Breaking Down Workplace Fears

Executing the Vision podcast by Brad Hunter. A fun experience in Costa Rica with Richard Blank. Living Life with Honorable Intentions: Human Connection in a Technological Landscape with Costa Rica's Call Center's Richard Blank Welcome to 'Executing the Vision,' where we delve into the journeys of owners and C-suite executives of thriving 100+ employee companies. Join us as we uncover the secrets to their success, from the initial spark of inspiration to the realization of their vision. Through insightful interviews, we explore the strategies, challenges, and triumphs they've encountered along the way, offering valuable insights for navigating the intricate landscape of the business world and achieving success not only in business but in life. Tune in to gain practical wisdom and inspiration for your own journey to success. Your host, Brad Hunter, talks with the President and CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Born and raised near Philadelphia, Richard's story began at Abington High School, where he graduated in 1991. Unlike many of his peers who pursued conventional medical, law, or engineering paths, Richard followed his passion for the Spanish language. This decision led him to the University of Arizona, where he majored in Spanish and fully immersed himself in the culture by spending a year abroad in Spain. Richard reminisced about his transformative year, splitting his time between Cadiz, Madrid, and Sevilla. He described it as shedding his skin, a hero's journey that changed him profoundly. Without the distractions of television or phones, he soaked in life through museums, books, and personal interactions. This experience not only solidified his command of the Spanish language but also shaped his worldview and future career trajectory. Richard's life in Costa Rica is where he established a call center that stands out for its operational excellence and vibrant work culture. Richard shared his approach to training and employee engagement, emphasizing the significance of treating his team with dignity. He believes in creating a fun and engaging environment, which includes incorporating his passion for retro arcade games into the workplace. This gamification strategy fosters a sense of community and enjoyment, contributing to employee loyalty and the overall success of the business. Breaking Down Workplace Fears If you're not robbing a bank, don't be afraid of a cop. If you're not cheating on a test, don't be afraid of your teacher. And if you come to work, pen at the ready, why are you afraid of Brad and Richard? We're here to support you. And don't judge me on what happened at your last job, and I'm not going to judge you on what Billy did. So I get that straight too. I got to go fill the old school with them. And then we just talk about structure. We talk about attention spans of 30 seconds, like breaths and bites, and sipping things, and information. And so a 10-minute conversation is 20, 30-second checkpoints, okay? And there's give and takes. https://youtu.be/ibDu3jMUZgI https://youtu.be/jxjKxac3vmc

THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN PEOPLE MAY JUDGE AND BELITTLE YOU... BUT NEVER LET THESE PEOPLE PULL YOU DOWN AND STRIP YOUR SPIRIT AWAY FROM REACHING YOUR GOALS. Meet my good friend Richard Blank. He is the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, and like you, he also went through judgment, doubts, twists, and turns before he became the man he is today. His story will open your mind to the reality of life, taking a leap of faith in stepping away from your comfort zone and going out of your bubble. AI can sort data and optimize tasks, but can it genuinely empathize? While AI excels in efficiency and analytics, Richard argues it fails to deliver genuine emotional support. Though excellent data, AI technology can't replace human compassion. Real empathy demands a human presence. Brad Hunter: Are you fully leveraging your chosen company software and automation for optimal daily operations and income generation? For business owners running multi-million dollar companies the use of company software and automation solutions cannot be overstated especially in terms of tracking, monitoring, and income generation. But are you one of those paying hundreds of thousands to millions a year for third-party platforms that no longer meet your basic needs? As a tech expert and consultant, delivering smart automation and maximized software functionality have been my mission. I have helped million-dollar companies to save up costs and develop tech solutions and integrations in day-to-day operations. And the results… Up to $3M in savings by leveraging automation to replace an antiquated, highly labor-intensive commission reconciliation processes for a retail wireless company Significant cost savings and huge improvements in tracking, reporting, and employee morale with the replacement of an outdated mix of software platforms, spreadsheets, and handwritten forms with a user-friendly single web-based solution for a multi-facility pork operator industry Replacement of over $300K in tech subscriptions in lending and mortgage space with one new platform and added integrations resulting in substantial ROI Decreased client commission errors by 62% by reducing data processing lag time and improving communication to the field Reduced client commission department man hours by 57% Improved commission error reaction time by 95% through automated data processing Saved clients $7,800 per location annually Being in the software development and automation solutions space for 12 years, I want to share my expertise with you. Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #BradHunter #ExecutingtheVision #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO Gamification in Business and Nostalgia Yeah, so talk to me about that part of it. Talk to me about the gamification. I saw you noticed you had mentioned that too on I think some of your LinkedIn stuff. So help me understand what exactly you mean by that and what that environment is. I'm a retro pinball collector first and a business owner second. In fact, I don't even like talking about business. Ask me about my dreams. I'm a Generation X. