Dr. Laura Sicola presents Speaking to Influence Podcast. Soft speaking skills with Richard Blank.
In this episode, Dr. Laura Sicola interviews Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, about the importance of communication skills and influence in the business world. They discuss the value of soft skills, such as foreign language proficiency, and the need to recognize and leverage one's unique talents. Richard challenges listeners to improve their voicemail messages and congruence between their audio and visual presence. They also talk about the importance of giving people a personalized outbound voicemail message and the impact it has on the impression they leave. He emphasizes the importance of trust, faith, and having a sense of humor in building relationships and achieving success.
Episode 215: Richard Blank - CEO Costa Rica Call Center
In this episode you will learn:
● Character during chaos is an important leadership trait.
● Promote individuals based on their strengths and redirect them to roles where they can excel.
● Express appreciation and acknowledge the contributions of team members.
● Take calculated risks and communicate with stakeholders about challenges and unique aspects of the business. Soft skills, including foreign language proficiency, are valuable and marketable skills in the business world.
● Recognize and leverage your unique talents and skills, and don't downplay their importance.
● Improve your voicemail message and ensure congruence between your audio and visual presence.
● Give a personalized outbound voicemail message to make a positive impression.
● Be the lone voice of dissent when necessary and advocate for others.
About Richard Blank: At 27 years old, Richard relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. He has trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades. Richard has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique 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.
Do you want to be an effective communicator? This is where you'll find all sorts of resources with ideas, tips and strategies on how to master the art and science of leadership communication and influence, i.e. the ability to harness the power of the voice to master the 3s: Command the room, Connect with the audience and Close the deal in any context.
24-Hour Influence Challenge: Voicemail Edition
Now, you just took a challenge in moving down to Costa Rica 24 years ago. Let's levy a challenge to everybody else. This is an opportunity, Richard, to give a challenge for our 24-hour influence challenge of the day to challenge our audience to take one step that they can complete within 24 hours to have more influence. How would you like to challenge our listeners today? Yeah, Laura, I loved when we spoke about this before. I gave you like 20 ideas, and this is the one we chose the best. Nobody likes how they sound on their voicemail, now do they? When was the last time you changed your voicemail recording? What, 1989? And so I need for you to listen to yourself, and I want you to analyze your tone, your rate, your pitch, your duration, Maybe use a thesaurus and find some similes to power up certain vocabulary so it might become more diplomatic and strategic. And practice that over and over. Why? Because that's how you sound to people.
https://youtu.be/Xs4XRi6Ca3s
https://youtube.com/shorts/wSiTO-n9WBY
https://youtube.com/shorts/a34o4FLSPhU
https://youtu.be/h4eu6eiIoTw
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Dr. Laura Sicola, Speaking to Influence 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,trend, trending
Some of these videos are connected to blogs or other pages on my website, https://laurasicola.com, so take a look to learn more. If you want to stay on top of the latest news in speech an leadership, sign up there to get my weekly newsletter so you don't miss a beat!
Here's to increasing your confidence, presence and influence, as the leader that you are, and the leader you KNOW you can become!
LEADERSHIP IS AN IMAGE.
The way you communicate
is the foundation.
Executive communication coaching and training with Dr. Laura Sicola helps you build the confidence, presence, and influence you need to succeed.
It’s Time to Enhance Your Executive Presence
1Step into a world where your words command respect, your confidence inspires trust, and your leadership opens doors to new opportunities.
Dr. Laura Sicola
Are you equally confident and influential whether communicating with people in business development, finance, engineering, HR, clients, or the board of directors?
Are you as persuasive and compelling whether speaking on camera, presenting to 500 people at a conference, pitching to investors, or advising your employees in a 1:1?
I am a speaker, coach and leadership communication expert who helps people hone their Vocal Executive Presence (VEP) and communication skills to project a strong, positive leadership image, develop loyal, effective teams, and create their ideal workplace culture to reach their ultimate goals.
Your technical expertise only gets you so far; after that, your success is a direct result of how effectively you can COMMUNICATE that expertise to others who do NOT have your skills and knowledge.
I have worked with everyone from executives and aspiring execs at companies like IBM, Comcast and the US Department of Commerce, to executive directors at non-profits, groups of entrepreneurs and women's/diversity initiatives.
Do you or will you lead a large team or organization? Are you getting ready for a conference presentation? A TED talk? A press conference? Or do you need to facilitate team meetings and mediate staff conflict? You tell me who your audience is, and I show you how to get your message across to them efficiently and effectively, while bringing everyone to a collective "YES."
And if you're looking for a speaker for your next event - live or virtual - and need a topic that will resonate with EVERYONE delivered by an inspiring, engaging speaker, give me a call!
Dr. Laura Sicola has over 20 years of experience teaching leaders how to command the room, connect with the audience, and close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and communication expert, Laura empowers leaders through communication coaching, group training sessions, worldwide speaking engagements, and her book “Speaking to Influence.”
Executive Coaching
Work with Laura one-on-one or in mastery cohort groups to refine your communication skills. These executive coaching sessions help you develop a communication strategy that elevates your executive presence, aligns with your personal brand and gets results.
Group Training
Transform your team's communication capabilities with Laura's outcome-oriented, customizable group training. Topics include Speaking to Influence, Breaking the Expert's Curse, Virtual Influence, Becoming a Go-To Thought Leader, and more.
Keynote Speaking
Elevate your conference or event with a speaker who has mastered the art and science of “infotainment.” Laura balances value-packed content with humor and an interactive style that keeps the audience engaged and gives them practical skills to immediately implement.
Speaking to Influence Book
Discover the secrets to powerful and persuasive communication. With real-life examples, worksheets, and exercises, this book gives you everything needed to transform your communication style, get out of your own way, and hear “yes” more often.
Speaking to Influence Podcast
Join Laura as she interviews world-class business and industry leaders who reveal the importance of communication as an essential leadership skill on their own career journey and the (sometimes hard) lessons they learned along the way.
Online Programs and Training
Laura hosts a constantly evolving set of online courses and live group trainings on topics to help you discover your leadership voice, become a go-to thought leader, and optimize your in-person or virtual presence and engagement skills.
Want to establish your brand as a go-to thought leader?
Get Laura’s insights in this free resource that shares eight key strategies to boost your brand and elevate your thought leadership. Click the link below and begin your journey to becoming a respected and influential leader who everyone actually WANTS to hear speak!
Ultimately, Laura's mission is to guide leaders in mastering the 3 Cs of executive presence: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and executive communication coach, Laura understands how professional interactions impact respect, trust, and buy-in, whether it’s a company meeting, a virtual conference call, a presentation to the board, or a high-stakes pitch to investors.
Using a personalized and practical approach, Laura teaches leaders how to project confidence, authority, and authenticity so they can be themselves, while still getting through to anyone.
Linguist
Laura’s background in cognitive linguistics is the cornerstone of her unique coaching approach to solving this universal challenge. She earned her Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and taught there from 2001-2013. Laura has a deep understanding of the science of how people learn, how speech is processed in the brain, and what creates the gap between “what you think you said,” “what they think they heard,” and most importantly, how to close that gap to get results.
Coach
As an executive communication coach, Laura works with C-suite executives, VPs, directors, business owners, and aspiring executives who want to expand their powers of influence, inspire trust, and hear “yes” more often. In one-on-one or group sessions and master classes, she teaches leaders how to identify and express their personal brands so they can communicate with clarity, confidence, and authenticity, in front of any audience.
Author
Laura is the author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. This insightful book draws on her extensive expertise in cognitive linguistics, education and executive coaching to provide everyone with practical tools for effective communication in personal and professional interactions alike. In the words of one Amazon reviewer, “Dr. Laura Sicola gives down-to-earth, usable advice for anyone who wants to speak with authority.” She has also published many other peer-reviewed articles and books based on her research, intended for academic audiences.
Speaker
Laura is a renowned speaker, delivering keynotes and presentations at conferences and corporate events worldwide. Her TEDxPENN talk ‘Want to Sound like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right‘ has been viewed over 6.8 million times. She has spoken at hundreds of events sharing insights and practical strategies for effective leadership communication. She also loves to moderate panels and emcee events for corporate and non-profit organizations.
