Embrace Life Like The Fool

Carry on with Criselda Podcast. 5 Steps to Take a Risk and Live a Happy Life. S01E21 How Richard Followed His Heart's Compass to Costa Rica Podcast Host of Carry On with Criselda. Always floating along in life, never daring to reach for the extraordinary is how I got along for most of my life. Now having passed the midpoint of my lifespan, I asked myself one important question: Is this how I want to spend the second half of my life? Welcome to Carry On with Criselda, a podcast which will offer encouragement, direction, motivation and clarity for those in search of it. We will talk about ways to improve one’s life by using positive strategies that will make lasting changes in handling their thoughts and emotions. The way to reach the kind of life we seek is through improving our mindset, releasing negativity including the past, adopting a state of gratitude, seeking peace, setting boundaries and so much more. Offering hope and encouragement to others is at the heart of this podcast. Our goal is to lift up those who are looking for answers and a way to improve their lives and through this podcast, our intent is that they come out feeling better than they did before they listened. Up until that point, I really had nothing to show as far as doing something with my life that I am passionate about and that I could share with humanity. Part of the reason I attribute to my private, quiet, introverted nature and the other part is knowing that it's not always easy. But I began to see and be inspired to finally step off my ledge. That was the birth of this podcast. I am not a professional psychologist nor best-selling author nor award-winning anything. I am just a woman, who after way too many trials and errors, has finally gotten the hang of how to improve my life and I am more than happy, itching in fact, to share what I know, what I have learned, what works and what doesn't work. At the end of the day, all I want is to have a peaceful, balanced life. Am I an expert in all things self-improvement? Heck, no! I realize I am going to be a student for life. And that's how we should all view life. We are students here who will always have new learning experiences as we navigate our own journeys. Only, we do not have to go at it alone. And I am passionate to offer the hope and encouragement that everyone needs now and then, as they go through the challenges of life. Are you ready to take a risk and follow your heart's compass, just like Richard Blank did? Richard Blank was 27 years old when he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees at a call center in San Jose. He had the courage to leave his family and friends and move thousands of miles away. That's when he found his true passion and his wife. But Richard's story doesn't end there. He went on to become the Chief Executive Officer of Costa Rica's Call Center and now owns the largest collection of restored American pinball machines and antique jukeboxes in Central America. In this blog, I will outline how Richard Blank followed his heart's compass to Costa Rica, and the 5 steps he took to take a risk and live a happy life. About Richard Blank Meet Richard Blank: a successful entrepreneur, CEO, and collector of pinball machines and antique jukeboxes. Born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, Richard moved to Costa Rica in his mid-twenties to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. During his 23 years in Costa Rica, Richard has established himself as a leader in the call center space, trained over 10,000 bilingual telemarketers, and created an environment of gamification and motivation that has led to a successful company. With a heart for the underdog, Richard seeks to empower and embolden his employees, believing that everyone deserves their dignity, and that those with leverage should extend empathy. He has also developed a passion for collecting pinball machines and antique jukeboxes which he enjoys both at home and at the call center with his employees. Why is it important to know what inspired Richard to travel to Costa Rica? Knowing what inspired Richard to travel to Costa Rica is important for understanding the motivations behind his journey. By understanding his reasons for traveling, we can gain insight into his mindset, which can help us to better comprehend his experiences and the impact they had on him. Additionally, exploring Richard’s motivation for the trip can provide us with insight into his personal history and how it shaped his decision to go to Costa Rica. Overall, understanding Richard’s motivations for travel to Costa Rica is essential for gaining a full picture of his journey. It can help us to gain insight into his decision-making process, personal history, and how his experience shaped his life. Here are the 5 steps Richard took which led him to a fulfilling life: Followed his heart's compass and took a risk. Had rational discussions with family and friends to explain why he was making the move. Showed his family through his actions that he is living a happy life. Hired experienced employees who can mentor and pay it forward. Took time to crack the code and create something new. Followed his heart's compass and took a risk. Richard Blank is a prime example of following one's heart's compass and taking a risk. He moved hundreds of miles away from his family and friends to Costa Rica, where he trained 10,000 bilingual telemarketers. In 2008, he became the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center. His management style is focused on empathy, dignity, and respect for all of his employees. He even hires older, experienced adults who may need a little extra help with computer skills. He has taken a risk in choosing Costa Rica and his career, but it has paid off. Not only does he have the largest collection of restored American pinball machines and antique jukeboxes in Central America, but he also has 150 employees who look up to him and respect him. Richard has taken a risk and followed his heart's compass, and it has paid off greatly. When thinking about taking a risk, it is important to remember that there is no guarantee that it will pay off, but it does open the door for opportunities. Taking a risk can be daunting, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. It is important to remember that taking risks can lead to growth, whether personal or professional. Taking a risk can also help to expand your horizons and add new experiences to your life. Following your heart's compass and taking a risk can be intimidating, but it can ultimately lead to great successes. Had rational discussions with family and friends to explain why he was making the move. To have rational discussions with family and friends to explain why you are making the move, it is important to start by explaining your journey and goals. For example, Richard Blank explained his journey from college, to Europe, and then to Costa Rica. He was able to explain his motivations and explain that it was a one in a million opportunity to train employees for a call center. It is also important to explain the situation, such as the fact that he was learning an industry from the inside out, and that he was meeting his wife in Costa Rica. Additionally, Richard shared his management style and the fact that he was creating something from nothing. This all gave him the ability to explain why he was making the move and why it was important to him. Lastly, it is important to give rational arguments, such as Richard's explanation that his great grandpa came to the United States and how he was just going south, rather than competing with his siblings. This helped make the move more real and easier for his family to understand. When making a move that is a big decision and involves family and friends, it is also important to remain calm and open-minded when having rational discussions with them. Showing that you are open to their input and that you take their advice into consideration will help them understand and feel comfortable with your decision. Additionally, it is important to be able to explain why you are making the move and why it is important to you. Showing that you have thought this through and have a plan will make them feel more secure in your decision. Lastly, it is important to emphasize that while you are making a big decision, it doesn’t mean that you are cutting ties with them. You will still have the same relationship with them and still be able to stay in touch, even if it is over the phone or internet. This will help them understand that while you are making a big move, they will still be a part of your life. Showed his family through his actions