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and some of the coolest places in town were the retro arcades. Beautiful marquees and machines. And it was safe and clean and fun. Yeah, I too. I too spent some time. We had a place called Star World where I grew up. You had the arcade and the roller rink is what it was like a huge arcade and then also a roller rink. And that's like where you'd go. That was like your Friday nights. You know, Brad, remember when you used to put the quarters up on the marquee? So you have your line and asteroids and Pac-Man. From 60 Days to a Lifetime So I was in between jobs at the moment, and I had to get past some parents' guilt. And so I decided to come down here for just 60 days. Well, those 60 days turned into four years. I worked at my friend's center for four years. I fell in love and married the girl of my dreams here. And you know what, Brad? I didn't learn it from sea level. I learned the business from the inside out. When I was at my friend's center, I learned retention and onboarding. And so you came down. So he had the center going. Oh, yeah. He needed, you were a buddy of his. And he said, hey, I know you speak great Spanish. Yes. You're a friend of mine. I need you to kind of help on that front. So that's how you initially kind of got in. A college friend of mine that had a company here. And he goes, hey, Rich, why don't you just come down for a couple months to teach English? You know what it really is. It's like road trip. Like Delta House. He's like, yo, Delta House, come on down for two months and we'll just have some fun. Embracing Personal Customer Service Over Automation I hope there's that thing where companies realize that like This is a good solution, but not a great one. And we want to stand out. And in order to stand out, we're going to commit to, you know, having live agents. So I hope that your business continues to thrive for years and years to come. Because I despise the other direction, you know, and think there's a lot of other things. And most of these individuals are going to choose other industries just for that long term stability. You know, as I said before, and I completely agree with you, I don't worry about it. And if it happens to come in, as I mentioned before, if you just get one-tenth of one percent of businesses, you could be a millionaire. So you have the ability to find that company as you say that's mom and pop small niche that you'll get the fulfillment you're looking for uh well i tell you what it has been amazing to talk to you i love hearing your story i love hearing your passion about everything um you know like i said when it comes to the environment, the industry that you're working in. And to me, to see kind of how you go about dealing with your people and everything, it's been a fun conversation. Unique Company Culture Through Gamification I have a huge area here. And instead of putting in additional lockers, I just put in a row of machines. And I have games in my house. It's a happy medium. It allows people to meet others from different departments. You can let off steam recharge batteries. I've seen people fall in love by the Pac-Man machine. They're smoothing machines. And it's really enabled people on their first day with me to play the games prior to any training class so they can bond with the other people in class. And then instead of just absorbing, now they're contributing because their defense drops. That mass goes from a 10 to a six. So that four then gets moved into forward motion. So it's just mass distribution. And for me, it's also a good sign for my clients. Why don't you have games in your office for your people? It's also a good way to show people how I treat myself. Now I treat the people that work here. Amazon is 10 times my size. Jeff Bezos is the man. And with all due respect, I don't think he's played pinball with all of his agents like I have. And so when it comes down to the call center Olympics, I might not win everything. But Brad, there's a couple areas in which I crush. And that's been more than enough for me. to be in business for 16 years, have people with me over a decade and grow to 150. And so slow and steady. And if you do, then you'll have the fidelity and the people that will walk with you long-term. The Human Touch in an AI-Driven World And then talk to me about the future of the industry. I mean, what are, you know, all these days, all the different AI, this, that, whatever right? Everybody's like, oh my God, it's going to take over everything. What do you see as the future of your industry? And what do you need to do to stay out in front? Sometimes you can't do anything about it. You ever see those huge car washes that have the machines? It's better than the guys back in the 70s. It really gets your car washed. I see AI as gathering. And I think it's wonderful. It's the biggest net. It will catch every raindrop. You'll get every ounce out of it. And you can do 95, 96, up to 99% of that. The 1%, let's just use the 1%, is the empathy. It's really true. I don't like cold metal benches and nobody else does. They like cozy things. And Brad, if I'm having the toughest day of my life, I'd call you, right? Or we'd go out and have a beer or we'd just take a walk together as friends and get it out. And so when the machine says, I understand, or I feel you, or I know what it's like to lose something or gain something, or how could a machine say, I'm sorry you lost your mother or your father or a comrade? That would seem, I don't think that's authentic. I can't say hypocritical. But it's the kind of thing that just wouldn't fly. 99% yes. But that real hug and that real handshake, we love that human connection still.

