Outsourcing with Costa Rica's Call Center. Richard Blank telemarketing business sales tips

Monday, August 4, 2025

How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy. #gamification #retro #arcade #...

Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast. Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements. In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday. From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture. In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica. Turning Passion into Business: Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture. Leadership through Empowerment: The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication. Importance of Culture: The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate. In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica. In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset. Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation. "You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success. Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management. How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey. https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, 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 Who This Podcast is For: Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base. Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout. Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos. Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all. About Elizabeth Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last. Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business. 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, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008. 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. 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/ #ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations. Solving Problems with Communication Mastery I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.

Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball...

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Three Times I Almost Gave Up.#business #sales #callcenter #money #client...

The Beyond Fulfillment Podcast. Mastering the Pivot: Richard Blank’s Path to Building a Call-Center Empire Hosted by Dave Gulas of EZDC 3PL, the Beyond Fulfillment Podcast offers candid conversations with entrepreneurs, startup founders, and small business owners. We dive deep into their journeys, uncovering the real-world challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned along the way. The Beyond Fulfillment Podcast, with Dave Gulas of EZDC 3PL, is your weekly dose of real talk with the people actually building successful businesses. We bring you unfiltered conversations with the founders, the dreamers, and the doers who are truly making things happen. We're cutting through the noise to show you what it really takes for business growth.. Think of it as a backstage pass to the entrepreneurial journey —from overcoming tough challenges to celebrating big victories, and every important lesson along the way. Why listen? Because we're exploring various industries, pulling back the curtain on how entrepreneurs like David Meltzer, Brian Esposito, Susan Sly, Darren Jacklin, and Susan Bratton have powered through obstacles, grabbed opportunities, and truly scaled their visions. You'll hear authentic stories that resonate, gain practical advice you can put into action today, and find the motivation to fuel your own growth. In this episode, we dive deep into the entrepreneurial journey of Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica’s Call Center. Richard reveals how he went from a Spanish major in Philadelphia to building a thriving business in Central America’s vibrant BPO industry. Richard shares honest insights on overcoming early career uncertainty, breaking free from societal expectations, and capitalizing on his passion for language and culture. Listen as he discusses practical strategies for scaling a business sustainably, building a reliable team, and adapting to seismic changes—such as transitioning from a brick-and-mortar call center to a 100% virtual operation post-pandemic. You’ll hear real-world advice about hiring, retention, and creating a company culture that values both professional growth and personal well-being. Richard also touches on leveraging AI in customer support without losing the human touch—a must-hear for founders balancing technology and service. If you’re searching for proven business growth strategies, leadership lessons, and unfiltered stories about entrepreneurship, hit play and let Richard’s journey inspire you to carve your path. Perfect for anyone interested in call centers, cost-effective scaling, or building a business with heart. Richard Blank didn’t follow a straight line. He studied Spanish. Took a leap of faith. Moved to Costa Rica to teach English. And ended up staying four years—long enough to learn the call center business from the inside out. Today, nearly two decades later, he’s running his own company and mentoring others along the way. This Beyond Fulfillment episode is a reminder that the best journeys often start with uncertainty and that real growth begins when you commit, stay curious, and keep showing up. In this Beyond Fulfillment episode, we unpack the kind of long-term dedication most careers require, but rarely get credit for. It’s not just about talent or ambition. It’s about doing the reps when nobody’s watching. Think: The Karate Kid, but for your career. Why exceeding expectations starts long before anyone notices How passion sustains you when progress is slow What it really means to invest in your craft In this episode of Beyond Fulfillment, Richard Blank shares a story: a pivotal moment, a big leap, and the real work it takes to build something on your own terms. We cover: Why 35 wasn’t too late to start, just the right time The hidden cost of overextending too early How measured action beats reckless growth If you’re stuck wondering whether to make the jump… this is your