that he is living a happy life. One of the best ways to show your family that you are living a happy life is through your actions. Richard Blank's story is a great example of this. He moved thousands of miles away from his family and friends to Costa Rica to build a life and a company from scratch. Despite his family's initial hesitation, he showed them through his actions that he was living a content and fulfilled life. By continuing to visit them every five years and demonstrating his loyalty, dedication, and maturity, Richard was able to show his family that he was living a happy life in Costa Rica. He also showed his family that he was staying true to himself by investing in his hobby and passion of restoring pinball machines and antique jukeboxes. The fact that he was able to balance his work and his passion projects was a great example of how he was living a happy life. By exemplifying these traits, Richard was able to show his family through his actions that he was living a life he was proud of. Another way to show your family that you are living a happy life is by engaging in activities that bring you joy. If you are passionate about a specific hobby or activity, make sure to share that with your family. This could mean taking a class, joining a club, or simply talking with your family about it. Your enthusiasm will be contagious and will show your family that you are living a life of contentment. It is also important to show your family through your actions that you are living a life of gratitude. A great way to do this is by expressing your appreciation for the people and experiences that you are blessed with. This could mean sending thank you cards, calling to catch up, or writing down what you are grateful for each day. Showing your family that you are thankful for the blessings in your life is a great way to demonstrate that you are living a happy life. Hired experienced employees who can mentor and pay it forward. In order to hire experienced employees who can mentor and pay it forward, Richard Blank recommends hiring “gray hairs”, or older employees with years of experience in various fields. This is because they are not only more likely to have the experience needed to mentor younger employees, but they also have life experience that can be invaluable in a work environment. He also emphasizes that while it is important to teach employees how to use a computer, it is more important to teach them life skills that come from the heart. Richard himself looks for people who have a marathon-runner mentality and are willing to learn and take responsibility for their work. Richard has found success in hiring experienced employees and creating a culture of mentorship and positive reinforcement. He believes that each employee should be treated with respect and dignity, and that those in power should extend empathy. He also encourages employers to give employees a chance if they don’t have the computer skills necessary for the job, as there are other qualities such as life experience that can be more important. By creating a culture of mentorship, Richard has found success in his call center in Costa Rica and has been able to continue to stay true to himself and his passions. In addition to hiring experienced employees, Richard believes that it is important to create a positive work environment in order to foster mentorship. He suggests finding ways to reward employees for their hard work and dedication. He believes that this will encourage employees to mentor their peers, which will lead to a more productive and successful work environment. Richard also stresses the importance of providing employees with career development opportunities. By offering employees the chance to learn new skills, they will be more likely to stay with the company and mentor those around them. He has implemented a variety of programs in his call center in Costa Rica that focus on helping employees grow both personally and professionally. Through these programs, he has created a culture of mentorship and positive reinforcement that has resulted in success and growth. Took time to crack the code and created something new. Richard Blank was able to do this in his own life by taking a leap of faith and moving to Costa Rica. He was able to take his knowledge of Spanish and his experience abroad from his junior year in Spain to build something from nothing. He was able to use his communication skills to motivate and train over 10,000 bilingual telemarketers at the call center he created. He also implemented gamification as a part of the call center culture by having the largest collection of restored American pinball machines and antique jukeboxes in Central America. Richard took a risk, but he was able to use his existing knowledge and skills to create something new and successful. He also implemented a unique management style that places emphasis on empathy and dignity, which has paid off, as he now has 150 employees. Finally, Richard is setting his sights even higher and is planning to write children's books and create interactive mini golf and Rube Goldberg experiments. By taking time to crack the code, Richard was able to create something new and successful in his life. Step 5 is also an opportunity to look outside of your comfort zone and try something new. If you are looking to make a change, why not try something completely different? For example, if you are a software engineer, why not take some time to learn about web design or marketing? You may find that you have a passion for something you never would have thought of. There is no harm in taking a risk, as it may lead you to something great that you would not have otherwise discovered. You can also take some time to crack the code by taking an online course or attending a seminar. Taking classes or learning from other experts can give you the knowledge and skills you need to create something new. You may find that you have the basics down but need some additional training to take it to the next level. Taking the time to learn something new can help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to create something great. Richard Blank's story is one of courage, resilience and risk-taking. He left his family and friends to move to Costa Rica, where he ended up training employees for a call center and eventually becoming the CEO of the company. He also built the largest collection of restored American pinball machines and antique jukeboxes in Central America. By taking the time to learn the industry from the inside out, having rational discussions with family and friends to explain his move, showing his family and friends he was living a happy life, hiring experienced employees who can mentor and pay it forward as well as taking time to crack the code and create something new, Richard was able to follow his heart's compass and take a risk to live a happy life. You can do the same: take a risk and follow your heart's compass. Believe in yourself, and you will find the courage and strength to make your dreams come true. I’d love to hear how you apply Richard Blank's steps to get fulfillment and joy from risk-taking in your life. Leave me a comment on how it went for you or if you still struggle with any of these steps! Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. At 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 over two decades. 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, entered into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business along side other famous alumni. Paying it forward 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/ Carry on with Criselda 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, #CarryonwithCriseldaPodcast #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow Embrace Life Like The Fool Remember, we only get 100 years. Regardless, you're going to die one day. And this fool is willing to live such a beautiful life of roses and sunshine and his head in the clouds of happiness that he's not worried about some of these pitfalls. Now, mind you, the fool could always look down and realize to step to the right, to the left, or stop walking. But the card only shows the moment prior to either falling off the cliff, still being in that ecstasy, or being in the now. And so I'm trying to live that powerful wave and balance of on top of the wave, or as some people even say, lucid dreaming, where you're consciously aware of being in the dream and the conscious state. https://youtu.be/advXhcAXMys https://youtube.com/shorts/POAB3lCdmf8

The 'Me Too' Technique Through Fluffy. The business of meetings podcast

The Evolution from Arcade Nostalgia to Pinball Obsession.