Executing the Vision podcast with Brad Hunter. A fun experience in Costa...

Executing the Vision podcast with Brad Hunter. A fun experience in Costa Rica with Richard Blank. Living Life with Honorable Intentions: Human Connection in a Technological Landscape with Costa Rica's Call Center's Richard Blank Welcome to 'Executing the Vision,' where we delve into the journeys of owners and C-suite executives of thriving 100+ employee companies. Join us as we uncover the secrets to their success, from the initial spark of inspiration to the realization of their vision. Through insightful interviews, we explore the strategies, challenges, and triumphs they've encountered along the way, offering valuable insights for navigating the intricate landscape of the business world and achieving success not only in business but in life. Tune in to gain practical wisdom and inspiration for your own journey to success. Your host, Brad Hunter, talks with the President and CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Born and raised near Philadelphia, Richard's story began at Abington High School, where he graduated in 1991. Unlike many of his peers who pursued conventional medical, law, or engineering paths, Richard followed his passion for the Spanish language. This decision led him to the University of Arizona, where he majored in Spanish and fully immersed himself in the culture by spending a year abroad in Spain. Richard reminisced about his transformative year, splitting his time between Cadiz, Madrid, and Sevilla. He described it as shedding his skin, a hero's journey that changed him profoundly. Without the distractions of television or phones, he soaked in life through museums, books, and personal interactions. This experience not only solidified his command of the Spanish language but also shaped his worldview and future career trajectory. Richard's life in Costa Rica is where he established a call center that stands out for its operational excellence and vibrant work culture. Richard shared his approach to training and employee engagement, emphasizing the significance of treating his team with dignity. He believes in creating a fun and engaging environment, which includes incorporating his passion for retro arcade games into the workplace. This gamification strategy fosters a sense of community and enjoyment, contributing to employee loyalty and the overall success of the business. THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN PEOPLE MAY JUDGE AND BELITTLE YOU... BUT NEVER LET THESE PEOPLE PULL YOU DOWN AND STRIP YOUR SPIRIT AWAY FROM REACHING YOUR GOALS. Meet my good friend Richard Blank. He is the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, and like you, he also went through judgment, doubts, twists, and turns before he became the man he is today. His story will open your mind to the reality of life, taking a leap of faith in stepping away from your comfort zone and going out of your bubble. AI can sort data and optimize tasks, but can it genuinely empathize? While AI excels in efficiency and analytics, Richard argues it fails to deliver genuine emotional support. Though excellent data, AI technology can't replace human compassion. Real empathy demands a human presence. Brad Hunter: Are you fully leveraging your chosen company software and automation for optimal daily operations and income generation? For business owners running multi-million dollar companies the use of company software and automation solutions cannot be overstated especially in terms of tracking, monitoring, and income generation. But are you one of those paying hundreds of thousands to millions a year for third-party platforms that no longer meet your basic needs? As a tech expert and consultant, delivering smart automation and maximized software functionality have been my mission. I have helped million-dollar companies to save up costs and develop tech solutions and integrations in day-to-day operations. And the results… Up to $3M in savings by leveraging automation to replace an antiquated, highly labor-intensive commission reconciliation processes for a retail wireless company Significant cost savings and huge improvements in tracking, reporting, and employee morale with the replacement of an outdated mix of software platforms, spreadsheets, and handwritten forms with a user-friendly single web-based solution for a multi-facility pork operator industry Replacement of over $300K in tech subscriptions in lending and mortgage space with one new platform and added integrations resulting in substantial ROI Decreased client commission errors by 62% by reducing data processing lag time and improving communication to the field Reduced client commission department man hours by 57% Improved commission error reaction time by 95% through automated data processing Saved clients $7,800 per location annually Being in the software development and automation solutions space for 12 years, I want to share my expertise with you. Brad Hunter, Executing the Vision, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #BradHunter #ExecutingtheVision #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO https://youtu.be/ibDu3jMUZgI

Willing to Die for a Passion