Connect With Laura
Ready to sharpen your communication skills and expand your influence? Reach out to Dr. Laura Sicola to learn more about personalized coaching, group training, speaking engagements, and more.
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.
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/
#DrLauraSicola #SpeakingtoInfluencePodcast #SpeakersAreLeadersMotivationPodcast #HarrySardinas #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Pushed My Car in a Suit: A Hilarious Client Story
yes yes all right finally tell me about a time when you had to laugh at yourself ah i love this story so i had a client in town right phil and i'm driving him to dinner and it's the rainy season and unfortunately my car ran out of gas right by the um la sabana park and I couldn't believe it. So the guy looks at me, he goes, listen, the gas station is just a block away. And he goes, I'll push it if you will. I go, are you serious? He goes, yeah, why not? And so I took my jacket off. I'm still in my suit. Got the, you know, the best on. It's a good bonding moment there. Pushed it down the street. People are honking, laughing at me. A guy on purpose would curve a little, so it splashed me.
Handling Leadership Challenges During COVID
Yes, of course, Laura. It was during COVID when all of a sudden the government said, you got to send everybody home. And so what do you do? IT needed to prepare the lifeboats. The agents mentally needed to prepare for the isolation. And my supervisors and I needed to create certain mediums to keep that communication going and that lifeline going. And so I saw some people run for the hills. I saw freshmen step up to the plate.
The Gary Technique: Trust and Perseverance
Tell me about a time when you went to bat for someone else. Who did you speak to on their behalf? Why and how? I totally remember this story when we spoke about it, Laura. I had an agent called Gary and we called the Gary technique. This guy was usually the ramper upper where I'd put him on a brand new campaign to lead the charge, show some metrics and things will look good. Once again, the lone voice with the client convincing them that this is the guy. So after a certain day or two, when the client was losing its patience or Gary wasn't, you know, hitting the home runs yet, he said, Hey, I want you to remove him and try somebody else. And I said, you haven't really given him enough time. He goes, no, I just don't have a good vibe. I go, okay. Let's give it until the end of the day. And then I'll put him on another campaign. Next thing you know, Gary ripped three appointments. And so the client calls about it goes, why? I didn't know that. Let's keep, I go, well, listen, Billy, I did speak to the other client. He's being moved, but I just got to let you know in the future, have faith in me, trust my opinion. This is my wheelhouse. I know what I'm doing. And you know, just once the people get loosey goosey and they feel comfy on the phone, then you start hitting them. And so, um, I've fallen on swords for people because I've known what they've done. And I've also made mistakes as well. Sometimes Gary was not the good fit on a certain campaign and it just wasn't the right guy. Guy can't bat a thousand. Sure. Sure. And so I'm willing to take that hit too. But the beauty of it is at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the fact that you might have faith in somebody else besides yourself.
Dr. Laura Sicola presents Speaking to Influence Podcast. Soft speaking skills with Richard Blank.
In this episode, Dr. Laura Sicola interviews Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, about the importance of communication skills and influence in the business world. They discuss the value of soft skills, such as foreign language proficiency, and the need to recognize and leverage one's unique talents. Richard challenges listeners to improve their voicemail messages and congruence between their audio and visual presence. They also talk about the importance of giving people a personalized outbound voicemail message and the impact it has on the impression they leave. He emphasizes the importance of trust, faith, and having a sense of humor in building relationships and achieving success.
Episode 215: Richard Blank - CEO Costa Rica Call Center
In this episode you will learn:
● Character during chaos is an important leadership trait.
● Promote individuals based on their strengths and redirect them to roles where they can excel.
● Express appreciation and acknowledge the contributions of team members.
● Take calculated risks and communicate with stakeholders about challenges and unique aspects of the business. Soft skills, including foreign language proficiency, are valuable and marketable skills in the business world.
● Recognize and leverage your unique talents and skills, and don't downplay their importance.
● Improve your voicemail message and ensure congruence between your audio and visual presence.
● Give a personalized outbound voicemail message to make a positive impression.
● Be the lone voice of dissent when necessary and advocate for others.
About Richard Blank: At 27 years old, Richard relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. He has trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades. Richard has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique 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.
Do you want to be an effective communicator? This is where you'll find all sorts of resources with ideas, tips and strategies on how to master the art and science of leadership communication and influence, i.e. the ability to harness the power of the voice to master the 3s: Command the room, Connect with the audience and Close the deal in any context.
24-Hour Influence Challenge: Voicemail Edition
Now, you just took a challenge in moving down to Costa Rica 24 years ago. Let's levy a challenge to everybody else. This is an opportunity, Richard, to give a challenge for our 24-hour influence challenge of the day to challenge our audience to take one step that they can complete within 24 hours to have more influence. How would you like to challenge our listeners today? Yeah, Laura, I loved when we spoke about this before. I gave you like 20 ideas, and this is the one we chose the best. Nobody likes how they sound on their voicemail, now do they? When was the last time you changed your voicemail recording? What, 1989? And so I need for you to listen to yourself, and I want you to analyze your tone, your rate, your pitch, your duration, Maybe use a thesaurus and find some similes to power up certain vocabulary so it might become more diplomatic and strategic. And practice that over and over. Why? Because that's how you sound to people.
https://youtu.be/Xs4XRi6Ca3s
https://youtube.com/shorts/wSiTO-n9WBY
https://youtube.com/shorts/a34o4FLSPhU
https://youtu.be/h4eu6eiIoTw
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Dr. Laura Sicola, Speaking to Influence 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,trend, trending
Some of these videos are connected to blogs or other pages on my website, https://laurasicola.com, so take a look to learn more. If you want to stay on top of the latest news in speech an leadership, sign up there to get my weekly newsletter so you don't miss a beat!
Here's to increasing your confidence, presence and influence, as the leader that you are, and the leader you KNOW you can become!
LEADERSHIP IS AN IMAGE.
The way you communicate
is the foundation.
Executive communication coaching and training with Dr. Laura Sicola helps you build the confidence, presence, and influence you need to succeed.
It’s Time to Enhance Your Executive Presence
1Step into a world where your words command respect, your confidence inspires trust, and your leadership opens doors to new opportunities.
Dr. Laura Sicola
Are you equally confident and influential whether communicating with people in business development, finance, engineering, HR, clients, or the board of directors?
Are you as persuasive and compelling whether speaking on camera, presenting to 500 people at a conference, pitching to investors, or advising your employees in a 1:1?
I am a speaker, coach and leadership communication expert who helps people hone their Vocal Executive Presence (VEP) and communication skills to project a strong, positive leadership image, develop loyal, effective teams, and create their ideal workplace culture to reach their ultimate goals.
Your technical expertise only gets you so far; after that, your success is a direct result of how effectively you can COMMUNICATE that expertise to others who do NOT have your skills and knowledge.
I have worked with everyone from executives and aspiring execs at companies like IBM, Comcast and the US Department of Commerce, to executive directors at non-profits, groups of entrepreneurs and women's/diversity initiatives.
Do you or will you lead a large team or organization? Are you getting ready for a conference presentation? A TED talk? A press conference? Or do you need to facilitate team meetings and mediate staff conflict? You tell me who your audience is, and I show you how to get your message across to them efficiently and effectively, while bringing everyone to a collective "YES."
And if you're looking for a speaker for your next event - live or virtual - and need a topic that will resonate with EVERYONE delivered by an inspiring, engaging speaker, give me a call!
Dr. Laura Sicola has over 20 years of experience teaching leaders how to command the room, connect with the audience, and close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and communication expert, Laura empowers leaders through communication coaching, group training sessions, worldwide speaking engagements, and her book “Speaking to Influence.”
Executive Coaching
Work with Laura one-on-one or in mastery cohort groups to refine your communication skills. These executive coaching sessions help you develop a communication strategy that elevates your executive presence, aligns with your personal brand and gets results.
Group Training
Transform your team's communication capabilities with Laura's outcome-oriented, customizable group training. Topics include Speaking to Influence, Breaking the Expert's Curse, Virtual Influence, Becoming a Go-To Thought Leader, and more.
Keynote Speaking
Elevate your conference or event with a speaker who has mastered the art and science of “infotainment.” Laura balances value-packed content with humor and an interactive style that keeps the audience engaged and gives them practical skills to immediately implement.