The Business Of Meetings Podcast hosted by Eric Rozenberg.How to Leverage Call Centers with Richard Blank The #1 podcast for business owners in the meetings and events industry, https://youtu.be/DmEuOj1nuRQ?si=j1ozp_byHoT2tAf7 The Business Of Meetings Podcast. If you are an independent business owner in the meeting and event space, this podcast is for you! Your host, Eric Rozenberg has created this show to bring you strategies, tips, and tactics to help your business grow. With more than 20 years in the event industry and planning events for Fortune 100 companies, Eric is prepared to let you in on the insider tactics so you can be successful too! Richard has had an amazing journey! In this episode 116, he talks about call centers, sales, people retention, life, and entrepreneurship. He explains how to leverage call centers to connect better with your customers and grow your business. Dedicated to offering content to business owners in the Meetings & Events Industry, Event Business Formula features original interviews from The Business of Meetings Podcast and other videos of interest. Richard’s journey After graduating in 1991 from Abington High School in North East Philadelphia, Richard went to the University of Arizona. He majored in Spanish and Communication and focused on public speaking, non-verbal communication, and micro-expression reading. When he was 27 years old, a friend who had a call center invited him to go there to teach English, and he ended up working there for four years. Starting a call center In 2008, Richard decided to start a call center with his wife. They began with one seat and fifty hours. Today, fourteen years later, they are 150 strong. They are very selective and reject more accounts than they accept because Richard wants to ensure that he can fulfill his clients’ needs with the accounts that come in, and the agent will be comfortable enough to do the work. The agents’ experience Richard respects Costa Rican customs, culture, and native tongue. He also respects the bilingualism of his agents. He can mold brand-new agents, and with older agents, he sometimes has to get rid of bad habits. By properly preparing his agents, he feels he can put them all on a level playing field. The culture Sometimes, telemarketers and call center agents feel like numbers or robots, and they feel expendable. So before putting them on the phone, Richard gets to know their names and who they are. He also trains them to give them a base foundation to grow. Quality calls Richard likes his agents to focus on doing quality calls. About 30% of all calls come about through referrals. Much of their business happens because they do an excellent job on the first call. By working smarter rather than harder, they earn those referrals. Growing a business by working with call centers Growing a business has a lot to do with workforce management. Small business owners in the meetings and events industry can grow their businesses using omnichannel support and emails. By making phone calls, they also get the chance to do up-sales, get referrals, and answer questions. Put more effort into your communication Putting more effort into your communication, and making it warmer and more inviting, will separate you from others. If you make outbound calls, send an email, or leave a voicemail, take the time to look at the website or the CEO or business leaders’ LinkedIn profiles to get a sense of the tone or the company culture. Answering calls Have your best people answer calls. If there is an overflow, it is worth paying a little extra to work with a blended call center answering service so that you never have to miss that special call! Cold calls Doing cold calls represents half of their business. Their forte is appointment setting and lead generation, and they sometimes do surveys. Outbound calls Richard believes he has cracked a code for making outbound calls! The best approach for a phone call is to use anonymity (apart from mentioning the name of the company you represent) in the first three to five seconds of the call. The Buffer Boomerang technique If someone gives you a negative one, negative two, or a negative three-tone, reduce that tone and make it positive to reset the conversation. Then, show active listening by repeating the question. Land it back at them with a plus-two boomerang response. Positive escalation When your call gets transferred, it is the perfect time to give a positive verbal escalation (complimenting someone who works for you) to gain momentum and move forward. Concluding a call Calls consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. To conclude, ask if there are any final questions, and then finish up with a military alphabet to double-check the email address of the person to whom you are talking. Follow up Follow up with a thank-you email that includes the name of the person who assisted you by transferring your call. Motivation Richard’s agents are properly prepared and well-rehearsed. He motivates his team by giving them prizes for meeting their goals. Working with good faith and good intentions also helps them weather the storms. Reading micro-expressions on the phone The purest form of communication is phonetics because congruence is where audio matches the visual. Phonetics can be broken down into four different sections: Tone Rate Pitch Duration Your tone is the one consistent variable you have when you read micro-expressions. Keep it confident and empathetic. Mirror imaging Focus on the speed and pitch of the person you are talking to. Read them initially to see if they are going faster, slower, louder, or softer. After about five minutes, you will notice if there is a spike or dip in their speech. Tone, rate, and pitch can be manipulated. Your ultimate tell-sign is your subconscious answering speed. Then it will be the ideal time for you to ask a tie-down, a pin-down, or a clarification question. Repetition Richard suggests that you repeat something from time to time to make sure that the person you are talking to is following along with you. It will also give them time to digest what you have been talking about. An exit interview Better phone calls sometimes include an exit interview. You could get five reasons why someone chose your competition or get a suggestion to enhance your services. OUR APPROACH To build a successful event business, you must be an artist who can play several instruments and smile at the camera all at the same time. The Event Business Formula™ is designed to help you clearly address 3 major success arenas: PEOPLE If you’re “alone at the top” putting out fires and saving the day, then it’s time to share your leadership challenges with experts and peers. The Event Business Formula will help you and your organization solve problems by ’brainstorming with other professionals who face the same challenges and collaborating one to one with top innovators and experts. STRATEGY You’re stellar at putting out fires and creating on the spot solutions. It’s part of your DNA, the very thing clients and colleagues have always praised you for doing, but it’s exhausting and not enough for you anymore! It’s time to stop the insanity and develop new strategies and processes that will move you and your organization to a more fulfilling and profitable position. TECHNOLOGY Ever wish you had more time to think, learn and grow? Do you spend countless hours doing business – not building business? Have you’ve heard about the powerful methodologies like Blue Ocean Strategy or Business Model Canvas? We’ll bring you up to speed on these and more, helping you transform your approach, making life easier and more rewarding for you, your clients and your team. OUR PROGRAMS Discover how we can help you grow your meetings and events business Through a combination of online training programs, private coaching, and in-person masterminds, we help entrepreneurs in the meetings and events industry grow and scale their business. 