The Erika and Abi Show. The importance of mindset with special guest Richard Blank Explore the unseen paths to success with Erika & Abi. Our guests range from industry leaders, innovators, and artists each with a story that will inspire and inform. Subscribe to join our community of curious and passionate listeners. Erika: NYC Affordable Housing Director turned full-time land investor and entrepreneur. Her company, Gokce Capital, buys and sells land throughout the United States. Don't miss her insightful book, "Land Investing Mistakes," now on Amazon. Abi: Wall Street tech manager with a passion for helping people use technology to earn more and work less. How To Get People To Say Yes The episode is a detailed conversation featuring Richard, an expat entrepreneur who founded and grew a call center company in Costa Rica to over 150 employees. It covers several topics: Mindset and Soft Skills: Richard emphasizes the importance of mindset, likening it to "whistling while you work," enabling one to overcome challenges. He discusses how to develop and utilize soft skills effectively, such as active listening, empathetic communication, and positive reinforcement to manage and navigate difficult conversations and customer interactions. Moving to Costa Rica: Richard shares his initial reactions upon moving to Costa Rica, highlighting the family-oriented culture, the warmth of the people, and the beauty of the environment. He talks about the importance of integrating into the community and fostering a fun and supportive atmosphere at work. Entrepreneurship Journey: He delves into his journey of starting a call center in Costa Rica, from initially renting a station in a blended center to eventually owning a building. He shares insights on overcoming challenges, such as understanding local labor laws and maintaining ethical business practices. Employee Management and Retention: Richard details his approach to employee management and retention, focusing on empathy, dignity, and creating a positive, engaging work environment. He emphasizes the significance of selecting the right people for the job and cultivating a culture where employees feel valued and motivated. Sales and Communication Techniques: Throughout the conversation, Richard shares various sales and communication techniques, such as the "buffer boomerang" method, focusing on the importance of making a strong first impression, building rapport, and establishing a connection with clients and customers. He underscores the power of using one's name in conversation as a key to successful communication. Life and Business Philosophy: Richard's narrative is imbued with his life and business philosophy of paying it forward, believing in the principle of action and reaction, and the importance of small acts of kindness. He also touches on personal goals, like writing children's books and the simple joys of everyday life. Advice for Developing Communication Skills: He suggests watching certain TV shows from the past to improve speech and delivery, practicing dedicatedly, and being in the right frame of mind to effectively communicate and connect with others. This conversation offers valuable insights into the power of positive thinking, effective communication, the importance of community and culture in business, and the journey of entrepreneurship in a foreign country. Overcoming Accent Bias in Calls If someone from Costa Rica is making that call, who is, like, born there, they would have an accent, right? So when they call Erica, wouldn't Erica know, like, Her first reaction will be, oh, I know it's a sales call because it's not even someone from the US. So don't they have to work even harder? Your accent is in the United States as much as a Latino one or an Asian one or anyone. The United States is a melting pot. So for me today, once again, anyone could be anywhere. And the Latino market's growing. But how about this, my good friend? You got a cool accent. Well, that's the reason why I don't make outbound phone calls. Pursue Your Passion And if great-grandpa didn't come, we wouldn't be here today. So everyone needs to calm down a little bit. The worst thing you could ever do, because my intentions are honorable, is take the spark out of somebody. You see that I have invested my life in Spanish. I do the dedicated practice. I do above and beyond what school asked me to do. And you have to give me a shot at it. You got to see what I can do. Little did I know... that I was not a business major. So what's the second challenge? Being a CEO of a company. Soft Skills: More Than Just for Call Centers And how do you, how do you develop this skillset? If you're not, say you're not someone who's going to make their career working at a call center or starting a call center, but you are someone that needs to, as you mentioned earlier, there are a lot of frontline workers who really need to be able to communicate with people who are often not in a good state of mind, doctors, anyone in the medical field. How do you learn these skills if you're not going to get the practice of 100 calls a day working with people? Oh, you watch this podcast. Well, maybe these are the sort of soft skills that can save a marriage or a Thanksgiving dinner. Spotting and Addressing Burnout in the Workplace And so that's my main thing is I have to put some water on their face, give them some coffee, or just a timeout to play some Pac-Man and pinball just to readjust themselves. But how do you even know that they're in a bad state today? We have a quality control