Speaking to Influence Book
Discover the secrets to powerful and persuasive communication. With real-life examples, worksheets, and exercises, this book gives you everything needed to transform your communication style, get out of your own way, and hear “yes” more often.
Speaking to Influence Podcast
Join Laura as she interviews world-class business and industry leaders who reveal the importance of communication as an essential leadership skill on their own career journey and the (sometimes hard) lessons they learned along the way.
Online Programs and Training
Laura hosts a constantly evolving set of online courses and live group trainings on topics to help you discover your leadership voice, become a go-to thought leader, and optimize your in-person or virtual presence and engagement skills.
Want to establish your brand as a go-to thought leader?
Get Laura’s insights in this free resource that shares eight key strategies to boost your brand and elevate your thought leadership. Click the link below and begin your journey to becoming a respected and influential leader who everyone actually WANTS to hear speak!
Ultimately, Laura's mission is to guide leaders in mastering the 3 Cs of executive presence: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and executive communication coach, Laura understands how professional interactions impact respect, trust, and buy-in, whether it’s a company meeting, a virtual conference call, a presentation to the board, or a high-stakes pitch to investors.
Using a personalized and practical approach, Laura teaches leaders how to project confidence, authority, and authenticity so they can be themselves, while still getting through to anyone.
Linguist
Laura’s background in cognitive linguistics is the cornerstone of her unique coaching approach to solving this universal challenge. She earned her Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and taught there from 2001-2013. Laura has a deep understanding of the science of how people learn, how speech is processed in the brain, and what creates the gap between “what you think you said,” “what they think they heard,” and most importantly, how to close that gap to get results.
Coach
As an executive communication coach, Laura works with C-suite executives, VPs, directors, business owners, and aspiring executives who want to expand their powers of influence, inspire trust, and hear “yes” more often. In one-on-one or group sessions and master classes, she teaches leaders how to identify and express their personal brands so they can communicate with clarity, confidence, and authenticity, in front of any audience.
Author
Laura is the author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. This insightful book draws on her extensive expertise in cognitive linguistics, education and executive coaching to provide everyone with practical tools for effective communication in personal and professional interactions alike. In the words of one Amazon reviewer, “Dr. Laura Sicola gives down-to-earth, usable advice for anyone who wants to speak with authority.” She has also published many other peer-reviewed articles and books based on her research, intended for academic audiences.
Speaker
Laura is a renowned speaker, delivering keynotes and presentations at conferences and corporate events worldwide. Her TEDxPENN talk ‘Want to Sound like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right‘ has been viewed over 6.8 million times. She has spoken at hundreds of events sharing insights and practical strategies for effective leadership communication. She also loves to moderate panels and emcee events for corporate and non-profit organizations.
Connect With Laura
Ready to sharpen your communication skills and expand your influence? Reach out to Dr. Laura Sicola to learn more about personalized coaching, group training, speaking engagements, and more.
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.
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/
#DrLauraSicola #SpeakingtoInfluencePodcast #SpeakersAreLeadersMotivationPodcast #HarrySardinas #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Pushed My Car in a Suit: A Hilarious Client Story
yes yes all right finally tell me about a time when you had to laugh at yourself ah i love this story so i had a client in town right phil and i'm driving him to dinner and it's the rainy season and unfortunately my car ran out of gas right by the um la sabana park and I couldn't believe it. So the guy looks at me, he goes, listen, the gas station is just a block away. And he goes, I'll push it if you will. I go, are you serious? He goes, yeah, why not? And so I took my jacket off. I'm still in my suit. Got the, you know, the best on. It's a good bonding moment there. Pushed it down the street. People are honking, laughing at me. A guy on purpose would curve a little, so it splashed me.
Handling Leadership Challenges During COVID
Yes, of course, Laura. It was during COVID when all of a sudden the government said, you got to send everybody home. And so what do you do? IT needed to prepare the lifeboats. The agents mentally needed to prepare for the isolation. And my supervisors and I needed to create certain mediums to keep that communication going and that lifeline going. And so I saw some people run for the hills. I saw freshmen step up to the plate.
The Gary Technique: Trust and Perseverance
Tell me about a time when you went to bat for someone else. Who did you speak to on their behalf? Why and how? I totally remember this story when we spoke about it, Laura. I had an agent called Gary and we called the Gary technique. This guy was usually the ramper upper where I'd put him on a brand new campaign to lead the charge, show some metrics and things will look good. Once again, the lone voice with the client convincing them that this is the guy. So after a certain day or two, when the client was losing its patience or Gary wasn't, you know, hitting the home runs yet, he said, Hey, I want you to remove him and try somebody else. And I said, you haven't really given him enough time. He goes, no, I just don't have a good vibe. I go, okay. Let's give it until the end of the day. And then I'll put him on another campaign. Next thing you know, Gary ripped three appointments. And so the client calls about it goes, why? I didn't know that. Let's keep, I go, well, listen, Billy, I did speak to the other client. He's being moved, but I just got to let you know in the future, have faith in me, trust my opinion. This is my wheelhouse. I know what I'm doing. And you know, just once the people get loosey goosey and they feel comfy on the phone, then you start hitting them. And so, um, I've fallen on swords for people because I've known what they've done. And I've also made mistakes as well. Sometimes Gary was not the good fit on a certain campaign and it just wasn't the right guy. Guy can't bat a thousand. Sure. Sure. And so I'm willing to take that hit too. But the beauty of it is at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the fact that you might have faith in somebody else besides yourself.
Dr. Laura Sicola presents Speaking to Influence Podcast. Soft speaking skills with Richard Blank.
In this episode, Dr. Laura Sicola interviews Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, about the importance of communication skills and influence in the business world. They discuss the value of soft skills, such as foreign language proficiency, and the need to recognize and leverage one's unique talents. Richard challenges listeners to improve their voicemail messages and congruence between their audio and visual presence. They also talk about the importance of giving people a personalized outbound voicemail message and the impact it has on the impression they leave. He emphasizes the importance of trust, faith, and having a sense of humor in building relationships and achieving success.
Episode 215: Richard Blank - CEO Costa Rica Call Center
In this episode you will learn:
● Character during chaos is an important leadership trait.
● Promote individuals based on their strengths and redirect them to roles where they can excel.
● Express appreciation and acknowledge the contributions of team members.
● Take calculated risks and communicate with stakeholders about challenges and unique aspects of the business. Soft skills, including foreign language proficiency, are valuable and marketable skills in the business world.
● Recognize and leverage your unique talents and skills, and don't downplay their importance.
● Improve your voicemail message and ensure congruence between your audio and visual presence.
● Give a personalized outbound voicemail message to make a positive impression.
● Be the lone voice of dissent when necessary and advocate for others.
About Richard Blank: At 27 years old, Richard relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. He has trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades. Richard has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique 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.
Do you want to be an effective communicator? This is where you'll find all sorts of resources with ideas, tips and strategies on how to master the art and science of leadership communication and influence, i.e. the ability to harness the power of the voice to master the 3s: Command the room, Connect with the audience and Close the deal in any context.
24-Hour Influence Challenge: Voicemail Edition
Now, you just took a challenge in moving down to Costa Rica 24 years ago. Let's levy a challenge to everybody else. This is an opportunity, Richard, to give a challenge for our 24-hour influence challenge of the day to challenge our audience to take one step that they can complete within 24 hours to have more influence. How would you like to challenge our listeners today? Yeah, Laura, I loved when we spoke about this before. I gave you like 20 ideas, and this is the one we chose the best. Nobody likes how they sound on their voicemail, now do they? When was the last time you changed your voicemail recording? What, 1989? And so I need for you to listen to yourself, and I want you to analyze your tone, your rate, your pitch, your duration, Maybe use a thesaurus and find some similes to power up certain vocabulary so it might become more diplomatic and strategic. And practice that over and over. Why? Because that's how you sound to people.
https://youtu.be/Xs4XRi6Ca3s
https://youtube.com/shorts/wSiTO-n9WBY
https://youtube.com/shorts/a34o4FLSPhU
https://youtu.be/h4eu6eiIoTw
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Dr. Laura Sicola, Speaking to Influence 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,trend, trending
Some of these videos are connected to blogs or other pages on my website, https://laurasicola.com, so take a look to learn more. If you want to stay on top of the latest news in speech an leadership, sign up there to get my weekly newsletter so you don't miss a beat!