1. Interpersonal Communication Conflict Management Strategy 2. Phonetic Micro Expression reading for mastering verbal tell signs. 3. The Famous Buffer-Boomerang Technique Advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal soft skills, customer support, rhetoric, gamification, pinball machines, employee motivation and phonetic micro expression reading. Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. At 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 over two decades. 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, entered into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business along side other famous alumni. Paying it forward 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/ #Event Business Formula #TheBusinessOfMeetingsPodcast #EricRozenberg #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow Event Business Formula, The Business Of Meetings Podcast, Eric Rozenberg Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer, Event Business Formula presents: The Business Of Meetings Podcast hosted by Eric Rozenberg. How to Leverage Call Centers with Richard Blank Adapting Contact Strategies Post-COVID I have one more question for you in terms of outsourcing. So I'm owner of a meeting and event company. I had 50 prospects that I wanted to call two years ago. And then today, COVID happened. People don't work in the office anymore. They change. How do you go about finding the information to call somebody who might still be with the company, but is not working in the building anymore? The fact that it's a list of 50 makes me feel great because I can marinate the list. There are so many different ways that you can cross-reference information from email addresses to their past positions to phone numbers. And then if it's a stretch, you can just find people that have worked with them and reach out to them. It just might take a little bit more effort, but then again, it gives you a chance that when you get the information to contact that person, you do the positive escalation that this coworker of theirs had recommended. And so is it more labor intensive? Yes. But then again, look on the bright side. If you were just making these phone calls without any sort of research behind it, you probably wouldn't have uncovered something. Appreciating Life's Small Treasures Post-COVID And as much as we're successful and we are comfortable and we have the luxury to do certain things, the most important thing for me in my life is my family, my wife, my good friends, myself. And it's really made me more appreciative of the small things. And I know that makes sense to not only you, but to your audience. And I'm sorry to get sentimental for a minute. And you said it very well. The right tone with the right speed. That's excellent. Unreal, man. And it's just one of those things that I just take to heart during how you and I both survived and came out better after COVID Creating A Playful Work Culture with Retro Arcades It's just part of our culture here we work hard but we also play hard and me being a child still a 50-year-old child the greatest thing for me is to supply your huge free play retro arcade game room which I've always wanted and fortunately I have the space for it so I packed my first floor with an air hockey table a bunch of machines And it really makes a great environment. And I'm not done. Hey, I'm going to find your Pac-Man machine for you. It will take some time, but I'll definitely find it. Awesome. But when you and I speak next year, ask me how many machines I have then. I might need to rent another school Mastering First Impressions in Cold Calls A phone call happens where, let's say you're making a cold call. A lot of the times through hedging, just through reactions, sometimes when people will just ask how people are doing. I've seen that you get more positive reactions by using anonymity in the first three to five seconds of the call. You are allowed to say the name of the company. Like I would say, business for meetings. How are you doing today? So instead of asking how Eric is doing today, you would say business for meetings. How may I help you? Hi, business for meetings. How are you doing today? So I have my anonymity. I said the name of your company better than you did. And we've also seen from an action to a reaction, we've gotten some positive reinforcement where people will feel that we've called there before or know somebody there. And let's just say that you just do the cold, you know, business to meetings. How are you today? And then the person says, great. And then there's a pause there because once again, you're not rushing. And then if you get the name, let's say they use the name Kathy, for example, then you could say, Kathy, I'm looking to speak to Eric. Thank you very much. And then they would say to you, usually a question, what is this regarding? What is your company name? Perfect. Respect and Empowerment in Call Centers What an excellent question. First and foremost, I know that I'm a guest in this country. And so I am definitely respecting their customs, their culture, and their native tongue. Secondly, I respect the fact that they are bilingual, which bears the mark of higher education. So they've shown me structure, discipline, and cognitive skills. And I'd be remiss to think that I started them off there. No, they're coming to the table very strong. If they're brand new agents, Eric, then I can mold them. If they're older agents, then I have to get rid of some bad habits. But the one thing is fear. It's a morbid anticipation of things that haven't happened yet. If I can properly prepare them, give them the script, the rebuttals, the CRM training, if I can put all the agents on a level playing field, they can be competitive. But the biggest thing that I saw and the largest gripe that I heard are that telemarketers and call center agents, they feel like numbers sometimes. They feel like robots. Let's just say they feel expendable. And the first thing that I do prior to even putting them on the phone is to know your name. I'm going to know who you are. And our clients like to invest in a lot of onboarding and training. You don't need to do it over excessive, but prior to even any sort of material training of the account, my clients allow me to do at least two hours worth of soft skills training. So I can go over conflict management, phonetics, semantics, I can go over certain sort of deliveries and tones and I can work with them. So at least to give them a base foundation to grow upon. And so that is the sort of environment that we have here. The agents are not expendable. I'm only looking to delegate so I can promote them from within. The Evolution from Arcade Nostalgia to Pinball Obsession I grew up in the 70s and 80s. Ah, the best. Going to an arcade back in the day was great. It was a fun experience. And I don't know if you remember the TV show, but Ricky Schroeder was in a show called Silver Spoons. And they had a Pac-Man machine, a Tempest machine, a Gorf machine, and a pinball machine. And every kid in the 80s wanted that Silver Spoons game room. And so fast forward to today, I'm a business owner, doing well for myself. All of a sudden, I found my first pinball down here. And a hobby became an obsession. https://youtu.be/DmEuOj1nuRQ?si=j1ozp_byHoT2tAf7 https://youtu.be/xRHSHokAJ8I https://youtu.be/2-OeoBas_Bg https://youtu.be/rHY91_ZtrRw https://youtu.be/3vjc5G4ZJLs