department. So immediately you can see talk time. I mean, once again, if someone is rushing a call, they're hanging up, or if they're going too long, they're just not listening. And you have people that are either around them or the monitors that will let you know that something is off. If it's a brand new agent, I don't know them. But if it's someone that's been with me and I have a luxury of a track record, I can easily compare it to other times and other metrics. But we have preventative measures. We do touch base with everybody in the mornings and just see how they're doing that day and what's happening. Stress Reduction Techniques and Industry Expectations And so really reducing some of that stress with cognitive skills is what I like. But it's practice. You know, we have scripts with rebuttals. Send me information. Why should I do business with you? As you say, I'm busy going into a meeting, things like that. And so we'll have things written down. And when they practice it, what they can do is, as I was trying to do, is anchor by using names. I mean, I could say, I know you're busy, I'll send you information, but I'm going to say Erica, just for a second, just to calm everyone down and then make my point. As I say, there can be stability when there's unstable ground. You just got to find how to readjust yourself. Because things are moving so fast. But I tell you what, I mean, if this is the sort of thing that beats you up so bad, you shouldn't be in this industry. It's not for the faint of heart. The Lasting Impact of Mentorship And if I can get that out of somebody and be that proper mentor to them, they're good for the rest of their life. And so that's what I try to do to keep the art of speech and to make it fresh. If not, you're just going to see this as a grind, a forced march, and you just can't wait to bounce this job and go to the next one that might pay an extra five bucks. And it's an interesting industry, my friends. The Power of Active Listening and Emotional Intelligence Yeah. Like meditation, you need to be in the right frame of mind and you can't play happy if you're sad. You can try. But no, if you do this after three weeks, it becomes habit. And you know what's the beautiful part about this? And a lot of it is just active listening. You can still do your job. You can still type and convert your calls and ask questions. But it's almost like that guy that juggles that can bite the apple as well. There's still room in the cart to do something, or you can upgrade it a little bit. You know, you just don't ask a question. You say the person's name, or as I did in the beginning, the company name spike. And it's so nice to hear you two react when I say the name of your podcast. I know that makes you smile. Willing to Die for a Passion Remember we spoke about dying, you know, falling on swords and dying on hills. Listen, this is the one with my wife that she knows I'm willing to die on. Of course. I love my pinball machines, especially the older ones, the marquees and the play fields, the bells and the lights. It's just incredible for me, the restoration. https://youtu.be/FDq5rg4J2S8 https://youtu.be/fJR8wRv34Gk https://youtu.be/Qq-CDEJBtQQ https://youtu.be/JLFXiYBBdpM https://youtu.be/2pejZ7Z8znY https://youtu.be/ZECOYRrGel0 https://youtu.be/zj2qGVUuWZk https://youtu.be/uOp8Ce3Cf5Y

Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #TheErikaandAbiShow #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO

The Power of Active Listening and Emotional Intelligence

The Erika and Abi Show. The importance of mindset with special guest Richard Blank Explore the unseen paths to success with Erika & Abi. Our guests range from industry leaders, innovators, and artists each with a story that will inspire and inform. Subscribe to join our community of curious and passionate listeners. Erika: NYC Affordable Housing Director turned full-time land investor and entrepreneur. Her company, Gokce Capital, buys and sells land throughout the United States. Don't miss her insightful book, "Land Investing Mistakes," now on Amazon. Abi: Wall Street tech manager with a passion for helping people use technology to earn more and work less. How To Get People To Say Yes The episode is a detailed conversation featuring Richard, an expat entrepreneur who founded and grew a call center company in Costa Rica to over 150 employees. It covers several topics: Mindset and Soft Skills: Richard emphasizes the importance of mindset, likening it to "whistling while you work," enabling one to overcome challenges. He discusses how to develop and utilize soft skills effectively, such as active listening, empathetic communication, and positive reinforcement to manage and navigate difficult conversations and customer interactions. Moving to Costa Rica: Richard shares his initial reactions upon moving to Costa Rica, highlighting the family-oriented culture, the warmth of the people, and the beauty of the environment. He talks about the importance of integrating into the community and fostering a fun and supportive atmosphere at work. Entrepreneurship Journey: He delves into his journey of starting a call center in Costa Rica, from initially renting a station in a blended center to eventually owning a building. He shares insights on overcoming challenges, such as understanding local labor laws and maintaining ethical business