Here's to increasing your confidence, presence and influence, as the leader that you are, and the leader you KNOW you can become!
LEADERSHIP IS AN IMAGE.
The way you communicate
is the foundation.
Executive communication coaching and training with Dr. Laura Sicola helps you build the confidence, presence, and influence you need to succeed.
It’s Time to Enhance Your Executive Presence
1Step into a world where your words command respect, your confidence inspires trust, and your leadership opens doors to new opportunities.
Dr. Laura Sicola
Are you equally confident and influential whether communicating with people in business development, finance, engineering, HR, clients, or the board of directors?
Are you as persuasive and compelling whether speaking on camera, presenting to 500 people at a conference, pitching to investors, or advising your employees in a 1:1?
I am a speaker, coach and leadership communication expert who helps people hone their Vocal Executive Presence (VEP) and communication skills to project a strong, positive leadership image, develop loyal, effective teams, and create their ideal workplace culture to reach their ultimate goals.
Your technical expertise only gets you so far; after that, your success is a direct result of how effectively you can COMMUNICATE that expertise to others who do NOT have your skills and knowledge.
I have worked with everyone from executives and aspiring execs at companies like IBM, Comcast and the US Department of Commerce, to executive directors at non-profits, groups of entrepreneurs and women's/diversity initiatives.
Do you or will you lead a large team or organization? Are you getting ready for a conference presentation? A TED talk? A press conference? Or do you need to facilitate team meetings and mediate staff conflict? You tell me who your audience is, and I show you how to get your message across to them efficiently and effectively, while bringing everyone to a collective "YES."
And if you're looking for a speaker for your next event - live or virtual - and need a topic that will resonate with EVERYONE delivered by an inspiring, engaging speaker, give me a call!
Dr. Laura Sicola has over 20 years of experience teaching leaders how to command the room, connect with the audience, and close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and communication expert, Laura empowers leaders through communication coaching, group training sessions, worldwide speaking engagements, and her book “Speaking to Influence.”
Executive Coaching
Work with Laura one-on-one or in mastery cohort groups to refine your communication skills. These executive coaching sessions help you develop a communication strategy that elevates your executive presence, aligns with your personal brand and gets results.
Group Training
Transform your team's communication capabilities with Laura's outcome-oriented, customizable group training. Topics include Speaking to Influence, Breaking the Expert's Curse, Virtual Influence, Becoming a Go-To Thought Leader, and more.
Keynote Speaking
Elevate your conference or event with a speaker who has mastered the art and science of “infotainment.” Laura balances value-packed content with humor and an interactive style that keeps the audience engaged and gives them practical skills to immediately implement.
Speaking to Influence Book
Discover the secrets to powerful and persuasive communication. With real-life examples, worksheets, and exercises, this book gives you everything needed to transform your communication style, get out of your own way, and hear “yes” more often.
Speaking to Influence Podcast
Join Laura as she interviews world-class business and industry leaders who reveal the importance of communication as an essential leadership skill on their own career journey and the (sometimes hard) lessons they learned along the way.
Online Programs and Training
Laura hosts a constantly evolving set of online courses and live group trainings on topics to help you discover your leadership voice, become a go-to thought leader, and optimize your in-person or virtual presence and engagement skills.
Want to establish your brand as a go-to thought leader?
Get Laura’s insights in this free resource that shares eight key strategies to boost your brand and elevate your thought leadership. Click the link below and begin your journey to becoming a respected and influential leader who everyone actually WANTS to hear speak!
Ultimately, Laura's mission is to guide leaders in mastering the 3 Cs of executive presence: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and executive communication coach, Laura understands how professional interactions impact respect, trust, and buy-in, whether it’s a company meeting, a virtual conference call, a presentation to the board, or a high-stakes pitch to investors.
Using a personalized and practical approach, Laura teaches leaders how to project confidence, authority, and authenticity so they can be themselves, while still getting through to anyone.
Linguist
Laura’s background in cognitive linguistics is the cornerstone of her unique coaching approach to solving this universal challenge. She earned her Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and taught there from 2001-2013. Laura has a deep understanding of the science of how people learn, how speech is processed in the brain, and what creates the gap between “what you think you said,” “what they think they heard,” and most importantly, how to close that gap to get results.
Coach
As an executive communication coach, Laura works with C-suite executives, VPs, directors, business owners, and aspiring executives who want to expand their powers of influence, inspire trust, and hear “yes” more often. In one-on-one or group sessions and master classes, she teaches leaders how to identify and express their personal brands so they can communicate with clarity, confidence, and authenticity, in front of any audience.
Author
Laura is the author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. This insightful book draws on her extensive expertise in cognitive linguistics, education and executive coaching to provide everyone with practical tools for effective communication in personal and professional interactions alike. In the words of one Amazon reviewer, “Dr. Laura Sicola gives down-to-earth, usable advice for anyone who wants to speak with authority.” She has also published many other peer-reviewed articles and books based on her research, intended for academic audiences.
Speaker
Laura is a renowned speaker, delivering keynotes and presentations at conferences and corporate events worldwide. Her TEDxPENN talk ‘Want to Sound like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right‘ has been viewed over 6.8 million times. She has spoken at hundreds of events sharing insights and practical strategies for effective leadership communication. She also loves to moderate panels and emcee events for corporate and non-profit organizations.
Connect With Laura
Ready to sharpen your communication skills and expand your influence? Reach out to Dr. Laura Sicola to learn more about personalized coaching, group training, speaking engagements, and more.
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.
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/
#DrLauraSicola #SpeakingtoInfluencePodcast #SpeakersAreLeadersMotivationPodcast #HarrySardinas #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Pushed My Car in a Suit: A Hilarious Client Story
yes yes all right finally tell me about a time when you had to laugh at yourself ah i love this story so i had a client in town right phil and i'm driving him to dinner and it's the rainy season and unfortunately my car ran out of gas right by the um la sabana park and I couldn't believe it. So the guy looks at me, he goes, listen, the gas station is just a block away. And he goes, I'll push it if you will. I go, are you serious? He goes, yeah, why not? And so I took my jacket off. I'm still in my suit. Got the, you know, the best on. It's a good bonding moment there. Pushed it down the street. People are honking, laughing at me. A guy on purpose would curve a little, so it splashed me.
Handling Leadership Challenges During COVID
Yes, of course, Laura. It was during COVID when all of a sudden the government said, you got to send everybody home. And so what do you do? IT needed to prepare the lifeboats. The agents mentally needed to prepare for the isolation. And my supervisors and I needed to create certain mediums to keep that communication going and that lifeline going. And so I saw some people run for the hills. I saw freshmen step up to the plate.
The Gary Technique: Trust and Perseverance
Tell me about a time when you went to bat for someone else. Who did you speak to on their behalf? Why and how? I totally remember this story when we spoke about it, Laura. I had an agent called Gary and we called the Gary technique. This guy was usually the ramper upper where I'd put him on a brand new campaign to lead the charge, show some metrics and things will look good. Once again, the lone voice with the client convincing them that this is the guy. So after a certain day or two, when the client was losing its patience or Gary wasn't, you know, hitting the home runs yet, he said, Hey, I want you to remove him and try somebody else. And I said, you haven't really given him enough time. He goes, no, I just don't have a good vibe. I go, okay. Let's give it until the end of the day. And then I'll put him on another campaign. Next thing you know, Gary ripped three appointments. And so the client calls about it goes, why? I didn't know that. Let's keep, I go, well, listen, Billy, I did speak to the other client. He's being moved, but I just got to let you know in the future, have faith in me, trust my opinion. This is my wheelhouse. I know what I'm doing. And you know, just once the people get loosey goosey and they feel comfy on the phone, then you start hitting them. And so, um, I've fallen on swords for people because I've known what they've done. And I've also made mistakes as well. Sometimes Gary was not the good fit on a certain campaign and it just wasn't the right guy. Guy can't bat a thousand. Sure. Sure. And so I'm willing to take that hit too. But the beauty of it is at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the fact that you might have faith in somebody else besides yourself.
