The Power of Human Connection in Business

Data Leadership Lessons Podcast. Call Center Success Secrets with Richard Blank – Episode 92 The "Data Leadership for Everyone" podcast is an audio advice column for all your data and leadership questions! In today's world, everyone needs to harness the power of data. There's a lot involved in making that happen, and we're here to make it all a little bit easier. Data is everywhere in our businesses, and it takes a lot of work to make the most of it. We bring you the people, stories, and lessons to help you become a Data Leader. You'll be amazed at just how many different paths Data Leadership can take! Algmin Data Leadership Podcast. Anthony Algmin is an experienced Chief Data Officer (CDO), the author of the first published book on data leadership, and a dynamic keynote speaker and trainer of data strategy and management topics. With expertise drawn from multiple industries, Anthony is currently the Convergence Platform Program Lead for AbbVie, where he leads the building of a data and knowledge platform transforming how AbbVie R&D discovers and develops new medicines. Anthony's passion is transforming organizations with data and technology, applying them in pragmatic ways to create real business value. He has been a senior leader in several industries in roles as an employee, consultant, and entrepreneur. Anthony is also the founder of the data leadership advocacy organization, Algmin Data Leadership (Algmin.com), and was the host of the Data Leadership Lessons Podcast from 2020-2022 with 100 episodes of data thought leadership. Arcade Addiction Confession There's no shame And I'm willing to admit that I have a serious addiction. And if somebody knows a professional to help me, have them give me a call. Because at this moment, I'm going to keep buying these machines. Arcade Addiction Confession There's no shame And I'm willing to admit that I have a serious addiction. And if somebody knows a professional to help me, have them give me a call. Because at this moment, I'm going to keep buying these machines. Building Customer Relationships Through Positive Escalation Even if it costs you a little bit more by making an airline reservation or that you know you have to stay online because of a queue that could keep you on hold for 20 minutes, it might pacify you. And so my suggestion for companies is to give people options because like myself, I'm old school. I'd like to build a relationship with someone at your organization. I'd like to have someone understand my account so I don't have to repeat it all the time. and potentially get a first call resolution. And when you're speaking with companies, the greatest thing you could ever do, Anthony, is give a positive escalation. If I have a great experience with a gatekeeper before being transferred to you, I will mention it verbally, and I'll also do it in writing. So if I happen to call your company back, this individual will thank me for that compliment, add steam in my momentum, and potentially give me more company culture that I could use when I speak with you again. So it's not like trying to be clever or finding ways in order to manipulate a conversation. These are the sort of things that you and I grew up with, raised by our parents and grandparents, by just showing active listening and engagement and being sincerely interested in the well-being of the client. Communication Strategies in Call Centers really it all depends on the needs of the client what i ask for a couple things transparency to give us all the resources and to respect and understand our local labor laws but you were mentioning non-voice support and i think that's okay in some instances but today a lot of companies are gravitating towards that post covid so it makes it a little more challenging for the outbound prospecting agents to have higher contact ratios But still, we're capable of doing some additional due diligence on a website or a LinkedIn profile to custom make a voicemail, an email, or potentially when you speak to somebody showing that you actually have some active interest. One of the disadvantages you have of only having that sort of non-voice communication is that, A, you are not able to upsell a client, you may not be able to retain them, get a referral, or in the best and worst case scenario, get an exit interview. Some feedback on areas in which you and I may improve or what our competition had done in order to earn their business. And don't tell me that when you're frustrated, all you're doing is pressing zero and saying, I want to speak with somebody. Even if it costs you a little bit more by making an airline reservation or that you know you have to stay online because of a queue that could keep you on hold for 20 minutes, it might pacify you. Pinball Leadership So as much as Jeff Bezos has thousands of agents here and I compete against Amazon, the one thing I know I did is I play pinball with my people. So that just might separate me from these titans. Reviving the Art of Customer Service Multiple areas of improvement. I believe that people should be more active listening when speaking with clients so we can ask for clarification and edification to ensure mutual understanding. I also believe in due diligence. Nobody's really taking the time to get to know somebody. They're just grinding out the calls. They're probably going to call you sir and not