practices. Employee Management and Retention: Richard details his approach to employee management and retention, focusing on empathy, dignity, and creating a positive, engaging work environment. He emphasizes the significance of selecting the right people for the job and cultivating a culture where employees feel valued and motivated. Sales and Communication Techniques: Throughout the conversation, Richard shares various sales and communication techniques, such as the "buffer boomerang" method, focusing on the importance of making a strong first impression, building rapport, and establishing a connection with clients and customers. He underscores the power of using one's name in conversation as a key to successful communication. Life and Business Philosophy: Richard's narrative is imbued with his life and business philosophy of paying it forward, believing in the principle of action and reaction, and the importance of small acts of kindness. He also touches on personal goals, like writing children's books and the simple joys of everyday life. Advice for Developing Communication Skills: He suggests watching certain TV shows from the past to improve speech and delivery, practicing dedicatedly, and being in the right frame of mind to effectively communicate and connect with others. This conversation offers valuable insights into the power of positive thinking, effective communication, the importance of community and culture in business, and the journey of entrepreneurship in a foreign country. Overcoming Accent Bias in Calls If someone from Costa Rica is making that call, who is, like, born there, they would have an accent, right? So when they call Erica, wouldn't Erica know, like, Her first reaction will be, oh, I know it's a sales call because it's not even someone from the US. So don't they have to work even harder? Your accent is in the United States as much as a Latino one or an Asian one or anyone. The United States is a melting pot. So for me today, once again, anyone could be anywhere. And the Latino market's growing. But how about this, my good friend? You got a cool accent. Well, that's the reason why I don't make outbound phone calls. Pursue Your Passion And if great-grandpa didn't come, we wouldn't be here today. So everyone needs to calm down a little bit. The worst thing you could ever do, because my intentions are honorable, is take the spark out of somebody. You see that I have invested my life in Spanish. I do the dedicated practice. I do above and beyond what school asked me to do. And you have to give me a shot at it. You got to see what I can do. Little did I know... that I was not a business major. So what's the second challenge? Being a CEO of a company. Soft Skills: More Than Just for Call Centers And how do you, how do you develop this skillset? If you're not, say you're not someone who's going to make their career working at a call center or starting a call center, but you are someone that needs to, as you mentioned earlier, there are a lot of frontline workers who really need to be able to communicate with people who are often not in a good state of mind, doctors, anyone in the medical field. How do you learn these skills if you're not going to get the practice of 100 calls a day working with people? Oh, you watch this podcast. Well, maybe these are the sort of soft skills that can save a marriage or a Thanksgiving dinner. Spotting and Addressing Burnout in the Workplace And so that's my main thing is I have to put some water on their face, give them some coffee, or just a timeout to play some Pac-Man and pinball just to readjust themselves. But how do you even know that they're in a bad state today? We have a quality control department. So immediately you can see talk time. I mean, once again, if someone is rushing a call, they're hanging up, or if they're going too long, they're just not listening. And you have people that are either around them or the monitors that will let you know that something is off. If it's a brand new agent, I don't know them. But if it's someone that's been with me and I have a luxury of a track record, I can easily compare it to other times and other metrics. But we have preventative measures. We do touch base with everybody in the mornings and just see how they're doing that day and what's happening. Stress Reduction Techniques and Industry Expectations And so really reducing some of that stress with cognitive skills is what I like. But it's practice. You know, we have scripts with rebuttals. Send me information. Why should I do business with you? As you say, I'm busy going into a meeting, things like that. And so we'll have things written down. And when they practice it, what they can do is, as I was trying to do, is anchor by using names. I mean, I could say, I know you're busy, I'll send you information, but I'm going to say Erica, just for a second, just to calm everyone down and then make my point. As I say, there can be stability when there's unstable ground. You just got to find how to readjust yourself. Because things are moving so fast. But I tell you what, I mean, if this is the sort of thing that beats you up so bad, you shouldn't be in this industry. It's not for the faint of heart. The Lasting Impact of Mentorship And if I can get that out of somebody and be that proper mentor to them, they're good for the rest of their life. And so that's what