Pinball Machines and Childhood Dreams.

The Shark Bite Biz Podcast with David Strausser. A Tropical contact center with Richard Blank Shark Bite Biz, hosted by David Strausser, started as a show on how to navigate to your business during the Covid Pandemic and now focusing on "the 3 G's": personal growth, professional growth, and business growth. This show has hosted many CEO's, VP's, Managers, and Small Business Owners all giving their insight as a subject matter expert in their field. The show has had legendary music producer Jack Douglas, Soledad O'Brien, film director James Cullen Bressack, Recruiter.com and CNBC Contributor Evan Sohn and many more. Strausser is a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. https://youtu.be/Bki9lRhp8VE Are call centers alive or dead after covid with work-from-home going strong. Today's interview may surprise you as Shark Bite Biz's David Strausser chats with Richard Blank of Costa Rica's Call Center. Episode #213 Modern Call Centers. Shark Bite Biz is a podcast dedicated to helping businesses achieve growth in the roaring 20's. In a world full of sharks, learn how to bite first! This vodcast focuses on personal, professional, & business growth during the on-going global pandemic. We focus on bringing some of the top experts and small business owners to the show to tell their stories about how they broke through barriers preventing growth and got their business to the next level. More about the Host: David Strausser is an expert at enabling small businesses to drive growth via the promise of technology. David empowers his customers to digitally transform by automating business processes and maximizing business intelligence. David writes on Forbes as a member of the Forbes Business Development Council and a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. Being a Unique Boss with Personal Touch How do you try to be different, like a different boss? Because everybody tries to be different, I think. But the way you emphasize and the way that came out of your mouth, it sounds like you have something special there that you're trying to say by different boss. Sure. And these are little checkpoints. You need little first downs before touchdowns with people. I can't expect them to sign a contract and devote their life for me. Why don't I ask them to tell me a coming of age moment during an interview? Because you're already qualified and I don't want to see your bells and whistles. I want to see in the moment if David asks you an incredible question to know your depth. Are you capable of expanding and telling a little bit of something about yourself? Especially the time, my friend, when you beat up a bully or saved a kitten. Creative Sales Strategies and Humor We believe that anybody that does sales prospecting and runs the risk of rejection, We like to give them romantic deaths. I've got to write that one down. Well, good. We jump clouds. David, if I could say Shark Bite Biz Podcast before you hang up, I get a point. If I could name drop you, I'd go, David, how are you today? Get another point. If you ask me, who's this? Not in a negative tone, because you're curious, because I said your name so well, and I thank you for asking. I mentioned my name is Richard Blank, and then you say, who's Richard Blank? Now I got the double-double. You asked the follow-up question. And guess what? We're already 15, 20 seconds in. Those are two good, long, deep breaths. So at least it gives me a chance 100 times a day to properly introduce myself prior to pitching because you get the pass to pitch. Customizing Communication: The Mad Libs Approach Custom-made emails, custom-made voicemails. It doesn't have to be the whole thing, but back in our day, there was something called Mad Libs, where you put in an adjective and it can make the sentence funny. And so custom-make the intro, two or three things in the body to anchor, and then a beautiful conclusion to show that you did a due diligence. You don't need to review the whole LinkedIn profile. But there are a couple of things there that you could mention quickly in the body to let him know that, my goodness gracious, how much time did he spend reviewing the company? Very nice Pinball Machines and Childhood Dreams Yeah, yeah, that's great. So since you have spilled so much knowledge to us today, I'm going to give you one minute, one whole minute to tell us what you love about pinball machines. The fact that I can afford them now. Because growing up, they were so expensive. And Ricky Schroeder had the best arcade in Silver Spoons, and it wasn't fair. And so just like Tom Hanks in the movie Big, look at his disposable income. He got trampolines and all those games in that awesome loft. 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. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Leadgeneration #Appointmentsetting #SacrificetoSuccess #Sharkbitebizpodcast Shark bite biz, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer, A Tropical contact center with Richard Blank. The Shark Bite Biz Podcast. https://youtu.be/Bki9lRhp8VE https://youtu.be/iqwHl-s1UsE https://youtu.be/ueuRpDCVnTM https://youtu.be/ztDCze4mG8g https://youtu.be/chBpQ7_VSE8 The Art of Making Quality Cold Calls Of course, I'm going to give the Pennsylvania secret sauce. Yeah, there you go. It's whiz. No, I'm only kidding. You have to offset the lower contact ratio with more of a quality call. But then you're going to say, Richard, how is it a quality call? It's a cold call. It's a cold call because of the list. It's a quality call because you might be able to put yourself on third base. Real-World Experience vs. Academic Learning Yeah, I mean, it's crazy because it felt like a lot. There are some things that I learned, but to be honest, a lot of it I've already passed through in life. Like I remember the one marketing class. In fact, I'm friends with the professor till this day, who's out of Scranton. Yeah. I had to argue with him. Final exam, technically, I flunked. I'm like, dude, I've been doing marketing my whole life. And the way these questions were written, and I went through every single one. And I'm like, no, in the real life, this would not work. Why? Because of this and because of this. yeah, it looks good on paper, but this isn't how the real world works. Starting a Call Center in Costa Rica I think he gave me credit for every question except for one of them, which he was like, no, I disagree. I still think this is right. But I'm like, OK, you know, he gave me 44 other ones, so I'll let you go on one. But let's move a little forward and start a little bit about you started a company from scratch down in Costa Rica. What company did you start and what does it do? Well, February 6th of 2008, I closed my first deal for one seat. For Costa Rica's call center, we're a nearshore bilingual dedicated call center that focuses on outbound sales, lead generation appointment setting, inbound customer support, back office support, and non-voice support

Customizing Communication: The Mad Libs Approach.

The Zennurgy Podcast by Zen Ase. An electromagnetic transfer of energy with Richard Blank Zennurgy is the inspirational tool box providing resources for building a better life. Motivational, practical fuel for the spirit, mind and body to help listeners deal with real life issues. This podcast is based on the idea that small changes over time equal big results. We all have the URGE for more peace (ZEN) and fulfillment in life. Tune in for motivating, uplifting, sometimes hard hitting, comedic, melodic but always real and relatable conversations and interviews with guests from all walks of life. Navigating CONFLICTS in Communication- Episode 94 One of my favorite quotes is, "We have two ears and one mouth for a reason, to listen twice as much as we speak." This quote hints at a powerful truth. Communication is a give and take, a reciprocation, an openness to learn and think and process another's ideas. But sadly, that respectful spirit is missing from many people's lives, and not enough people make effective communication a priority. Join Richard Blank and I as we discuss this important success principle. https://youtu.be/q_c6E2RAFzA https://youtu.be/AgiaJHPvdOM https://youtu.be/jcfI5k4GOfE https://youtu.be/eZ3Xnqh4P1g https://youtu.be/gnBXjGC_GNc https://youtu.be/Upjg0__X0aI 1. What does communication mean to you? What makes it effective? 2. Conversely what causes conflicts or hinders communication? What made you focus on communication in your career? 3. How do you deal with conflicts in communication? How do you keep your cool in the midst of conflict? 5. Are role models, accountability partners or mentors a part of your pursuit of improving communication? 6. Why a call center? 7. services 8. Background Peace and blessings. Marlena "Zen Ase" Johns is an artistic entrepreneur, best-selling author, podcaster, and performer who helps people find their voice and purpose: Zen Ase taught high school for 26 years, winning Teacher of the Year twice. She began writing poetry and prose in elementary school, but her family didn't support her career. After a divorce in 2014, she reclaimed her writing passion and began performing, podcasting, and publishing. She focuses on self-development, self-love, and self-empowerment. Her poetry and prose have been published in over a dozen anthologies and magazines, and she has written four books, three of which have been Amazon best sellers. She also hosts workshops, and has organized over 60 live music, comedy, and poetry shows. Her creative journey is to use art to make sense of the world and alchemize it. She believes that undesirable things, or lead, contain the building blocks for gold, or desirable things. Authenticity and Individuality I would have loved to have been in your class. I was no more in AP classes at Abington High School than the man on the moon. I have a question for you for these beautiful artists that you're working with and that I know take very seriously their writing. It's almost like telling the truth. You can tell the same story today to five years from now, same details. If you make up, not saying lying, but if you're inventing or if you're out of character, it's very difficult to juggle