Walk and Talk w/ Dan Watkins

Somewhere in the world, Dan Watkins is walking. And talking.Dan helped build Qualtrics from 15 employees to a billion-dollar exit. Today he runs Databased, a revenue recruiting and consulting firm for VC-backed tech companies.Walk and Talk with Dan Watkins is 24 years of pattern recognition on hiring, building teams, growing revenue, and living with intention — delivered in five minutes, three times a week, from wherever Dan happens to be that day.New episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Walk and Talk w/ Dan Watkins is a business podcast hosted by DataBased, with 83 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

DataBased hosts Walk and Talk w/ Dan Watkins, a business show with 83 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #33

  Founding sales reps don't get to wait for leads

  Sep 11, 20266 minS2

  The first sales rep at a new company or on a new product line does not get to wait for a perfect playbook, a marketing engine, or a calendar full of inbound leads. They have to build the business. In this episode, Dan Watkins shares the controllable metrics that founders and early sales leaders should use to create an outbound motion from the ground up. He explains why the job requires ownership, consistency, and a willingness to learn before the resources and examples exist. Dan walks through a practical starting framework: make at least 50 outbound touches a day, add at least 10 new contacts, and follow a structured sequence across calls, voicemail, email, and social outreach. He also covers the metrics that show whether the motion is working, including response rate, meetings booked, active pipeline, scheduled next steps, and average deal size. The goal is not to wait for demand to appear. It is to own the inputs that create it, improve the quality of outreach over time, and build enough pipeline to give the company a real foundation for growth. ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our newsletter⁠ ⁠ for extra content

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  Episode #32

  Your remote team is struggling. Now what?

  Sep 9, 20266 minS2

  Bringing a remote team back into the office does not have to mean firing everyone and starting over. It requires a clear operating plan, experienced leadership, and an honest conversation about what the business needs to succeed. In this episode, Dan Watkins explains how founders can transition a team from remote work to an in-office or hybrid model, particularly when early-career go-to-market employees are struggling without enough coaching, structure, and in-person development. Dan walks through the practical steps: choose the right hub city, make sure a founder or experienced go-to-market leader is present, protect current employees from being penalized simply for working remotely, and begin hiring future level-one, level-two, and level-three roles with an in-office expectation. He also shares how to introduce rigorous monthly performance management without making the transition feel punitive. The framework starts with clear expectations and more intensive coaching, then escalates accountability only when performance does not improve. The goal is to build a stronger in-office culture while giving current employees a fair opportunity to succeed. ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our newsletter⁠ ⁠ for extra content

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  Episode #31

  How to hold remote senior employees accountable | Leveling Ep. 4

  Sep 7, 20267 minS2

  Remote work does not lower the bar for performance. It raises the need for clarity. In this episode, Dan Watkins explains how leaders should manage experienced remote employees, particularly level-four-and-above individual contributors and leaders. Rather than monitoring every task or trying to measure effort from a distance, leaders need to define the business outcomes each person owns and hold them accountable to those outcomes. Dan shares how this applies across sales, marketing, and customer success. For sales, that means quota attainment, healthy active pipeline, and next steps scheduled across opportunities. For customer success, it means net retention, expansion pipeline, and consistent engagement with executive sponsors, key influencers, and power users. For marketing, it means measuring the return on the total marketing investment. He also explains the difference between three performance situations: an employee who is succeeding but works differently than expected, an employee who is working hard but needs coaching to improve outcomes, and an employee who is neither producing results nor demonstrating the effort required to succeed. The goal is not to control experienced people. It is to make success measurable, coach where needed, and give high performers the freedom to thrive. ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our newsletter⁠ ⁠ for extra content

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  Episode #30

  You cannot manage junior teams by outcome alone | Leveling Ep.3

  Sep 4, 20266 minS2

  Early-career employees do not just need a quota or a broad business goal. They need clear activity expectations, regular coaching, and a manager close enough to understand what is actually getting in the way. In this episode, Dan Watkins explains how to manage level-one, level-two, and level-three employees across marketing, customer success, and sales. He breaks down the difference between work-ethic metrics and business-outcome metrics, and why leaders need visibility into both. Dan shares examples of the leading indicators teams should track: campaigns launched, new ICP contacts added to sequences, social audience growth, meetings with customer decision-makers and power users, calls made, sequence adherence, follow-up speed, and self-generated pipeline. These inputs make it easier for a manager to diagnose performance before missed quota becomes the only signal that matters. He also explains why in-person or intentional hybrid management creates more opportunities for coaching, accountability, and peer learning among developing team members. The outcome metrics still matter, but pipeline generated for marketing, net retention for customer success, and quota attainment for sales should be managed alongside the daily work required to produce them. ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our newsletter⁠ ⁠ for extra content

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  Episode #29

  Remote work will fail your early-career team | Leveling ep. 2

  Sep 2, 20267 minS2

  The remote versus in-office debate is not about which model is universally better. It is about matching your work environment to the experience level of the people you hire. In this episode, Dan Watkins explains why companies with teams made up primarily of early-career employees cannot treat remote work as a default. Employees in the first few years of their career need close coaching, real-time feedback, peer learning, and hands-on management to develop the judgment and skills their roles require. Dan breaks down how career levels should inform your workplace strategy. For SDRs, early-career account executives, and other developing go-to-market talent, an in-office or highly intentional hybrid model creates the structure and oversight needed to build strong habits. For experienced individual contributors and senior leaders, remote or hybrid work can expand the talent pool while creating clearer expectations around autonomy and accountability. The goal is not to force everyone into one model. It is to build a work environment that helps each level of the organization succeed. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our newsletter⁠ for extra content

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