I try to do to keep the art of speech and to make it fresh. If not, you're just going to see this as a grind, a forced march, and you just can't wait to bounce this job and go to the next one that might pay an extra five bucks. And it's an interesting industry, my friends. The Power of Active Listening and Emotional Intelligence Yeah. Like meditation, you need to be in the right frame of mind and you can't play happy if you're sad. You can try. But no, if you do this after three weeks, it becomes habit. And you know what's the beautiful part about this? And a lot of it is just active listening. You can still do your job. You can still type and convert your calls and ask questions. But it's almost like that guy that juggles that can bite the apple as well. There's still room in the cart to do something, or you can upgrade it a little bit. You know, you just don't ask a question. You say the person's name, or as I did in the beginning, the company name spike. And it's so nice to hear you two react when I say the name of your podcast. I know that makes you smile. https://youtu.be/FDq5rg4J2S8 https://youtu.be/fJR8wRv34Gk https://youtu.be/Qq-CDEJBtQQ https://youtu.be/JLFXiYBBdpM https://youtu.be/2pejZ7Z8znY https://youtu.be/ZECOYRrGel0 https://youtu.be/zj2qGVUuWZk

Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #TheErikaandAbiShow #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO Willing to Die for a Passion Remember we spoke about dying, you know, falling on swords and dying on hills. Listen, this is the one with my wife that she knows I'm willing to die on. Of course. I love my pinball machines, especially the older ones, the marquees and the play fields, the bells and the lights. It's just incredible for me, the restoration.

The Lasting Impact of Mentorship

The Erika and Abi Show. The importance of mindset with special guest Richard Blank Explore the unseen paths to success with Erika & Abi. Our guests range from industry leaders, innovators, and artists each with a story that will inspire and inform. Subscribe to join our community of curious and passionate listeners. Erika: NYC Affordable Housing Director turned full-time land investor and entrepreneur. Her company, Gokce Capital, buys and sells land throughout the United States. Don't miss her insightful book, "Land Investing Mistakes," now on Amazon. Abi: Wall Street tech manager with a passion for helping people use technology to earn more and work less. How To Get People To Say Yes The episode is a detailed conversation featuring Richard, an expat entrepreneur who founded and grew a call center company in Costa Rica to over 150 employees. It covers several topics: Mindset and Soft Skills: Richard emphasizes the importance of mindset, likening it to "whistling while you work," enabling one to overcome challenges. He discusses how to develop and utilize soft skills effectively, such as active listening, empathetic communication, and positive reinforcement to manage and navigate difficult conversations and customer interactions. Moving to Costa Rica: Richard shares his initial reactions upon moving to Costa Rica, highlighting the family-oriented culture, the warmth of the people, and the beauty of the environment. He talks about the importance of integrating into the community and fostering a fun and supportive atmosphere at work. Entrepreneurship Journey: He delves into his journey of starting a call center in Costa Rica, from initially renting a station in a blended center to eventually owning a building. He shares insights on overcoming challenges, such as understanding local labor laws and maintaining ethical business practices. Employee Management and Retention: Richard details his approach to employee management and retention, focusing on empathy, dignity, and creating a positive, engaging work environment. He emphasizes the significance of selecting the right people for the job and cultivating a culture where employees feel valued and motivated. Sales and Communication Techniques: Throughout the conversation, Richard shares various sales and communication techniques, such as the "buffer boomerang" method, focusing on the importance of making a strong first impression, building rapport, and establishing a connection with clients and customers. He underscores the power of using one's name in conversation as a key to successful communication. Life and Business Philosophy: Richard's narrative is imbued with his life and business philosophy of paying it forward, believing in the principle of action and reaction, and the importance of small acts of kindness. He also touches on personal goals, like writing children's books and the simple joys of everyday life. Advice for Developing Communication Skills: He suggests watching certain TV shows from the past to improve speech and delivery, practicing dedicatedly, and being in the right frame of mind to effectively communicate and connect with others. This conversation offers valuable insights into the power of positive thinking, effective communication, the importance of community and culture in business, and the journey of entrepreneurship in a foreign country. Overcoming Accent Bias in Calls If someone from Costa Rica is making that call, who is, like, born there, they would have an accent, right? So when they call Erica, wouldn't Erica know, like, Her first reaction will be, oh, I know