that and be consistent. My main thing is I don't want you to be like me. I want you to be like you. Yes, we have certain things in common that we have to do, but you do have your own special sauce. And if I believe that somebody builds upon that, And that is their one thing that can really show that separates them from others, like a beautiful color in the packet of crayons. You're still a crayon, but you are a different color. And you can be mixed with other colors to make more colors. Building a Business: From Small Beginnings to Success The first goal is to see how many families I could feed. Because if you're thinking about money first, you're going to make very bad decisions. You've got to first think of the natural goal. And then secondly, once again, I started very small where I was just renting a seat out of a blended center. And then I saved enough money to rent space and build out about 150 stations with a server room. And then six years later, I was able to build this current location that I'm in that can house 300 seats. So a lot of your students might think it's like this. or what you see with these new instant millionaires and these TikTok stars. And sometimes it's the tortoise and the hare. Sometimes it's brick by brick. And your AP students didn't get there overnight. That had to have been done three years. And if you can let people understand about building on momentum and mastering certain stages, then I think they would be capable of weathering certain storms and not being so hard on themselves if there's any sort of setback or lost momentum. And for me, I'm very grateful every day. And the fact that I can delegate and promote from within is really something that is amazing to me. And this should have never happened. Innovative On-boarding: Building a Unique Company Culture And I might be the only boss to ever know your name. A lot of them tell me that. And so I say that's a shame. And unfortunately, I may be the last one until you become a boss and you start doing that sort of thing. And so these are the sort of foundation trainings that I can do. So instead of just absorbing in class and nodding, you know this, they start contributing. They start contributing. And by having them starting off class in the game room, not in my class, they're playing pinball with me for the first half an hour. So now they own my name. They're relaxing, loosening up a little bit. That's great. And then I'm looking for first downs, not touchdowns. If somebody in the first day of class, if I ask them to repeat what I just mentioned in regards to certain things, they can talk about that. That's a point. Success Built on Mentorship and Giving Back And so you see my sincerity in that I was in their shoes one day. And if I didn't have the right coaches and teachers and mentors, my good friend, there is absolutely no way I would have been here today. Not a chance. And so success is built on a million thank yous. And at Abington High School, I have a second language scholarship. I've been doing it for the last six years. Angelo Barrios is a very good friend of mine who's the current principal. And I'm so proud of what he does. And so I pay for freshmen's books every year, graduating senior. And as someone that did learn the second language, not saying athletics, music, or any other subject is important. But I'm talking about Richard. I'm talking about someone that never learned a second language and really took to it. And so as once again, I'm giving back. Workplace 'Recess' and Employee Well-being Well, anyway, I got recess at my company. So this is what we have downstairs. I collect pinball machines, retro arcade machines. I got an air hockey table. As you see, I got a jukebox behind me. And so in between their shifts on break and lunch, they can go play games for free and make friends and let off steam and recharge batteries and hang out with me. But that's one thing. That's just an enjoyment-neutral environment here, recess, and I'm making a joke and having fun. But let's be serious about this. I can give them a little bit of Philadelphia guilt, or I can say that, you know, they know better than that. And you also know, Zen, that they're out of character. I've seen them working with me for years. All of a sudden, they're losing their mind for a day. It could be a client that just, the straw that broke the camel's back, or It could be something outside of the office that is affecting their performance here. My goal is to recharge your batteries here to give you job stability so you can confront what's happening outside the office. But this is a multi-generational society. And a lot of these young men and women may be paying for medicine, their rent, taking care of their families. 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. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #ZenAse #TheZennurgyPodcast #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #smallbusinesschronicles #successfulquitterspodcast #Saranunezbee Zen Ase, The Zennurgy Podcast, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer,

Creative Sales Strategies and Humor.