episode. From Clay Logos to First Big Client Well, it actually started with a day that I was playing with plasticine clay. I had to think of what my logo was going to be. You can't start anything until you have the genesis. And so I created my CCC. I did it in Broadway font. From there, the website went up on October 4th of 2007. And I landed my first account February 6th of 2008. One C for one week. But I put my knowledge on the website. It was really somebody that was so raring to go. I was a stallion. I just never ran the track once. I could compete with Secretariat, I felt. But it was the thing where when people spoke with me, I was able to share such information in regards to quality assurance and onboarding and script writing because I've done it. that a lot of people, not these extremely large companies, but entrepreneurs, mid-sized companies, that kind of understood the long shot, the Philly kid that moved to Costa Rica started his company. You relate to that. That's how I was able to get on the podcast today, Dave. And so when I would speak with these potential clients, I would break down with them how much leads we would need on a monthly basis, which is about $4,000 per person on a five-minute talk time. I use a predictive dialer, which is better than manual dialing or smart dialing. I have supervisors that analyze your phone calls to make sure that they're following the quality and asking all the questions. And so just by shaving and polishing, the metrics go up because you're putting it into an environment that just knows what they're doing. From Philly to CEO: Richard Blank’s Global Leap Today, we sit down with Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica's call center. With over 18 years of leadership, Richard took a leap of faith that started in Northeast Philadelphia and blossomed into a thriving international business. He's a master of language, a champion of bilingual communication, and an expert in building high performing teams from the ground up. In this episode, Richard opens up about how he navigated career uncertainty, built his business from scratch, and grew to hundreds of seats without overextending himself. We dive into the art and science of call centers, surviving industry shakeups, and adapting to a virtual workforce. Plus, how he's embracing AI as both a challenge and an opportunity. The Real Impact of Going Fully Virtual I'm a hundred percent virtual right now. They all wanted to go home. I afforded them that luxury and they've earned it too. I just miss them. I really do. But I understand the time and the money. And I know they're comfortable at home, but you and I are talking as business owners and professionals. I'm letting you know they're losing 15% and I gave you my arguments on it. And I think they could be that much stronger. They could be a serious A plus player. I think that the industry now virtually is a B plus. That's all. Three Times I Almost Gave Up Yeah, three times. The first time is the first place I was renting. I had a guy that was strong arming me because he didn't want me to go because he knew he was making a lot of money each month. And there's a certain point when you pay a la carte, come on, man, I can buy my own plane now. I mean, we've already filled 75 seats. I mean, you're paying more than what you're getting. And so I outgrew that first area. So I had to leave, but it was very uncomfortable. at one time and, you know, without getting into too many details. So I didn't like that strong arming me. That's number one. And the second thing is when I lost my largest client back in 2010, I was working with a debt settlement company, a wonderful company, amazing people. And unfortunately, when the laws changed and certain things hampered the industry, I lost like 87 seats like that. And so I had to ask myself, do I just pack up and take what you made and start something new. Or do you reinvest your money and give it one more go? And I did. So everything that we earned, I reinvested to build back my seats that I had lost and was growing from there because I was still midsize. And then when COVID hit, what an interesting time. I saw people that I really depend on run and hide. https://youtu.be/y0eFQzwD8as https://youtu.be/sspOd5u9X7w https://youtu.be/Uy-pE94Hnng https://youtu.be/J7REKIRcTac https://youtu.be/zfQyTn2TPSc Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ Dave Gulas, The Beyond Fulfillment Podcast, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center Why Listen? Authentic Stories: Hear firsthand accounts of entrepreneurial journeys, from initial setbacks to ultimate successes. Valuable Insights: Gain practical advice and strategies to apply to your own business. Diverse Perspectives: Explore a wide range of industries and experiences. Inspiration and Motivation: Find inspiration and motivation to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams. Join us as we explore diverse perspectives and gain actionable insights to fuel your entrepreneurial growth. Discover how others have overcome obstacles, seized opportunities, and built successful businesses. Tune in to the Beyond Fulfillment Podcast and unlock the potential of your business. Dave Gulas: With nearly 2 decades of experience in RX & Medical wholesale distribution, I specialize in helping small business owners get the right products at the right price, quickly to service their customers. I now bring that same level of commitment and drive to EZDC 3PL. At EZDC 3PL, we help E-commerce brands scale by: • Offering timely & accurate order fulfillment • Providing personal service with quick response time • Offering competitive rates with extra savings on technology & shipping costs If you’re an E-commerce brand looking for a reliable 3PL partner, send me a message to schedule a quick call. 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, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008. 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. 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/ #DaveGulas #TheBeyondFulfillmentPodcast #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode