The Emotional Toll on Service Agents.IT SMELLS LIKE MONEY PODCAST

Smells Like Money Podcast. The DooDoo Diva's special show! "Call Me, OK?" Season 3 Episode #10. the Doo Doo Diva has been spreading her knowledge through episodes for over a year now. With an impressive itinerary of guests, The Smells Like Money podcast discussed a wide range of topics, from navigating demographic pools to understanding your clientele. Listen to the latest episode in the playlist below. Listen to this latest episode of “The DooDoo Diva's Smells Like Money Podcast” Season 3 Episode #10. Richard Blank talks about how call centers are essential in building businesses and how this can be applied in the Wastewater Infrastructure Industry. He starts by stating that the first thing to alleviate getting unlikely experiences for a small company as well as a medium size company is that the company should do more voice support instead of non-voice support, because if you're just pressing buttons or filling out a form, it can raise temperature levels and frustration. Richard also states that it's very easy to retain a client, to get a referral and maybe even upsell. Just remember one thing, that if you have people like this, you always have to extend empathy and give them their dignity. Because just like yourself, it's one of the toughest businesses that have its moments. The same thing with telemarketing as well. We want to put that in the best light. And Suzanne, thank you so much for having me on. You are the diva and I love it. Well, thank you so much, because I think with that closing remark, you're absolutely right, is that it is a tough job. And I think that that's why it's hard to find people, because often when they're getting the call, they're dealing with someone who is in crisis and having a problem. With a call center, think about it this way, for those of you who are listening, that even if you use a call center, they could be that first human intervention. So then when it is the point where, okay, I'm going to get you to a tech now who can actually help you. By the time that your tech then has to take that call or your dispatcher, your scheduler, That upset customer has already been diffused. All the anger, all the angst, all of the worry has already been diffused. So now when it gets to that person who is stateside, they're dealing with a happy customer that is just so pleased that someone is actually going to take care of them, that they're not going to be abused. That's a wonderful question. There's so many ways to look at it. The first is that the company should do more voice support instead of non-voice support, because if you're just pressing buttons or filling out a form, it can raise temperature levels and frustration and to be able to resolve that issue in a faster period of time. Also, if you happen to get somebody on the phone, you're gonna be very upset, maybe cursing, yelling, screaming, and that doesn't resolve any issues as well. On the flip side, the company should be staffing accordingly. so you're not in a queue for long periods of time. Secondly, they should be able to be able to look up the client's information on the CRM so you don't have to repeat who you are to get into your account. Showing a little more empathy, not saying you're sorry for something you didn't do. And doing your best to get a first call resolution by calming down, clarifying certain things, and moving the conversation forward And so I just wanted you to address that as outsourcing to Costa Rica or other places. What are the questions that a company should be asking? of a potential call center or customer center call center service to make sure that they are partnering themselves with the right organization? That's a fantastic question to me. Initially, someone that's bilingual bears the mark of higher education. So someone is coming in with some incredible skill sets of structure and discipline. Secondly, they should be looking into their track record, how long they've been in business. Do they follow the rules? So as I mentioned, people are focused on non-voice communication and they're losing the art of speech. If you encourage someone to practice those skills, to live it, to be very engaged on the phone and to do some active listening, besides work, Suzanne, their lives will improve outside of the office with their friends and family. So it's really a gift that keeps on giving. The world is at stage. So unlike a certain job where you just pack up and go home, you're a professional communicator, professional listener. And so I think that the environment shouldn't downplay or patronize that sort of position when once again, these are the individuals that would be helping you grow your business. And we're looking at me as a solution for somebody locally that can't handle his own talent. And so that's something I'd have to take a look and see how he's treating his own people And people, I think we talked about this, that that agent may be thinking to themselves, excuse me, but you don't pay me enough to be abused like this. And I think if we can diffuse that, it's just going to be better for everybody all the way around. This episode covers: ? Executing Voice Supports rather than Non-voice for Small or Medium Businesses ? The Affordable Consideration of Outsourcing your Customer Service Call Center ? Foreign Outsourcing Increases Business at 95% Literacy I hope you find this episode as informative and as exciting as we have. We take the mystery out of digital marketing and PR. Whether through our DIY e-courses and coaching programs or our done-for-you or done-with-you services, we are passionate about helping businesses in the wastewater infrastructure, treatment and related civil infrastructure sectors thrive, not just survive in the new digital selling environment. You may have read some of my articles in Municipal Sewer & Water, Treatment Plant Operator, Cleaner, Trenchless Technology and more. I’m also a contributing author in two books that are in the Library of Congress and have been frequently invited to speak at national and international conferences such as WWETT. I have a deep understanding and love for what professionals in this vital industry do everyday and what it takes to be successful. My weekly podcast is dedicated to delivering industry know-how from industry pros who know how. It is my way of giving back to an industry that has been so very good to me. It seems like the profiled agent here could easily fit customer support and even prospecting appointment setting and lead generation. We're not engineers. And we're not physicists and we're not working with chemicals and scientists. And so I think that the sort of levels of responsibilities that you're giving us could be something that could be taught via, let's say, a cheat sheet or a cliff note version, training manual, possibly sending us recordings of your top person in the office for us to be able to listen, study, master, and imitate. And so these are the sort of resources we'd be asking our potential clients prior to going live. One thing that I saw as that this could be a benefit and why I wanted to have you on the show is for their smaller companies that are having trouble keeping staff, but yet they need someone to be able to provide that customer service so that they don't have to worry about it because they're out in the field taking care of the customers. That I also saw this as a great means for growth. If you work with me and my team you’ll experience the benefits of our four recurring pillars: Integrity, Respect, Generosity and Creativity. Our Goal: Exceptional ROI—Each client-centric solution is built with YOUR intended Return On Investment in mind. ? Integrity: In marketing and consultancy, integrity is critical, our word is our bond. The conversation and subsequent narrative thrives on it. ? Respect: Business relationships are sustained by mutual respect. Our team’s approach to understanding your needs and developing solutions is built on respect and extends to your end-user or client. ? Generosity: The complexity of some issues requires a generous attitude. Our team has combined industry experience of more than 100 years. When we accept a client, our approach is to accomplish and exceed your expectations thru the filter of generosity. ? Creativity: The use of creativity to achieve sustainable solutions is our pedigree. When you partner with us, our creativity goes into high gear. As a result, we utilize a creative approach to solve problems, implement our solutions and enjoy the intended ROI. Our business has two divisions: ? Creative Raven is a full-service boutique marketing and business development firm. We deliver a diverse range of creative production and consulting services to our clients, from one experienced source. ? The TUIT Group (TRAIN.UNDERSTAND.IMPROVE.TRANSFORM) delivers an array of educational resources that include e-courses, training and coaching programs. Videos produced by Creative Raven for our clients and our work in the field of water, wastewater and underground infrastructure. also included are videos shared with us from some of our customers. Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Leadgeneration #Appointmentsetting #itsmellsofmoney https://youtu.be/34gd7WOS-Eo?si=Mx2dVONfLCY9_eYO https://youtube.com/shorts/iw9lRh8EKEo https://youtu.be/S7M4rRNDrmk https://youtu.be/xe8fWbBSG10 https://youtu.be/tLOdJw5lCEw https://youtu.be/dyVIpJar3wM https://youtu.be/921sMfeT5F8