it's a sales call because it's not even someone from the US. So don't they have to work even harder? Your accent is in the United States as much as a Latino one or an Asian one or anyone. The United States is a melting pot. So for me today, once again, anyone could be anywhere. And the Latino market's growing. But how about this, my good friend? You got a cool accent. Well, that's the reason why I don't make outbound phone calls. Pursue Your Passion And if great-grandpa didn't come, we wouldn't be here today. So everyone needs to calm down a little bit. The worst thing you could ever do, because my intentions are honorable, is take the spark out of somebody. You see that I have invested my life in Spanish. I do the dedicated practice. I do above and beyond what school asked me to do. And you have to give me a shot at it. You got to see what I can do. Little did I know... that I was not a business major. So what's the second challenge? Being a CEO of a company. Soft Skills: More Than Just for Call Centers And how do you, how do you develop this skillset? If you're not, say you're not someone who's going to make their career working at a call center or starting a call center, but you are someone that needs to, as you mentioned earlier, there are a lot of frontline workers who really need to be able to communicate with people who are often not in a good state of mind, doctors, anyone in the medical field. How do you learn these skills if you're not going to get the practice of 100 calls a day working with people? Oh, you watch this podcast. Well, maybe these are the sort of soft skills that can save a marriage or a Thanksgiving dinner. Spotting and Addressing Burnout in the Workplace And so that's my main thing is I have to put some water on their face, give them some coffee, or just a timeout to play some Pac-Man and pinball just to readjust themselves. But how do you even know that they're in a bad state today? We have a quality control department. So immediately you can see talk time. I mean, once again, if someone is rushing a call, they're hanging up, or if they're going too long, they're just not listening. And you have people that are either around them or the monitors that will let you know that something is off. If it's a brand new agent, I don't know them. But if it's someone that's been with me and I have a luxury of a track record, I can easily compare it to other times and other metrics. But we have preventative measures. We do touch base with everybody in the mornings and just see how they're doing that day and what's happening. Stress Reduction Techniques and Industry Expectations And so really reducing some of that stress with cognitive skills is what I like. But it's practice. You know, we have scripts with rebuttals. Send me information. Why should I do business with you? As you say, I'm busy going into a meeting, things like that. And so we'll have things written down. And when they practice it, what they can do is, as I was trying to do, is anchor by using names. I mean, I could say, I know you're busy, I'll send you information, but I'm going to say Erica, just for a second, just to calm everyone down and then make my point. As I say, there can be stability when there's unstable ground. You just got to find how to readjust yourself. Because things are moving so fast. But I tell you what, I mean, if this is the sort of thing that beats you up so bad, you shouldn't be in this industry. It's not for the faint of heart. The Lasting Impact of Mentorship And if I can get that out of somebody and be that proper mentor to them, they're good for the rest of their life. And so that's what I try to do to keep the art of speech and to make it fresh. If not, you're just going to see this as a grind, a forced march, and you just can't wait to bounce this job and go to the next one that might pay an extra five bucks. And it's an interesting industry, my friends. https://youtu.be/FDq5rg4J2S8 https://youtu.be/fJR8wRv34Gk https://youtu.be/Qq-CDEJBtQQ https://youtu.be/JLFXiYBBdpM https://youtu.be/2pejZ7Z8znY https://youtu.be/ZECOYRrGel0

Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #TheErikaandAbiShow #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO The Power of Active Listening and Emotional Intelligence EQ. Yeah. Like meditation, you need to be in the right frame of mind and you can't play happy if you're sad. You can try. But no, if you do this after three weeks, it becomes habit. And you know what's the beautiful part about this? And a lot of it is just active listening. You can still do your job. You can still type and convert your calls and ask questions. But it's almost like that guy that juggles that can bite the apple as well. There's still room in the cart to do something, or you can upgrade it a little bit. You know, you just don't ask a question. You say the person's name, or as I did in the beginning, the company name spike. And it's so nice to hear you two react when I say the name of your podcast. I know that makes you smile. Willing to Die for a Passion Remember we spoke about dying, you know, falling on swords and dying on hills. Listen, this is the one with my wife that she knows I'm willing to die on. Of course. I love my pinball machines, especially the older ones, the marquees and the play fields, the bells and the lights. It's just incredible for me, the restoration.