When Brexit happened, many assumed London would lose its role as a European hub.
The logic was straightforward. If access to the EU became more complex, companies would move closer to it. Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Dublin. All of them were discussed as potential replacements.
Some shifts did happen. New entities were created. Certain functions moved. Regulatory structures changed.
What is more interesting is what did not change.
London remained a central operating hub for many SaaS and technology organisations, particularly those expanding from the US into Europe. Talent density, access to capital, and proximity to global commercial teams continued to matter. For many companies, the UK remained the place where EMEA operations were coordinated, even if delivery and legal structures became more distributed.
This is the environment in which the German SE in London exists.
Early assumptions about being local
For a long time, presales was assumed to benefit most from physical proximity.
Closer to the customer.
Closer to the market.
Closer to the language.
Earlier in my career, this assumption shaped how I worked. I travelled almost weekly across Germany and Switzerland. Customer meetings were stacked back to back. Entire weeks were spent on the road to maximise face-to-face time. It was normal, and it worked.
At the time, job descriptions regularly listed travel expectations of eighty percent or more. Being present was part of credibility.
That model slowly began to change.
What shifted after COVID
During and after COVID, the sequence of presales engagement changed.
Remote meetings became the default. Customer teams became more distributed. Stakeholders who once sat in the same building were now spread across cities, regions, and sometimes countries.
Bringing everyone into the office became harder, not easier.
What followed was not a rejection of in-person engagement, but a reprioritisation of it.
Early-stage discovery, technical validation, and demos increasingly happened remotely, even when travel was offered or already planned. Customers were willing to engage deeply online. The quality of conversation did not drop. In many cases, it improved.
Over time, travel naturally shifted later in the sales cycle.
What remote actually changed
Remote presales is often described as a compromise. In practice, it changes the dynamics.
When everyone has their own screen, the demo experience becomes more precise. The cursor is visible. The flow is easier to follow. Stakeholders can focus without fighting for visibility in a crowded room.
That does not make in-person obsolete. It changes where it adds value.
In physical meetings, the screen is rarely the most important part. The value comes from everything around it. Tone, trust, hesitation, side conversations, and the ability to read the room in ways that video still struggles to capture.
This is why face-to-face remains highly valued in the DACH market.
The DACH trust moment
There is a sentence I hear regularly when meeting German customers in person for the first time.
It is good to finally see each other in person.
Often it is followed by a handshake, eye contact, and a sense of familiarity that does not come from slides or demos. That moment matters. It signals trust, seriousness, and mutual commitment.
This does not contradict remote work. It complements it.
What has changed is that these moments now tend to happen when the deal is already meaningful. When groundwork has been done. When both sides know why they are there.
From a sustainability and efficiency perspective, this also matters. Travel is more deliberate. Fewer flights are taken. When they happen, they are tied to real progress rather than exploration.
The question of where presales should sit
This brings the discussion back to structure.
Some argue that presales must sit close to the core market. Others prioritise alignment with internal teams.
In reality, both matter, but not equally at all times.
A German speaking SE embedded in a London hub is closer to product, leadership, enablement, and deal strategy. Narrative alignment is faster. Feedback loops are shorter. Execution tends to be more consistent.
At the same time, language and cultural context remain present inside the team. The DACH perspective is not external. It is part of the operating model.
This is often harder to achieve when presales is hired locally but operates in isolation from the rest of the organisation. Proximity to customers does not automatically translate to influence inside the company.
Where presales adds value beyond the demo
The most visible part of presales is still the demo. The most impactful work often happens elsewhere.
Preparation that aligns the internal team on what matters and what does not.
Stakeholder awareness that shapes how conversations are framed.
Written follow-ups that clarify understanding without adding noise.
Careful sequencing of engagement so that trust builds before pressure appears.
This is where strong AE and SE partnerships matter most.
Progress is not always a verbal commitment. In many DACH deals, progress means internal alignment on the customer side. Recognising that and adjusting strategy accordingly is part of the job.
When SEs talk about contributing to ARR, this is usually what they mean. Not closing deals, but increasing the likelihood that committed decisions hold. Fewer late-stage reversals. Fewer resets caused by misalignment or misunderstood expectations.
A brief clarification
These patterns appear most often in established, regulated, and multi-stakeholder organisations. They are not universal.
Many German companies operate much closer to UK or US norms. Likewise, large enterprises outside DACH often display the same caution and internal alignment described here. What matters most is organisational context, not geography alone.
A closing thought
The question is not whether presales should be local.
The question is what local is meant to protect.
Language, context, and trust can be embedded in a hub model when done deliberately. Internal alignment, execution quality, and strategic consistency often benefit from it.
The strongest approach is rarely one extreme.
It is presales operating from the hub, supported by precise travel, and grounded in German market understanding at every stage of the deal.