Dr. Laura Sicola presents Speaking to Influence Podcast. Soft speaking skills with Richard Blank.
In this episode, Dr. Laura Sicola interviews Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, about the importance of communication skills and influence in the business world. They discuss the value of soft skills, such as foreign language proficiency, and the need to recognize and leverage one's unique talents. Richard challenges listeners to improve their voicemail messages and congruence between their audio and visual presence. They also talk about the importance of giving people a personalized outbound voicemail message and the impact it has on the impression they leave. He emphasizes the importance of trust, faith, and having a sense of humor in building relationships and achieving success.
Episode 215: Richard Blank - CEO Costa Rica Call Center
In this episode you will learn:
● Character during chaos is an important leadership trait.
● Promote individuals based on their strengths and redirect them to roles where they can excel.
● Express appreciation and acknowledge the contributions of team members.
● Take calculated risks and communicate with stakeholders about challenges and unique aspects of the business. Soft skills, including foreign language proficiency, are valuable and marketable skills in the business world.
● Recognize and leverage your unique talents and skills, and don't downplay their importance.
● Improve your voicemail message and ensure congruence between your audio and visual presence.
● Give a personalized outbound voicemail message to make a positive impression.
● Be the lone voice of dissent when necessary and advocate for others.
About Richard Blank: At 27 years old, Richard relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. He has trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades. Richard has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique 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.
Do you want to be an effective communicator? This is where you'll find all sorts of resources with ideas, tips and strategies on how to master the art and science of leadership communication and influence, i.e. the ability to harness the power of the voice to master the 3s: Command the room, Connect with the audience and Close the deal in any context.
24-Hour Influence Challenge: Voicemail Edition
Now, you just took a challenge in moving down to Costa Rica 24 years ago. Let's levy a challenge to everybody else. This is an opportunity, Richard, to give a challenge for our 24-hour influence challenge of the day to challenge our audience to take one step that they can complete within 24 hours to have more influence. How would you like to challenge our listeners today? Yeah, Laura, I loved when we spoke about this before. I gave you like 20 ideas, and this is the one we chose the best. Nobody likes how they sound on their voicemail, now do they? When was the last time you changed your voicemail recording? What, 1989? And so I need for you to listen to yourself, and I want you to analyze your tone, your rate, your pitch, your duration, Maybe use a thesaurus and find some similes to power up certain vocabulary so it might become more diplomatic and strategic. And practice that over and over. Why? Because that's how you sound to people.
https://youtu.be/Xs4XRi6Ca3s
https://youtube.com/shorts/wSiTO-n9WBY
https://youtube.com/shorts/a34o4FLSPhU
https://youtu.be/h4eu6eiIoTw
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Dr. Laura Sicola, Speaking to Influence 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,trend, trending
Some of these videos are connected to blogs or other pages on my website, https://laurasicola.com, so take a look to learn more. If you want to stay on top of the latest news in speech an leadership, sign up there to get my weekly newsletter so you don't miss a beat!
Here's to increasing your confidence, presence and influence, as the leader that you are, and the leader you KNOW you can become!
LEADERSHIP IS AN IMAGE.
The way you communicate
is the foundation.
Executive communication coaching and training with Dr. Laura Sicola helps you build the confidence, presence, and influence you need to succeed.
It’s Time to Enhance Your Executive Presence
1Step into a world where your words command respect, your confidence inspires trust, and your leadership opens doors to new opportunities.
Dr. Laura Sicola
Are you equally confident and influential whether communicating with people in business development, finance, engineering, HR, clients, or the board of directors?
Are you as persuasive and compelling whether speaking on camera, presenting to 500 people at a conference, pitching to investors, or advising your employees in a 1:1?
I am a speaker, coach and leadership communication expert who helps people hone their Vocal Executive Presence (VEP) and communication skills to project a strong, positive leadership image, develop loyal, effective teams, and create their ideal workplace culture to reach their ultimate goals.
Your technical expertise only gets you so far; after that, your success is a direct result of how effectively you can COMMUNICATE that expertise to others who do NOT have your skills and knowledge.
I have worked with everyone from executives and aspiring execs at companies like IBM, Comcast and the US Department of Commerce, to executive directors at non-profits, groups of entrepreneurs and women's/diversity initiatives.
Do you or will you lead a large team or organization? Are you getting ready for a conference presentation? A TED talk? A press conference? Or do you need to facilitate team meetings and mediate staff conflict? You tell me who your audience is, and I show you how to get your message across to them efficiently and effectively, while bringing everyone to a collective "YES."
And if you're looking for a speaker for your next event - live or virtual - and need a topic that will resonate with EVERYONE delivered by an inspiring, engaging speaker, give me a call!
Dr. Laura Sicola has over 20 years of experience teaching leaders how to command the room, connect with the audience, and close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and communication expert, Laura empowers leaders through communication coaching, group training sessions, worldwide speaking engagements, and her book “Speaking to Influence.”
Executive Coaching
Work with Laura one-on-one or in mastery cohort groups to refine your communication skills. These executive coaching sessions help you develop a communication strategy that elevates your executive presence, aligns with your personal brand and gets results.
Group Training
Transform your team's communication capabilities with Laura's outcome-oriented, customizable group training. Topics include Speaking to Influence, Breaking the Expert's Curse, Virtual Influence, Becoming a Go-To Thought Leader, and more.
Keynote Speaking
Elevate your conference or event with a speaker who has mastered the art and science of “infotainment.” Laura balances value-packed content with humor and an interactive style that keeps the audience engaged and gives them practical skills to immediately implement.
Speaking to Influence Book
Discover the secrets to powerful and persuasive communication. With real-life examples, worksheets, and exercises, this book gives you everything needed to transform your communication style, get out of your own way, and hear “yes” more often.
Speaking to Influence Podcast
Join Laura as she interviews world-class business and industry leaders who reveal the importance of communication as an essential leadership skill on their own career journey and the (sometimes hard) lessons they learned along the way.
Online Programs and Training
Laura hosts a constantly evolving set of online courses and live group trainings on topics to help you discover your leadership voice, become a go-to thought leader, and optimize your in-person or virtual presence and engagement skills.
Want to establish your brand as a go-to thought leader?
Get Laura’s insights in this free resource that shares eight key strategies to boost your brand and elevate your thought leadership. Click the link below and begin your journey to becoming a respected and influential leader who everyone actually WANTS to hear speak!
Ultimately, Laura's mission is to guide leaders in mastering the 3 Cs of executive presence: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and executive communication coach, Laura understands how professional interactions impact respect, trust, and buy-in, whether it’s a company meeting, a virtual conference call, a presentation to the board, or a high-stakes pitch to investors.
Using a personalized and practical approach, Laura teaches leaders how to project confidence, authority, and authenticity so they can be themselves, while still getting through to anyone.
Linguist
Laura’s background in cognitive linguistics is the cornerstone of her unique coaching approach to solving this universal challenge. She earned her Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and taught there from 2001-2013. Laura has a deep understanding of the science of how people learn, how speech is processed in the brain, and what creates the gap between “what you think you said,” “what they think they heard,” and most importantly, how to close that gap to get results.
Coach
As an executive communication coach, Laura works with C-suite executives, VPs, directors, business owners, and aspiring executives who want to expand their powers of influence, inspire trust, and hear “yes” more often. In one-on-one or group sessions and master classes, she teaches leaders how to identify and express their personal brands so they can communicate with clarity, confidence, and authenticity, in front of any audience.
Author
Laura is the author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. This insightful book draws on her extensive expertise in cognitive linguistics, education and executive coaching to provide everyone with practical tools for effective communication in personal and professional interactions alike. In the words of one Amazon reviewer, “Dr. Laura Sicola gives down-to-earth, usable advice for anyone who wants to speak with authority.” She has also published many other peer-reviewed articles and books based on her research, intended for academic audiences.
Speaker
Laura is a renowned speaker, delivering keynotes and presentations at conferences and corporate events worldwide. Her TEDxPENN talk ‘Want to Sound like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right‘ has been viewed over 6.8 million times. She has spoken at hundreds of events sharing insights and practical strategies for effective leadership communication. She also loves to moderate panels and emcee events for corporate and non-profit organizations.