Respect and Empowerment in Call Centers

The Business Of Meetings Podcast hosted by Eric Rozenberg.How to Leverage Call Centers with Richard Blank The #1 podcast for business owners in the meetings and events industry, https://youtu.be/DmEuOj1nuRQ?si=j1ozp_byHoT2tAf7 The Business Of Meetings Podcast. If you are an independent business owner in the meeting and event space, this podcast is for you! Your host, Eric Rozenberg has created this show to bring you strategies, tips, and tactics to help your business grow. With more than 20 years in the event industry and planning events for Fortune 100 companies, Eric is prepared to let you in on the insider tactics so you can be successful too! Richard has had an amazing journey! In this episode 116, he talks about call centers, sales, people retention, life, and entrepreneurship. He explains how to leverage call centers to connect better with your customers and grow your business. Dedicated to offering content to business owners in the Meetings & Events Industry, Event Business Formula features original interviews from The Business of Meetings Podcast and other videos of interest. Richard’s journey After graduating in 1991 from Abington High School in North East Philadelphia, Richard went to the University of Arizona. He majored in Spanish and Communication and focused on public speaking, non-verbal communication, and micro-expression reading. When he was 27 years old, a friend who had a call center invited him to go there to teach English, and he ended up working there for four years. Starting a call center In 2008, Richard decided to start a call center with his wife. They began with one seat and fifty hours. Today, fourteen years later, they are 150 strong. They are very selective and reject more accounts than they accept because Richard wants to ensure that he can fulfill his clients’ needs with the accounts that come in, and the agent will be comfortable enough to do the work. The agents’ experience Richard respects Costa Rican customs, culture, and native tongue. He also respects the bilingualism of his agents. He can mold brand-new agents, and with older agents, he sometimes has to get rid of bad habits. By properly preparing his agents, he feels he can put them all on a level playing field. The culture Sometimes, telemarketers and call center agents feel like numbers or robots, and they feel expendable. So before putting them on the phone, Richard gets to know their names and who they are. He also trains them to give them a base foundation to grow. Quality calls Richard likes his agents to focus on doing quality calls. About 30% of all calls come about through referrals. Much of their business happens because they do an excellent job on the first call. By working smarter rather than harder, they earn those referrals. Growing a business by working with call centers Growing a business has a lot to do with workforce management. Small business owners in the meetings and events industry can grow their businesses using omnichannel support and emails. By making phone calls, they also get the chance to do up-sales, get referrals, and answer questions. Put more effort into your communication Putting more effort into your communication, and making it warmer and more inviting, will separate you from others. If you make outbound calls, send an email, or leave a voicemail, take the time to look at the website or the CEO or business leaders’ LinkedIn profiles to get a sense of the tone or the company culture. Answering calls Have your best people answer calls. If there is an overflow, it is worth paying a little extra to work with a blended call center answering service so that you never have to miss that special call! Cold calls Doing cold calls represents half of their business. Their forte is appointment setting and lead generation, and they sometimes do surveys. Outbound calls Richard believes he has cracked a code for making outbound calls! The best approach for a phone call is to use anonymity (apart from mentioning the name of the company you represent) in the first three to five seconds of the call. The Buffer Boomerang technique If someone gives you a negative one, negative two, or a negative three-tone, reduce that tone and make it positive to reset the conversation. Then, show active listening by repeating the question. Land it back at them with a plus-two boomerang response. Positive escalation When your call gets transferred, it is the perfect time to give a positive verbal escalation (complimenting someone who works for you) to gain momentum and move forward. Concluding a call Calls consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. To conclude, ask if there are any final questions, and then finish up with a military alphabet to double-check the email address of the person to whom you are talking. Follow up Follow up with a thank-you email that includes the name of the person who assisted you by transferring your call. Motivation Richard’s agents are properly prepared and well-rehearsed. He motivates his team by giving them prizes for meeting their goals. Working with good faith and good intentions also helps them weather the storms. Reading micro-expressions on the phone The purest form of communication is phonetics because congruence is where audio matches the visual. Phonetics can be broken down into four different sections: Tone Rate Pitch Duration Your tone is the one consistent variable you have when you read micro-expressions. Keep it confident and empathetic. Mirror imaging Focus on the speed and pitch of the person you are talking to. Read them initially to see if they are going faster, slower, louder, or softer. After about five minutes, you will notice if there is a spike or dip in their speech. Tone, rate, and pitch can be manipulated. Your ultimate tell-sign is your subconscious answering speed. Then it will be the ideal time for you to ask a tie-down, a pin-down, or a clarification question. Repetition Richard suggests that you repeat something from time to time to make sure that the person you are talking to is following along with you. It will also give them time to digest what you have been talking about. An exit interview Better phone calls sometimes include an exit interview. You could get five reasons why someone chose your competition or get a suggestion to enhance your services. OUR APPROACH To build a successful event business, you must be an artist who can play several instruments and smile at the camera all at the same time. The Event Business Formula™ is designed to help you clearly address 3 major success arenas: PEOPLE If you’re “alone at the top” putting out fires and saving the day, then it’s time to share your leadership challenges with experts and peers. The Event Business Formula will help you and your organization solve problems by ’brainstorming with other professionals who face the same challenges and collaborating one to one with top innovators and experts. STRATEGY You’re stellar at putting out fires and creating on the spot solutions. It’s part of your DNA, the very thing clients and colleagues have always praised you for doing, but it’s exhausting and not enough for you anymore! It’s time to stop the insanity and develop new strategies and processes that will move you and your organization to a more fulfilling and profitable position. TECHNOLOGY Ever wish you had more time to think, learn and grow? Do you spend countless hours doing business – not building business? Have you’ve heard about the powerful methodologies like Blue Ocean Strategy or Business Model Canvas? We’ll bring you up to speed on these and more, helping you transform your approach, making life easier and more rewarding for you, your clients and your team. OUR PROGRAMS Discover how we can help you grow your meetings and events business Through a combination of online training programs, private coaching, and in-person masterminds, we help entrepreneurs in the meetings and events industry grow and scale their business. 