take the time to call you Anthony. And also, I guess people become complacent when they're doing something for so long and they don't have any fidelity. They don't love it anymore. They lost the sort of spark that got them into that in the first place. They become plastic. Too well rehearsed, they just go through the motions. And to me, I always believe that every call should be unique, almost like a painting, where you still follow certain guidelines, but you make that sort of connection with somebody. Strategic Insights on Hiring and Training Anthony, that's why you have one of the best podcasts out there. One of my favorite questions. Let me look at it a couple of different ways. The first thing is that you could have somebody coming in here with 10 years experience being a top gun, but they could also be bringing in bad habits. And it's a seller's market, so they might be considered a jumper, more a mercenary, where they're not loyal to any flag, just looking for the most money that's coming in. So I don't really look at individuals like that for long term. In order to scale, we may need to bring somebody in without call center or this specific vertical experience, and that's fine. I can always teach a CRM system and how to use a Plantronic headset. But learning a second language in my specific case is 10 times harder than any project I'm gonna put them on, so I put fear into perspective. The Importance of Empathy and Leadership We must take into consideration that there might be some outside factors that are happening that are not work related that may affect their performance. And so these individuals are taking care of their families and have very large responsibilities. And it's not saying you give someone 100 chances. They have to follow the labor laws. But there are certain ways to reset somebody, to allow them a quick timeout, or find ways to recharge their batteries so they can conquer any sort of challenges that they may have outside the office. So that's where my empathy goes. As an owner, you have leverage. You can hire, fire, or make, or break. I choose the former. It's very important to keep momentum and add wind in people's sails. Adding wind in people's sails. I really like that statement and that sentiment because that's really what you want to do. You want to propel them and give them strength, give them an ability to move forward, literally and figuratively, I guess. I'm just thinking, too, your words... strike a little bit deeper, I think, for all of us after the last few years, like who whom among us hasn't needed a moment in the last few years with the pandemic and with all of the craziness in the world right now. If you haven't, you're in the vast minority. The Power of Human Connection in Business And the banker who I had used many years ago to set up the initial account, remembered me and was like i am so sorry this whole thing has been such an adventure for all of us and we're so far behind but just know like i know what you're because they they changed the structure of the accounts and they defaulted them the wrong way and they charged me fees that i shouldn't have and i'm like i'm out of here i'm out of here and she's like she's like just please stay with me because i'm gonna find a way to learn this system and make this happen and we are going to still be this partnership that we've had for many, many years. And I'm like, Sherilyn, her name's Sherilyn. I'm like, Sherilyn, if you stay, I'll stay with you. if you leave i'm out but it was that personal connection in that moment and it could have easily happened over the phone just happened to be in the branch but i see that relationship and i'm like the rest of that is is secondary she saved this account for that bank because she was human and she had empathy and she knew that it wasn't going to be easy and it wasn't be easy for her either and i saw that as well i said oh what she's dealing with is way where i deal with this very tiny percentage of my time her entire world got upended from this she didn't want that merger either but she's continuing to move forward and and get through it and and i have to appreciate that and so i i i don't know how much that story relates but i just have to That human connection carries so much weight even now. https://youtu.be/JU42nDWnkKs https://youtu.be/pmYLGxavfXo https://youtu.be/L4Q4O7fRdEI https://youtu.be/dvIDuS4x_2I https://youtu.be/1bDiM3D16mE https://youtu.be/-NP92TaB0g4 https://youtu.be/2j2Qh51s7Q0 https://youtu.be/7ba0rUJ66rY https://youtu.be/6LA4kPOcLI4 https://youtu.be/6LA4kPOcLI4?si=XMhYUYWJGE_inWwn Anthony Algmin, Algmin Data Leadership Podcast, Data Leadership Lessons Podcast, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center Data Leadership Lessons podcast has accepted Richard Blank's invitation to join the audience for a solid discussion regarding starting a company from scratch in Costa Rica as an expat. Topics discussed with Richard advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal soft skills, customer support, rhetoric, gamification, employee motivation, phonetic micro expression reading. Richard’s journey in the call center space 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/ #AnthonyAlgmin #AlgminDataLeadershipPodcast. #DataLeadershipLessonsPodcast #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Leadgeneration #Appointmentsetting #dataleadershoplessonspodcast