The Shark Bite Biz Podcast with David Strausser. A Tropical contact center with Richard Blank Shark Bite Biz, hosted by David Strausser, started as a show on how to navigate to your business during the Covid Pandemic and now focusing on "the 3 G's": personal growth, professional growth, and business growth. This show has hosted many CEO's, VP's, Managers, and Small Business Owners all giving their insight as a subject matter expert in their field. The show has had legendary music producer Jack Douglas, Soledad O'Brien, film director James Cullen Bressack, Recruiter.com and CNBC Contributor Evan Sohn and many more. Strausser is a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. https://youtu.be/Bki9lRhp8VE Are call centers alive or dead after covid with work-from-home going strong. Today's interview may surprise you as Shark Bite Biz's David Strausser chats with Richard Blank of Costa Rica's Call Center. Episode #213 Modern Call Centers. Shark Bite Biz is a podcast dedicated to helping businesses achieve growth in the roaring 20's. In a world full of sharks, learn how to bite first! This vodcast focuses on personal, professional, & business growth during the on-going global pandemic. We focus on bringing some of the top experts and small business owners to the show to tell their stories about how they broke through barriers preventing growth and got their business to the next level. More about the Host: David Strausser is an expert at enabling small businesses to drive growth via the promise of technology. David empowers his customers to digitally transform by automating business processes and maximizing business intelligence. David writes on Forbes as a member of the Forbes Business Development Council and a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. Being a Unique Boss with Personal Touch How do you try to be different, like a different boss? Because everybody tries to be different, I think. But the way you emphasize and the way that came out of your mouth, it sounds like you have something special there that you're trying to say by different boss. Sure. And these are little checkpoints. You need little first downs before touchdowns with people. I can't expect them to sign a contract and devote their life for me. Why don't I ask them to tell me a coming of age moment during an interview? Because you're already qualified and I don't want to see your bells and whistles. I want to see in the moment if David asks you an incredible question to know your depth. Are you capable of expanding and telling a little bit of something about yourself? Especially the time, my friend, when you beat up a bully or saved a kitten. Creative Sales Strategies and Humor We believe that anybody that does sales prospecting and runs the risk of rejection, We like to give them romantic deaths. I've got to write that one down. Well, good. We jump clouds. David, if I could say Shark Bite Biz Podcast before you hang up, I get a point. If I could name drop you, I'd go, David, how are you today? Get another point. If you ask me, who's this? Not in a negative tone, because you're curious, because I said your name so well, and I thank you for asking. I mentioned my name is Richard Blank, and then you say, who's Richard Blank? Now I got the double-double. You asked the follow-up question. And guess what? We're already 15, 20 seconds in. Those are two good, long, deep breaths. So at least it gives me a chance 100 times a day to properly introduce myself prior to pitching because you get the pass to pitch. 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. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Leadgeneration #Appointmentsetting #SacrificetoSuccess #Sharkbitebizpodcast Shark bite biz, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer, A Tropical contact center with Richard Blank. The Shark Bite Biz Podcast. https://youtu.be/Bki9lRhp8VE https://youtu.be/iqwHl-s1UsE https://youtu.be/ueuRpDCVnTM The Art of Making Quality Cold Calls Of course, I'm going to give the Pennsylvania secret sauce. Yeah, there you go. It's whiz. No, I'm only kidding. You have to offset the lower contact ratio with more of a quality call. But then you're going to say, Richard, how is it a quality call? It's a cold call. It's a cold call because of the list. It's a quality call because you might be able to put yourself on third base. Customizing Communication: The Mad Libs Approach Custom-made emails, custom-made voicemails. It doesn't have to be the whole thing, but back in our day, there was something called Mad Libs, where you put in an adjective and it can make the sentence funny. And so custom-make the intro, two or three things in the body to anchor, and then a beautiful conclusion to show that you did a due diligence. You don't need to review the whole LinkedIn profile. But there are a couple of things there that you could mention quickly in the body to let him know that, my goodness gracious, how much time did he spend reviewing the company? Very nice Real-World Experience vs. Academic Learning Yeah, I mean, it's crazy because it felt like a lot. There are some things that I learned, but to be honest, a lot of it I've already passed through in life. Like I remember the one marketing class. In fact, I'm friends with the professor till this day, who's out of Scranton. Yeah. I had to argue with him. Final exam, technically, I flunked. I'm like, dude, I've been doing marketing my whole life. And the way these questions were written, and I went through every single one. And I'm like, no, in the real life, this would not work. Why? Because of this and because of this. yeah, it looks good on paper, but this isn't how the real world works. Pinball Machines and Childhood Dreams Yeah, yeah, that's great. So since you have spilled so much knowledge to us today, I'm going to give you one minute, one whole minute to tell us what you love about pinball machines. The fact that I can afford them now. Because growing up, they were so expensive. And Ricky Schroeder had the best arcade in Silver Spoons, and it wasn't fair. And so just like Tom Hanks in the movie Big, look at his disposable income. He got trampolines and all those games in that awesome loft. Starting a Call Center in Costa Rica I think he gave me credit for every question except for one of them, which he was like, no, I disagree. I still think this is right. But I'm like, OK, you know, he gave me 44 other ones, so I'll let you go on one. But let's move a little forward and start a little bit about you started a company from scratch down in Costa Rica. What company did you start and what does it do? Well, February 6th of 2008, I closed my first deal for one seat. For Costa Rica's call center, we're a nearshore bilingual dedicated call center that focuses on outbound sales, lead generation appointment setting, inbound customer support, back office support, and non-voice support