1. Interpersonal Communication Conflict Management Strategy 2. Phonetic Micro Expression reading for mastering verbal tell signs. 3. The Famous Buffer-Boomerang Technique Advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal soft skills, customer support, rhetoric, gamification, pinball machines, employee motivation and phonetic micro expression reading. Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. At 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 over two decades. 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, entered into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business along side other famous alumni. Paying it forward 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/ #Event Business Formula #TheBusinessOfMeetingsPodcast #EricRozenberg #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow Event Business Formula, The Business Of Meetings Podcast, Eric Rozenberg Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer, Event Business Formula presents: The Business Of Meetings Podcast hosted by Eric Rozenberg. How to Leverage Call Centers with Richard Blank Adapting Contact Strategies Post-COVID I have one more question for you in terms of outsourcing. So I'm owner of a meeting and event company. I had 50 prospects that I wanted to call two years ago. And then today, COVID happened. People don't work in the office anymore. They change. How do you go about finding the information to call somebody who might still be with the company, but is not working in the building anymore? The fact that it's a list of 50 makes me feel great because I can marinate the list. There are so many different ways that you can cross-reference information from email addresses to their past positions to phone numbers. And then if it's a stretch, you can just find people that have worked with them and reach out to them. It just might take a little bit more effort, but then again, it gives you a chance that when you get the information to contact that person, you do the positive escalation that this coworker of theirs had recommended. And so is it more labor intensive? Yes. But then again, look on the bright side. If you were just making these phone calls without any sort of research behind it, you probably wouldn't have uncovered something. Appreciating Life's Small Treasures Post-COVID And as much as we're successful and we are comfortable and we have the luxury to do certain things, the most important thing for me in my life is my family, my wife, my good friends, myself. And it's really made me more appreciative of the small things. And I know that makes sense to not only you, but to your audience. And I'm sorry to get sentimental for a minute. And you said it very well. The right tone with the right speed. That's excellent. Unreal, man. And it's just one of those things that I just take to heart during how you and I both survived and came out better after COVID Creating A Playful Work Culture with Retro Arcades It's just part of our culture here we work hard but we also play hard and me being a child still a 50-year-old child the greatest thing for me is to supply your huge free play retro arcade game room which I've always wanted and fortunately I have the space for it so I packed my first floor with an air hockey table a bunch of machines And it really makes a great environment. And I'm not done. Hey, I'm going to find your Pac-Man machine for you. It will take some time, but I'll definitely find it. Awesome. But when you and I speak next year, ask me how many machines I have then. I might need to rent another school Mastering First Impressions in Cold Calls A phone call happens where, let's say you're making a cold call. A lot of the times through hedging, just through reactions, sometimes when people will just ask how people are doing. I've seen that you get more positive reactions by using anonymity in the first three to five seconds of the call. You are allowed to say the name of the company. Like I would say, business for meetings. How are you doing today? So instead of asking how Eric is doing today, you would say business for meetings. How may I help you? Hi, business for meetings. How are you doing today? So I have my anonymity. I said the name of your company better than you did. And we've also seen from an action to a reaction, we've gotten some positive reinforcement where people will feel that we've called there before or know somebody there. And let's just say that you just do the cold, you know, business to meetings. How are you today? And then the person says, great. And then there's a pause there because once again, you're not rushing. And then if you get the name, let's say they use the name Kathy, for example, then you could say, Kathy, I'm looking to speak to Eric. Thank you very much. And then they would say to you, usually a question, what is this regarding? What is your company name? Perfect. Respect and Empowerment in Call Centers What an excellent question. First and foremost, I know that I'm a guest in this country. And so I am definitely respecting their customs, their culture, and their native tongue. Secondly, I respect the fact that they are bilingual, which bears the mark of higher education. So they've shown me structure, discipline, and cognitive skills. And I'd be remiss to think that I started them off there. No, they're coming to the table very strong. If they're brand new agents, Eric, then I can mold them. If they're older agents, then I have to get rid of some bad habits. But the one thing is fear. It's a morbid anticipation of things that haven't happened yet. If I can properly prepare them, give them the script, the rebuttals, the CRM training, if I can put all the agents on a level playing field, they can be competitive. But the biggest thing that I saw and the largest gripe that I heard are that telemarketers and call center agents, they feel like numbers sometimes. They feel like robots. Let's just say they feel expendable. And the first thing that I do prior to even putting them on the phone is to know your name. I'm going to know who you are. And our clients like to invest in a lot of onboarding and training. You don't need to do it over excessive, but prior to even any sort of material training of the account, my clients allow me to do at least two hours worth of soft skills training. So I can go over conflict management, phonetics, semantics, I can go over certain sort of deliveries and tones and I can work with them. So at least to give them a base foundation to grow upon. And so that is the sort of environment that we have here. The agents are not expendable. I'm only looking to delegate so I can promote them from within. https://youtu.be/DmEuOj1nuRQ?si=j1ozp_byHoT2tAf7 https://youtu.be/xRHSHokAJ8I https://youtu.be/2-OeoBas_Bg https://youtu.be/rHY91_ZtrRw https://youtu.be/3vjc5G4ZJLs

Mastering First Impressions in Cold Calls.

