David Plutschak - Lost in Translation? How a Shared Data Dictionary Can Transform Your Business

David Plutschak - Lost in Translation? How a Shared Data Dictionary Can Transform Your Business

In this eye-opening episode, RevOps expert David Plutschak reveals why so many organizations struggle with misalignment between departments—and offers a surprisingly simple solution that can transform your business operations. From his days making SDRs perform stand-up comedy to help them overcome call reluctance, to crafting data-driven sales sequences at Outreach.io, David shares practical insights on how to create a common language that bridges the gaps between marketing, sales, finance, and customer success teams.

What You'll Learn:

• Why your sales, marketing, and success teams might think they're speaking the same language when they're actually misunderstanding each other completely
• The powerful concept of a "data dictionary"—and why documenting your key terms and metrics can eliminate costly misalignments
• How to eliminate subjective forecasting and replace it with data-driven decision making that reduces anxiety and increases accuracy
• Practical steps to implement a data dictionary that won't just gather dust but will evolve with your business

Key Insights:

David explains why the seemingly tedious process of defining terms like "sales qualified lead" or "ACV" across departments is actually the foundation for scaling your business effectively. He breaks down why constructive conflict during this process is actually valuable—exposing underlying assumptions that might be holding your organization back. Using real-world examples, he demonstrates how even something as simple as differing definitions of an "ideal customer" can lead marketing to target prospects that sales doesn't want.

"You can't improve what you can't measure, and you can't have a functioning team if people don't speak the same language—or at least understand where other teams are coming from." - David Plutschak

This episode is essential listening for founders, revenue leaders, and operations professionals who want to eliminate the frustrating "thrown over the fence" handoffs that leave everyone feeling misunderstood. David provides a framework for creating alignment that transforms how your departments collaborate, forecasts more accurately, and ultimately delivers better experiences to your customers.