Connect With Laura
Ready to sharpen your communication skills and expand your influence? Reach out to Dr. Laura Sicola to learn more about personalized coaching, group training, speaking engagements, and more.
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.
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/
#DrLauraSicola #SpeakingtoInfluencePodcast #SpeakersAreLeadersMotivationPodcast #HarrySardinas #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Pushed My Car in a Suit: A Hilarious Client Story
yes yes all right finally tell me about a time when you had to laugh at yourself ah i love this story so i had a client in town right phil and i'm driving him to dinner and it's the rainy season and unfortunately my car ran out of gas right by the um la sabana park and I couldn't believe it. So the guy looks at me, he goes, listen, the gas station is just a block away. And he goes, I'll push it if you will. I go, are you serious? He goes, yeah, why not? And so I took my jacket off. I'm still in my suit. Got the, you know, the best on. It's a good bonding moment there. Pushed it down the street. People are honking, laughing at me. A guy on purpose would curve a little, so it splashed me.
Handling Leadership Challenges During COVID
Yes, of course, Laura. It was during COVID when all of a sudden the government said, you got to send everybody home. And so what do you do? IT needed to prepare the lifeboats. The agents mentally needed to prepare for the isolation. And my supervisors and I needed to create certain mediums to keep that communication going and that lifeline going. And so I saw some people run for the hills. I saw freshmen step up to the plate.
The Gary Technique: Trust and Perseverance
Tell me about a time when you went to bat for someone else. Who did you speak to on their behalf? Why and how? I totally remember this story when we spoke about it, Laura. I had an agent called Gary and we called the Gary technique. This guy was usually the ramper upper where I'd put him on a brand new campaign to lead the charge, show some metrics and things will look good. Once again, the lone voice with the client convincing them that this is the guy. So after a certain day or two, when the client was losing its patience or Gary wasn't, you know, hitting the home runs yet, he said, Hey, I want you to remove him and try somebody else. And I said, you haven't really given him enough time. He goes, no, I just don't have a good vibe. I go, okay. Let's give it until the end of the day. And then I'll put him on another campaign. Next thing you know, Gary ripped three appointments. And so the client calls about it goes, why? I didn't know that. Let's keep, I go, well, listen, Billy, I did speak to the other client. He's being moved, but I just got to let you know in the future, have faith in me, trust my opinion. This is my wheelhouse. I know what I'm doing. And you know, just once the people get loosey goosey and they feel comfy on the phone, then you start hitting them. And so, um, I've fallen on swords for people because I've known what they've done. And I've also made mistakes as well. Sometimes Gary was not the good fit on a certain campaign and it just wasn't the right guy. Guy can't bat a thousand. Sure. Sure. And so I'm willing to take that hit too. But the beauty of it is at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the fact that you might have faith in somebody else besides yourself.
Dr. Laura Sicola presents Speaking to Influence Podcast. Soft speaking skills with Richard Blank.
In this episode, Dr. Laura Sicola interviews Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, about the importance of communication skills and influence in the business world. They discuss the value of soft skills, such as foreign language proficiency, and the need to recognize and leverage one's unique talents. Richard challenges listeners to improve their voicemail messages and congruence between their audio and visual presence. They also talk about the importance of giving people a personalized outbound voicemail message and the impact it has on the impression they leave. He emphasizes the importance of trust, faith, and having a sense of humor in building relationships and achieving success.
Episode 215: Richard Blank - CEO Costa Rica Call Center
In this episode you will learn:
● Character during chaos is an important leadership trait.
● Promote individuals based on their strengths and redirect them to roles where they can excel.
● Express appreciation and acknowledge the contributions of team members.
● Take calculated risks and communicate with stakeholders about challenges and unique aspects of the business. Soft skills, including foreign language proficiency, are valuable and marketable skills in the business world.
● Recognize and leverage your unique talents and skills, and don't downplay their importance.
● Improve your voicemail message and ensure congruence between your audio and visual presence.
● Give a personalized outbound voicemail message to make a positive impression.
● Be the lone voice of dissent when necessary and advocate for others.
About Richard Blank: At 27 years old, Richard relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. He has trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades. Richard has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique 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.
Do you want to be an effective communicator? This is where you'll find all sorts of resources with ideas, tips and strategies on how to master the art and science of leadership communication and influence, i.e. the ability to harness the power of the voice to master the 3s: Command the room, Connect with the audience and Close the deal in any context.
24-Hour Influence Challenge: Voicemail Edition
Now, you just took a challenge in moving down to Costa Rica 24 years ago. Let's levy a challenge to everybody else. This is an opportunity, Richard, to give a challenge for our 24-hour influence challenge of the day to challenge our audience to take one step that they can complete within 24 hours to have more influence. How would you like to challenge our listeners today? Yeah, Laura, I loved when we spoke about this before. I gave you like 20 ideas, and this is the one we chose the best. Nobody likes how they sound on their voicemail, now do they? When was the last time you changed your voicemail recording? What, 1989? And so I need for you to listen to yourself, and I want you to analyze your tone, your rate, your pitch, your duration, Maybe use a thesaurus and find some similes to power up certain vocabulary so it might become more diplomatic and strategic. And practice that over and over. Why? Because that's how you sound to people.
https://youtu.be/Xs4XRi6Ca3s
https://youtube.com/shorts/wSiTO-n9WBY
https://youtube.com/shorts/a34o4FLSPhU
https://youtu.be/h4eu6eiIoTw
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Dr. Laura Sicola, Speaking to Influence 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,trend, trending
Some of these videos are connected to blogs or other pages on my website, https://laurasicola.com, so take a look to learn more. If you want to stay on top of the latest news in speech an leadership, sign up there to get my weekly newsletter so you don't miss a beat!
Here's to increasing your confidence, presence and influence, as the leader that you are, and the leader you KNOW you can become!
LEADERSHIP IS AN IMAGE.
The way you communicate
is the foundation.
Executive communication coaching and training with Dr. Laura Sicola helps you build the confidence, presence, and influence you need to succeed.
It’s Time to Enhance Your Executive Presence
1Step into a world where your words command respect, your confidence inspires trust, and your leadership opens doors to new opportunities.
Dr. Laura Sicola
Are you equally confident and influential whether communicating with people in business development, finance, engineering, HR, clients, or the board of directors?
Are you as persuasive and compelling whether speaking on camera, presenting to 500 people at a conference, pitching to investors, or advising your employees in a 1:1?
I am a speaker, coach and leadership communication expert who helps people hone their Vocal Executive Presence (VEP) and communication skills to project a strong, positive leadership image, develop loyal, effective teams, and create their ideal workplace culture to reach their ultimate goals.
Your technical expertise only gets you so far; after that, your success is a direct result of how effectively you can COMMUNICATE that expertise to others who do NOT have your skills and knowledge.
I have worked with everyone from executives and aspiring execs at companies like IBM, Comcast and the US Department of Commerce, to executive directors at non-profits, groups of entrepreneurs and women's/diversity initiatives.
Do you or will you lead a large team or organization? Are you getting ready for a conference presentation? A TED talk? A press conference? Or do you need to facilitate team meetings and mediate staff conflict? You tell me who your audience is, and I show you how to get your message across to them efficiently and effectively, while bringing everyone to a collective "YES."
And if you're looking for a speaker for your next event - live or virtual - and need a topic that will resonate with EVERYONE delivered by an inspiring, engaging speaker, give me a call!
Dr. Laura Sicola has over 20 years of experience teaching leaders how to command the room, connect with the audience, and close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and communication expert, Laura empowers leaders through communication coaching, group training sessions, worldwide speaking engagements, and her book “Speaking to Influence.”
Executive Coaching
Work with Laura one-on-one or in mastery cohort groups to refine your communication skills. These executive coaching sessions help you develop a communication strategy that elevates your executive presence, aligns with your personal brand and gets results.
Group Training
Transform your team's communication capabilities with Laura's outcome-oriented, customizable group training. Topics include Speaking to Influence, Breaking the Expert's Curse, Virtual Influence, Becoming a Go-To Thought Leader, and more.