The Business Of Meetings Podcast hosted by Eric Rozenberg.How to Leverage Call Centers with Richard Blank The #1 podcast for business owners in the meetings and events industry, https://youtu.be/DmEuOj1nuRQ?si=j1ozp_byHoT2tAf7 The Business Of Meetings Podcast. If you are an independent business owner in the meeting and event space, this podcast is for you! Your host, Eric Rozenberg has created this show to bring you strategies, tips, and tactics to help your business grow. With more than 20 years in the event industry and planning events for Fortune 100 companies, Eric is prepared to let you in on the insider tactics so you can be successful too! Richard has had an amazing journey! In this episode 116, he talks about call centers, sales, people retention, life, and entrepreneurship. He explains how to leverage call centers to connect better with your customers and grow your business. Dedicated to offering content to business owners in the Meetings & Events Industry, Event Business Formula features original interviews from The Business of Meetings Podcast and other videos of interest. Richard’s journey After graduating in 1991 from Abington High School in North East Philadelphia, Richard went to the University of Arizona. He majored in Spanish and Communication and focused on public speaking, non-verbal communication, and micro-expression reading. When he was 27 years old, a friend who had a call center invited him to go there to teach English, and he ended up working there for four years. Starting a call center In 2008, Richard decided to start a call center with his wife. They began with one seat and fifty hours. Today, fourteen years later, they are 150 strong. They are very selective and reject more accounts than they accept because Richard wants to ensure that he can fulfill his clients’ needs with the accounts that come in, and the agent will be comfortable enough to do the work. The agents’ experience Richard respects Costa Rican customs, culture, and native tongue. He also respects the bilingualism of his agents. He can mold brand-new agents, and with older agents, he sometimes has to get rid of bad habits. By properly preparing his agents, he feels he can put them all on a level playing field. The culture Sometimes, telemarketers and call center agents feel like numbers or robots, and they feel expendable. So before putting them on the phone, Richard gets to know their names and who they are. He also trains them to give them a base foundation to grow. Quality calls Richard likes his agents to focus on doing quality calls. About 30% of all calls come about through referrals. Much of their business happens because they do an excellent job on the first call. By working smarter rather than harder, they earn those referrals. Growing a business by working with call centers Growing a business has a lot to do with workforce management. Small business owners in the meetings and events industry can grow their businesses using omnichannel support and emails. By making phone calls, they also get the chance to do up-sales, get referrals, and answer questions. Put more effort into your communication Putting more effort into your communication, and making it warmer and more inviting, will separate you from others. If you make outbound calls, send an email, or leave a voicemail, take the time to look at the website or the CEO or business leaders’ LinkedIn profiles to get a sense of the tone or the company culture. Answering calls Have your best people answer calls. If there is an overflow, it is worth paying a little extra to work with a blended call center answering service so that you never have to miss that special call! Cold calls Doing cold calls represents half of their business. Their forte is appointment setting and lead generation, and they sometimes do surveys. Outbound calls Richard believes he has cracked a code for making outbound calls! The best approach for a phone call is to use anonymity (apart from mentioning the name of the company you represent) in the first three to five seconds of the call. The Buffer Boomerang technique If someone gives you a negative one, negative two, or a negative three-tone, reduce that tone and make it positive to reset the conversation. Then, show active listening by repeating the question. Land it back at them with a plus-two boomerang response. Positive escalation When your call gets transferred, it is the perfect time to give a positive verbal escalation (complimenting someone who works for you) to gain momentum and move forward. Concluding a call Calls consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. To conclude, ask if there are any final questions, and then finish up with a military alphabet to double-check the email address of the person to whom you are talking. Follow up Follow up with a thank-you email that includes the name of the person who assisted you by transferring your call. Motivation Richard’s agents are properly prepared and well-rehearsed. He motivates his team by giving them prizes for meeting their goals. Working with good faith and good intentions also helps them weather the storms. Reading micro-expressions on the phone The purest form of communication is phonetics because congruence is where audio matches the visual. Phonetics can be broken down into four different sections: Tone Rate Pitch Duration Your tone is the one consistent variable you have when you read micro-expressions. Keep it confident and empathetic. Mirror imaging Focus on the speed and pitch of the person you are talking to. Read them initially to see if they are going faster, slower, louder, or softer. After about five minutes, you will notice if there is a spike or dip in their speech. Tone, rate, and pitch can be manipulated. Your ultimate tell-sign is your subconscious answering speed. Then it will be the ideal time for you to ask a tie-down, a pin-down, or a clarification question. Repetition Richard suggests that you repeat something from time to time to make sure that the person you are talking to is following along with you. It will also give them time to digest what you have been talking about. An exit interview Better phone calls sometimes include an exit interview. You could get five reasons why someone chose your competition or get a suggestion to enhance your services. OUR APPROACH To build a successful event business, you must be an artist who can play several instruments and smile at the camera all at the same time. The Event Business Formula™ is designed