. Start with the goalWho is it for, what should it do, and what does finished look like.
  2. Give it real materialCVs, product sheets, data, examples. AI guesses when you don't give it facts.
  3. Plan first, then build in small stepsAsk for a plan, agree on it, then build piece by piece.
  4. Check everythingOpen it, test it, read it, and ask why when something looks off.
  5. Keep every versionWork on GitHub, so every change can be reviewed and undone.

AI skills

ChatGPTClaudeClaude CodeVibe codingPrompting & briefingKnowledge basesConnectors (MCP)Workflow automationNotionGitHub

Ask my CV

Live search demo

Type a question. The page splits it into terms, scores every passage of my CV with BM25 (the ranking method behind classic search engines) and shows the three best matches with their source. This is the search step that AI assistants use to answer from your own documents. It runs entirely in your browser.

    An AI assistant would hand these passages to the language model as context and cite them in its answer.

    Logbook

    Experience

    My three most recent stations. Open the rest or filter by topic.

    1. Partner Manager, DACH Region

      Jun 2026 – today

      Digital Matter ↗ · Berlin · hybrid

      • Manage a portfolio of DACH partners with EUR 3 million in yearly revenue for an IoT and telematics hardware manufacturer, from qualifying new partners to long-term account development.
      • Negotiate tenders within multi-year framework agreements with large enterprises.
      • Lead joint go-to-market across Germany, Austria and Switzerland: co-selling, co-marketing and shared pipeline.
      • Bring the DACH market's voice to the global product and sales teams: competition, customer needs, growth opportunities.
      Partners & GTMEnterprise salesHardware salesTelematics & IoTPublic tenders

    2. Lead, Inside Sales

      Oct 2022 – May 2026

      Geotab (formerly Verizon Connect Germany) · Berlin

      • Full-cycle sales of telematics hardware and SaaS: 129% of target in 2024, 105% in 2025 (top 10% of the team). 60+ contracts a year from a pipeline of 200+ accounts; largest single deal EUR 150K, closed in three months.
      • Sold from Mittelstand logistics and construction firms to large corporates in pharma, medical technology, retail and telecommunications, through IT and security reviews, legal negotiation and multi-stakeholder consensus.
      • Co-initiated a sales knowledge base built with Claude: ROI and pricing calculators, objection handling by topic, use-case references. Adopted by the German sales team and shortlisted by management as a process improvement for the wider organisation.
      • Built personal workflow automations with Claude and Notion that remove repetitive research and preparation from the sales cycle.
      • Team trainer for Geotab software and hardware; coached Business Development Representatives through qualification.
      Enterprise salesSaaS salesHardware salesTelematics & IoTAI & automationTraining & leading

    3. Business Development Representative

      Jul 2021 – Oct 2022

      Verizon Connect Germany · Berlin

      • Beat monthly targets by up to 230%, with more than 120% attainment over the year.
      • Qualified 40+ prospects a day for SaaS GPS tracking in Salesforce; top 10% commitment rate for appointments and deals.
      Enterprise salesSaaS salesTelematics & IoT

    4. Sales Operations & Marketing Manager

      Apr 2020 – Apr 2021

      Atmocare · Berlin

      • Managed German public tender proposals: procurement frameworks, submission requirements and compliance documentation.
      • Co-developed the product and presentation strategy for sales; led market research on retail channels and go-to-market.
      Public tendersMarketingEnterprise sales

    5. International Seminar Public Management

      Mar 2019

      National Taiwan University · Taipei

      • International seminar on public management during my master's degree.
      Public tenders

    6. M.Sc. Health Economics & Healthcare Management

      2017 – 2020

      Universität Hamburg · Hamburg

      • Thesis on bureaucracy in German hospitals and the opportunities and risks of digitalisation; mixed methods with expert interviews in hospitals.
      MedTech & health

    7. Junior Consultant

      Sep 2016 – Jan 2021

      Kalms Consulting GmbH · Berlin

      • Market access and reimbursement consulting for MedTech in EU and German markets: regulation, compliance and payers.
      • Led congress planning and on-site management at world-leading medical trade shows.
      • Ran marketing for the group (newsletter, social media, SEA, SEO) and led small teams of working students.
      MedTech & healthPublic tendersMarketingTraining & leading

    8. B.A. Political Economics

      2013 – 2017

      Universität Erfurt · Erfurt

      • Thesis on business models in digital times: how Industry 4.0 reshapes business models in fast-moving markets.
      Marketing

    Education & skills

    Universität Hamburg · 2017–2020

    M.Sc. Health Economics & Healthcare Management

    Thesis: bureaucracy in German hospitals, opportunities and risks of digitalisation. Mixed methods: quantitative analysis and expert interviews in hospitals.

    Universität Erfurt · 2013–2017

    B.A. Political Economics

    Thesis: business models in digital times. How Industry 4.0 changes business models in fast-moving markets, and why they need to stay flexible.

    Sales

    Telematics, SaaS and hardware · full-cycle ownership · long, complex deals · multi-stakeholder consensus · contract and tender negotiation · forecasting · value selling

    Market knowledge

    Buying behaviour from Mittelstand to listed groups · German public procurement · regulated industries from MedTech market access

    Languages

    German (native) · English (fluent)

    Off the clock

    Who I am

    I'm happiest when I'm making something and figuring out how things work, whether it's a buying process, a piece of hardware or a website. Away from work you'll find me on the golf course, by the ocean, somewhere new, or building something, with my hands or on a screen.

    Christopher putting on a sunny golf green, hills in the background
    GolfMy way to switch off: fresh air, focus and a little strategy on every hole.
    A paddleboard on the sea at sunset, an island on the horizon
    The oceanWherever there's coast, I find my way to the water. It's where I recharge.
    Christopher smiling at a viewpoint high above Bergen, Norway, with the fjord behind him
    TravelNew places, new people, new perspectives, from a university seminar in Taipei to wherever comes next.
    BuildingWith my hands or digitally: projects at home, or websites and apps with AI. I like seeing something exist that wasn't there before.

    Next waypoint

    Let's talk.

    About telematics and IoT in the DACH region, partnerships, or what AI can do for a sales team.

    christopher.kruse [at] icloud.com
    linkedin.com/in/christopher-k-kruse ↗
    Berlin · DACH