Keynote Speaking
Elevate your conference or event with a speaker who has mastered the art and science of “infotainment.” Laura balances value-packed content with humor and an interactive style that keeps the audience engaged and gives them practical skills to immediately implement.
Speaking to Influence Book
Discover the secrets to powerful and persuasive communication. With real-life examples, worksheets, and exercises, this book gives you everything needed to transform your communication style, get out of your own way, and hear “yes” more often.
Speaking to Influence Podcast
Join Laura as she interviews world-class business and industry leaders who reveal the importance of communication as an essential leadership skill on their own career journey and the (sometimes hard) lessons they learned along the way.
Online Programs and Training
Laura hosts a constantly evolving set of online courses and live group trainings on topics to help you discover your leadership voice, become a go-to thought leader, and optimize your in-person or virtual presence and engagement skills.
Want to establish your brand as a go-to thought leader?
Get Laura’s insights in this free resource that shares eight key strategies to boost your brand and elevate your thought leadership. Click the link below and begin your journey to becoming a respected and influential leader who everyone actually WANTS to hear speak!
Ultimately, Laura's mission is to guide leaders in mastering the 3 Cs of executive presence: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and executive communication coach, Laura understands how professional interactions impact respect, trust, and buy-in, whether it’s a company meeting, a virtual conference call, a presentation to the board, or a high-stakes pitch to investors.
Using a personalized and practical approach, Laura teaches leaders how to project confidence, authority, and authenticity so they can be themselves, while still getting through to anyone.
Linguist
Laura’s background in cognitive linguistics is the cornerstone of her unique coaching approach to solving this universal challenge. She earned her Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and taught there from 2001-2013. Laura has a deep understanding of the science of how people learn, how speech is processed in the brain, and what creates the gap between “what you think you said,” “what they think they heard,” and most importantly, how to close that gap to get results.
Coach
As an executive communication coach, Laura works with C-suite executives, VPs, directors, business owners, and aspiring executives who want to expand their powers of influence, inspire trust, and hear “yes” more often. In one-on-one or group sessions and master classes, she teaches leaders how to identify and express their personal brands so they can communicate with clarity, confidence, and authenticity, in front of any audience.
Author
Laura is the author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. This insightful book draws on her extensive expertise in cognitive linguistics, education and executive coaching to provide everyone with practical tools for effective communication in personal and professional interactions alike. In the words of one Amazon reviewer, “Dr. Laura Sicola gives down-to-earth, usable advice for anyone who wants to speak with authority.” She has also published many other peer-reviewed articles and books based on her research, intended for academic audiences.
Speaker
Laura is a renowned speaker, delivering keynotes and presentations at conferences and corporate events worldwide. Her TEDxPENN talk ‘Want to Sound like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right‘ has been viewed over 6.8 million times. She has spoken at hundreds of events sharing insights and practical strategies for effective leadership communication. She also loves to moderate panels and emcee events for corporate and non-profit organizations.
Connect With Laura
Ready to sharpen your communication skills and expand your influence? Reach out to Dr. Laura Sicola to learn more about personalized coaching, group training, speaking engagements, and more.
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.
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/
#DrLauraSicola #SpeakingtoInfluencePodcast #SpeakersAreLeadersMotivationPodcast #HarrySardinas #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Pushed My Car in a Suit: A Hilarious Client Story
yes yes all right finally tell me about a time when you had to laugh at yourself ah i love this story so i had a client in town right phil and i'm driving him to dinner and it's the rainy season and unfortunately my car ran out of gas right by the um la sabana park and I couldn't believe it. So the guy looks at me, he goes, listen, the gas station is just a block away. And he goes, I'll push it if you will. I go, are you serious? He goes, yeah, why not? And so I took my jacket off. I'm still in my suit. Got the, you know, the best on. It's a good bonding moment there. Pushed it down the street. People are honking, laughing at me. A guy on purpose would curve a little, so it splashed me.
Handling Leadership Challenges During COVID
Yes, of course, Laura. It was during COVID when all of a sudden the government said, you got to send everybody home. And so what do you do? IT needed to prepare the lifeboats. The agents mentally needed to prepare for the isolation. And my supervisors and I needed to create certain mediums to keep that communication going and that lifeline going. And so I saw some people run for the hills. I saw freshmen step up to the plate.
The Gary Technique: Trust and Perseverance
Tell me about a time when you went to bat for someone else. Who did you speak to on their behalf? Why and how? I totally remember this story when we spoke about it, Laura. I had an agent called Gary and we called the Gary technique. This guy was usually the ramper upper where I'd put him on a brand new campaign to lead the charge, show some metrics and things will look good. Once again, the lone voice with the client convincing them that this is the guy. So after a certain day or two, when the client was losing its patience or Gary wasn't, you know, hitting the home runs yet, he said, Hey, I want you to remove him and try somebody else. And I said, you haven't really given him enough time. He goes, no, I just don't have a good vibe. I go, okay. Let's give it until the end of the day. And then I'll put him on another campaign. Next thing you know, Gary ripped three appointments. And so the client calls about it goes, why? I didn't know that. Let's keep, I go, well, listen, Billy, I did speak to the other client. He's being moved, but I just got to let you know in the future, have faith in me, trust my opinion. This is my wheelhouse. I know what I'm doing. And you know, just once the people get loosey goosey and they feel comfy on the phone, then you start hitting them. And so, um, I've fallen on swords for people because I've known what they've done. And I've also made mistakes as well. Sometimes Gary was not the good fit on a certain campaign and it just wasn't the right guy. Guy can't bat a thousand. Sure. Sure. And so I'm willing to take that hit too. But the beauty of it is at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the fact that you might have faith in somebody else besides yourself.
Dr. Laura Sicola presents Speaking to Influence Podcast. Soft speaking skills with Richard Blank.
In this episode, Dr. Laura Sicola interviews Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, about the importance of communication skills and influence in the business world. They discuss the value of soft skills, such as foreign language proficiency, and the need to recognize and leverage one's unique talents. Richard challenges listeners to improve their voicemail messages and congruence between their audio and visual presence. They also talk about the importance of giving people a personalized outbound voicemail message and the impact it has on the impression they leave. He emphasizes the importance of trust, faith, and having a sense of humor in building relationships and achieving success.
Episode 215: Richard Blank - CEO Costa Rica Call Center
In this episode you will learn:
● Character during chaos is an important leadership trait.
● Promote individuals based on their strengths and redirect them to roles where they can excel.
● Express appreciation and acknowledge the contributions of team members.
● Take calculated risks and communicate with stakeholders about challenges and unique aspects of the business. Soft skills, including foreign language proficiency, are valuable and marketable skills in the business world.
● Recognize and leverage your unique talents and skills, and don't downplay their importance.
● Improve your voicemail message and ensure congruence between your audio and visual presence.
● Give a personalized outbound voicemail message to make a positive impression.
● Be the lone voice of dissent when necessary and advocate for others.
About Richard Blank: At 27 years old, Richard relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. He has trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades. Richard has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique 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.
Do you want to be an effective communicator? This is where you'll find all sorts of resources with ideas, tips and strategies on how to master the art and science of leadership communication and influence, i.e. the ability to harness the power of the voice to master the 3s: Command the room, Connect with the audience and Close the deal in any context.
24-Hour Influence Challenge: Voicemail Edition
Now, you just took a challenge in moving down to Costa Rica 24 years ago. Let's levy a challenge to everybody else. This is an opportunity, Richard, to give a challenge for our 24-hour influence challenge of the day to challenge our audience to take one step that they can complete within 24 hours to have more influence. How would you like to challenge our listeners today? Yeah, Laura, I loved when we spoke about this before. I gave you like 20 ideas, and this is the one we chose the best. Nobody likes how they sound on their voicemail, now do they? When was the last time you changed your voicemail recording? What, 1989? And so I need for you to listen to yourself, and I want you to analyze your tone, your rate, your pitch, your duration, Maybe use a thesaurus and find some similes to power up certain vocabulary so it might become more diplomatic and strategic. And practice that over and over. Why? Because that's how you sound to people.
https://youtu.be/Xs4XRi6Ca3s
https://youtube.com/shorts/wSiTO-n9WBY
https://youtube.com/shorts/a34o4FLSPhU
https://youtu.be/h4eu6eiIoTw
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Dr. Laura Sicola, Speaking to Influence 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,trend, trending
Some of these videos are connected to blogs or other pages on my website, https://laurasicola.com, so take a look to learn more. If you want to stay on top of the latest news in speech an leadership, sign up there to get my weekly newsletter so you don't miss a beat!