to help you clearly address 3 major success arenas: PEOPLE If you’re “alone at the top” putting out fires and saving the day, then it’s time to share your leadership challenges with experts and peers. The Event Business Formula will help you and your organization solve problems by ’brainstorming with other professionals who face the same challenges and collaborating one to one with top innovators and experts. STRATEGY You’re stellar at putting out fires and creating on the spot solutions. It’s part of your DNA, the very thing clients and colleagues have always praised you for doing, but it’s exhausting and not enough for you anymore! It’s time to stop the insanity and develop new strategies and processes that will move you and your organization to a more fulfilling and profitable position. TECHNOLOGY Ever wish you had more time to think, learn and grow? Do you spend countless hours doing business – not building business? Have you’ve heard about the powerful methodologies like Blue Ocean Strategy or Business Model Canvas? We’ll bring you up to speed on these and more, helping you transform your approach, making life easier and more rewarding for you, your clients and your team. OUR PROGRAMS Discover how we can help you grow your meetings and events business Through a combination of online training programs, private coaching, and in-person masterminds, we help entrepreneurs in the meetings and events industry grow and scale their business. 1. Interpersonal Communication Conflict Management Strategy 2. Phonetic Micro Expression reading for mastering verbal tell signs. 3. The Famous Buffer-Boomerang Technique Advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal soft skills, customer support, rhetoric, gamification, pinball machines, employee motivation and phonetic micro expression reading. Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. At 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 over two decades. 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, entered into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business along side other famous alumni. Paying it forward 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/ #Event Business Formula #TheBusinessOfMeetingsPodcast #EricRozenberg #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow Event Business Formula, The Business Of Meetings Podcast, Eric Rozenberg Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer, Event Business Formula presents: The Business Of Meetings Podcast hosted by Eric Rozenberg. How to Leverage Call Centers with Richard Blank Adapting Contact Strategies Post-COVID I have one more question for you in terms of outsourcing. So I'm owner of a meeting and event company. I had 50 prospects that I wanted to call two years ago. And then today, COVID happened. People don't work in the office anymore. They change. How do you go about finding the information to call somebody who might still be with the company, but is not working in the building anymore? The fact that it's a list of 50 makes me feel great because I can marinate the list. There are so many different ways that you can cross-reference information from email addresses to their past positions to phone numbers. And then if it's a stretch, you can just find people that have worked with them and reach out to them. It just might take a little bit more effort, but then again, it gives you a chance that when you get the information to contact that person, you do the positive escalation that this coworker of theirs had recommended. And so is it more labor intensive? Yes. But then again, look on the bright side. If you were just making these phone calls without any sort of research behind it, you probably wouldn't have uncovered something. Appreciating Life's Small Treasures Post-COVID And as much as we're successful and we are comfortable and we have the luxury to do certain things, the most important thing for me in my life is my family, my wife, my good friends, myself. And it's really made me more appreciative of the small things. And I know that makes sense to not only you, but to your audience. And I'm sorry to get sentimental for a minute. And you said it very well. The right tone with the right speed. That's excellent. Unreal, man. And it's just one of those things that I just take to heart during how you and I both survived and came out better after COVID Creating A Playful Work Culture with Retro Arcades It's just part of our culture here we work hard but we also play hard and me being a child still a 50-year-old child the greatest thing for me is to supply your huge free play retro arcade game room which I've always wanted and fortunately I have the space for it so I packed my first floor with an air hockey table a bunch of machines And it really makes a great environment. And I'm not done. Hey, I'm going to find your Pac-Man machine for you. It will take some time, but I'll definitely find it. Awesome. But when you and I speak next year, ask me how many machines I have then. I might need to rent another school Mastering First Impressions in Cold Calls A phone call happens where, let's say you're making a cold call. A lot of the times through hedging, just through reactions, sometimes when people will just ask how people are doing. I've seen that you get more positive reactions by using anonymity in the first three to five seconds of the call. You are allowed to say the name of the company. Like I would say, business for meetings. How are you doing today? So instead of asking how Eric is doing today, you would say business for meetings. How may I help you? Hi, business for meetings. How are you doing today? So I have my anonymity. I said the name of your company better than you did. And we've also seen from an action to a reaction, we've gotten some positive reinforcement where people will feel that we've called there before or know somebody there. And let's just say that you just do the cold, you know, business to meetings. How are you today? And then the person says, great. And then there's a pause there because once again, you're not rushing. And then if you get the name, let's say they use the name Kathy, for example, then you could say, Kathy, I'm looking to speak to Eric. Thank you very much. And then they would say to you, usually a question, what is this regarding? What is your company name? Perfect. https://youtu.be/DmEuOj1nuRQ?si=j1ozp_byHoT2tAf7 https://youtu.be/xRHSHokAJ8I https://youtu.be/2-OeoBas_Bg https://youtu.be/rHY91_ZtrRw