Walk and Talk w/ Dan Watkins

DataBased

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.

  1. How I led a company through the hardest year of my life | For your life

    2d ago

    How I led a company through the hardest year of my life | For your life

    > Book a meeting with Dan Dan is being unusually personal in this episode. He's sharing what got him through 2021, one of the hardest years of his life, while still trying to run a company. Dan talks through three things that made the difference: having his brother Dustin as a strong number two who could carry things when Dan couldn't, a therapist who challenged his thinking in ways he didn't expect, and the friends and family he eventually chose to be honest with. He also shares a story from 2008 that shaped how he thinks about having the right people around you long before a crisis ever arrives. The message throughout is simple: you're not the only one who's been there. Get the help. Don't rush it. 00:00 | What this episode is about00:53 | 2021: when everything hit at once02:35 | The 2008 moment that changed how I think about support03:59 | What actually helped: therapy04:43 | Being honest with the people around you This podcast is brought to you by DataBased. Your partner in building revenue teams that actually perform.

    6 min
  2. From manager to leader: how to actually develop your people | For your career

    4d ago

    From manager to leader: how to actually develop your people | For your career

    ⁠> Book a meeting with Dan⁠ Dan is talking about one of the most expensive mistakes leaders make: spending big on training that never gets adopted. He has a four-step model that actually develops skills instead of just exposing people to them. Dan walks through why single events like sales kickoffs and consulting seminars fail (he's lost $500,000 to this lesson himself), the science behind real skill development from Peak by Anders Ericsson, and the four-step model that replaces the professor approach: teach, show, do, measure. He also covers what actually happened in the 15% of his organization that applied what they learned, and how to replicate that across your whole team. If you lead a team and want to stop watching enablement budget disappear without behavior change, this episode is the playbook. Book a meeting with Dan via the link in the show notes. 00:00 | Intro: developing people differently00:47 | Why most leadership development doesn't work02:24 | The $500K seminar lesson03:55 | The 4-step model: teach, show, do, measure05:58 | Repeat the cycle This podcast is brought to you by DataBased. Your partner in building revenue teams that actually perform.

    7 min
  3. The sales outreach sequence | GTM Engine - Part 4 | For leaders

    6d ago

    The sales outreach sequence | GTM Engine - Part 4 | For leaders

    ⁠[Get access to all videos]⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Book a meeting with Dan. Dan is in part 4 of the five-part go-to-market series, and this is where sales finally takes over. When the list has been warmed and validated, outreach hits differently. Dan walks through the exact sales outreach sequence: how many contacts per rep per day, the 3-touch minimum that counts as a real outreach, the weekly-then-biweekly rhythm that spans 4 months, and the success benchmarks that tell you if it's working. He also covers what to look at when the numbers aren't there yet. This podcast is brought to you by DataBased. Your partner in building revenue teams that actually perform.

    6 min
  4. Stop wearing your 7AM meetings like a badge | For your life

    May 29

    Stop wearing your 7AM meetings like a badge | For your life

    Book a meeting with Dan Dan spent 13 years starting work at 7 a.m. and rarely stopping before 9 at night. Then his life changed — new marriage, blended family, a partner who stays up late — and he made a decision that surprised a lot of people around him. In this episode: What drove Dan's 7 a.m. start for over a decade — and why it stopped being worth itThe simple trade he made when he met Christina: evenings for early morningsHow his calendar is structured now and what he protected on both ends of the dayWhy slowing down the learning curve was the right call for this phase of life

    6 min
  5. Why the best leaders won't touch your resume | For your career

    May 27

    Why the best leaders won't touch your resume | For your career

    ⁠Book a meeting with Dan That $25K bump looks great on paper. Dan's seen what it actually does to a career over a decade — and it's one of the first things he filters out when recruiting for his clients. This episode is the honest breakdown of what job hopping costs you, and when it's already too late. In this episode: Why the first or second job gets a pass — and what happens after thatThe two filters DataBased uses that screen out 98% of LinkedIn profilesExactly how many companies in a decade moves you from normal to unrecoverableWhat "watering the grass" actually looks like in practice00:00 | Intro: The habit Dan sees on almost every resume that screens candidates out immediately 00:13 | Why jumping for $25K more is costing you more than you think long term 00:38 | The first and second job exception: when companies will still give you a pass 01:25 | Why good leaders start screening you out after the second hop 01:50 | The best CEO Dan knows on why the grass is greener wherever you water it 02:17 | How DataBased filters 98% of LinkedIn profiles down to the top 2% 02:46 | The decade test: three companies is normal, five is unrecoverable 04:13 | The real question: are you choosing to get good where you are right now 04:33 | When leaving is justified and when it becomes a pattern you can't recover from Follow us so you never miss an episode. Share so we can reach more people!⁠

    5 min
  6. The 4-week marketing campaign | GTM Engine - Part 3 | For leaders

    May 25

    The 4-week marketing campaign | GTM Engine - Part 3 | For leaders

    ⁠[Get access to all videos] Book a meeting Dan is on part 3 of the five-part go-to-market series, and this one's about what happens before sales ever picks up the phone. Most companies skip this step entirely, which is why their outreach feels cold even when the targeting is right. Dan walks through the four-week marketing campaign that warms up your target contacts before sales takes over. He covers why starting with email and social only is the right call, what makes messaging work in an era where AI is screening inboxes, and how social touches do double duty by validating contact accuracy. He also walks through how to use webinars and demo invitations to surface hand raisers before the list ever passes to sales. 00:00 | Recap: steps 0-3 00:32 | Step 4: Marketing creates awareness 01:28 | The 4-week campaign structure 03:07 | Why generic messaging gets filtered out 04:12 | Validating contacts and converting hand raisers This podcast is brought to you by DataBased. Your partner in building revenue teams that actually perform.

    5 min
  7. What I learned about money and trust | For your life

    May 22

    What I learned about money and trust | For your life

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a meeting.⁠ Dan has a confession from his 30s: he lost significant money three times on investments that had one thing in common. This is the lesson he had to learn more than once before it actually changed how he invests. Dan talks through why trusting friends and family for investment advice is a trap, even when their intentions are good, and why that's especially true in communities where financial advice travels through personal relationships. He also shares what he actually recommends now: the rule of 72, broad diversified portfolios, and why even Warren Buffett doesn't recommend his own fund to his family. He ends with what he now teaches his own kids about money. This podcast is brought to you by DataBased. Your partner in building revenue teams that actually perform.

    5 min
  8. How to get your next job | For your career

    May 20

    How to get your next job | For your career

    Land your next role. See the jobs we're recruiting for and take our free assessment. Need help recruiting or with your revenue organization? Book a meeting with Dan Dan has been thinking about how broken most job search strategies are right now, and he has a specific fix. The job market changed, but most candidates are still playing by the old rules. Dan walks through the approach he sees work with the clients of his global recruiting firm: instead of job boards and passive networking, it's studying industries that fascinate you, narrowing down to 5 to 10 target companies that aren't necessarily even hiring, and then doing genuine outbound with personalized messages to the right people. He also walks through exactly what those messages look like, using a real example with names and specific angles for each person at the company. If you're in a job search or thinking about your next move, this is the map. This podcast is brought to you by DataBased. Your partner in building revenue teams that actually perform.

    6 min
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About

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.

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