Here's to increasing your confidence, presence and influence, as the leader that you are, and the leader you KNOW you can become!
LEADERSHIP IS AN IMAGE.
The way you communicate
is the foundation.
Executive communication coaching and training with Dr. Laura Sicola helps you build the confidence, presence, and influence you need to succeed.
It’s Time to Enhance Your Executive Presence
1Step into a world where your words command respect, your confidence inspires trust, and your leadership opens doors to new opportunities.
Dr. Laura Sicola
Are you equally confident and influential whether communicating with people in business development, finance, engineering, HR, clients, or the board of directors?
Are you as persuasive and compelling whether speaking on camera, presenting to 500 people at a conference, pitching to investors, or advising your employees in a 1:1?
I am a speaker, coach and leadership communication expert who helps people hone their Vocal Executive Presence (VEP) and communication skills to project a strong, positive leadership image, develop loyal, effective teams, and create their ideal workplace culture to reach their ultimate goals.
Your technical expertise only gets you so far; after that, your success is a direct result of how effectively you can COMMUNICATE that expertise to others who do NOT have your skills and knowledge.
I have worked with everyone from executives and aspiring execs at companies like IBM, Comcast and the US Department of Commerce, to executive directors at non-profits, groups of entrepreneurs and women's/diversity initiatives.
Do you or will you lead a large team or organization? Are you getting ready for a conference presentation? A TED talk? A press conference? Or do you need to facilitate team meetings and mediate staff conflict? You tell me who your audience is, and I show you how to get your message across to them efficiently and effectively, while bringing everyone to a collective "YES."
And if you're looking for a speaker for your next event - live or virtual - and need a topic that will resonate with EVERYONE delivered by an inspiring, engaging speaker, give me a call!
Dr. Laura Sicola has over 20 years of experience teaching leaders how to command the room, connect with the audience, and close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and communication expert, Laura empowers leaders through communication coaching, group training sessions, worldwide speaking engagements, and her book “Speaking to Influence.”
Executive Coaching
Work with Laura one-on-one or in mastery cohort groups to refine your communication skills. These executive coaching sessions help you develop a communication strategy that elevates your executive presence, aligns with your personal brand and gets results.
Group Training
Transform your team's communication capabilities with Laura's outcome-oriented, customizable group training. Topics include Speaking to Influence, Breaking the Expert's Curse, Virtual Influence, Becoming a Go-To Thought Leader, and more.
Keynote Speaking
Elevate your conference or event with a speaker who has mastered the art and science of “infotainment.” Laura balances value-packed content with humor and an interactive style that keeps the audience engaged and gives them practical skills to immediately implement.
Speaking to Influence Book
Discover the secrets to powerful and persuasive communication. With real-life examples, worksheets, and exercises, this book gives you everything needed to transform your communication style, get out of your own way, and hear “yes” more often.
Speaking to Influence Podcast
Join Laura as she interviews world-class business and industry leaders who reveal the importance of communication as an essential leadership skill on their own career journey and the (sometimes hard) lessons they learned along the way.
Online Programs and Training
Laura hosts a constantly evolving set of online courses and live group trainings on topics to help you discover your leadership voice, become a go-to thought leader, and optimize your in-person or virtual presence and engagement skills.
Want to establish your brand as a go-to thought leader?
Get Laura’s insights in this free resource that shares eight key strategies to boost your brand and elevate your thought leadership. Click the link below and begin your journey to becoming a respected and influential leader who everyone actually WANTS to hear speak!
Ultimately, Laura's mission is to guide leaders in mastering the 3 Cs of executive presence: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal.
As a cognitive linguist and executive communication coach, Laura understands how professional interactions impact respect, trust, and buy-in, whether it’s a company meeting, a virtual conference call, a presentation to the board, or a high-stakes pitch to investors.
Using a personalized and practical approach, Laura teaches leaders how to project confidence, authority, and authenticity so they can be themselves, while still getting through to anyone.
Linguist
Laura’s background in cognitive linguistics is the cornerstone of her unique coaching approach to solving this universal challenge. She earned her Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and taught there from 2001-2013. Laura has a deep understanding of the science of how people learn, how speech is processed in the brain, and what creates the gap between “what you think you said,” “what they think they heard,” and most importantly, how to close that gap to get results.
Coach
As an executive communication coach, Laura works with C-suite executives, VPs, directors, business owners, and aspiring executives who want to expand their powers of influence, inspire trust, and hear “yes” more often. In one-on-one or group sessions and master classes, she teaches leaders how to identify and express their personal brands so they can communicate with clarity, confidence, and authenticity, in front of any audience.
Author
Laura is the author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice. This insightful book draws on her extensive expertise in cognitive linguistics, education and executive coaching to provide everyone with practical tools for effective communication in personal and professional interactions alike. In the words of one Amazon reviewer, “Dr. Laura Sicola gives down-to-earth, usable advice for anyone who wants to speak with authority.” She has also published many other peer-reviewed articles and books based on her research, intended for academic audiences.
Speaker
Laura is a renowned speaker, delivering keynotes and presentations at conferences and corporate events worldwide. Her TEDxPENN talk ‘Want to Sound like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right‘ has been viewed over 6.8 million times. She has spoken at hundreds of events sharing insights and practical strategies for effective leadership communication. She also loves to moderate panels and emcee events for corporate and non-profit organizations.
Connect With Laura
Ready to sharpen your communication skills and expand your influence? Reach out to Dr. Laura Sicola to learn more about personalized coaching, group training, speaking engagements, and more.
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.
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/
#DrLauraSicola #SpeakingtoInfluencePodcast #SpeakersAreLeadersMotivationPodcast #HarrySardinas #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Pushed My Car in a Suit: A Hilarious Client Story
yes yes all right finally tell me about a time when you had to laugh at yourself ah i love this story so i had a client in town right phil and i'm driving him to dinner and it's the rainy season and unfortunately my car ran out of gas right by the um la sabana park and I couldn't believe it. So the guy looks at me, he goes, listen, the gas station is just a block away. And he goes, I'll push it if you will. I go, are you serious? He goes, yeah, why not? And so I took my jacket off. I'm still in my suit. Got the, you know, the best on. It's a good bonding moment there. Pushed it down the street. People are honking, laughing at me. A guy on purpose would curve a little, so it splashed me.
Handling Leadership Challenges During COVID
Yes, of course, Laura. It was during COVID when all of a sudden the government said, you got to send everybody home. And so what do you do? IT needed to prepare the lifeboats. The agents mentally needed to prepare for the isolation. And my supervisors and I needed to create certain mediums to keep that communication going and that lifeline going. And so I saw some people run for the hills. I saw freshmen step up to the plate.
The Gary Technique: Trust and Perseverance
Tell me about a time when you went to bat for someone else. Who did you speak to on their behalf? Why and how? I totally remember this story when we spoke about it, Laura. I had an agent called Gary and we called the Gary technique. This guy was usually the ramper upper where I'd put him on a brand new campaign to lead the charge, show some metrics and things will look good. Once again, the lone voice with the client convincing them that this is the guy. So after a certain day or two, when the client was losing its patience or Gary wasn't, you know, hitting the home runs yet, he said, Hey, I want you to remove him and try somebody else. And I said, you haven't really given him enough time. He goes, no, I just don't have a good vibe. I go, okay. Let's give it until the end of the day. And then I'll put him on another campaign. Next thing you know, Gary ripped three appointments. And so the client calls about it goes, why? I didn't know that. Let's keep, I go, well, listen, Billy, I did speak to the other client. He's being moved, but I just got to let you know in the future, have faith in me, trust my opinion. This is my wheelhouse. I know what I'm doing. And you know, just once the people get loosey goosey and they feel comfy on the phone, then you start hitting them. And so, um, I've fallen on swords for people because I've known what they've done. And I've also made mistakes as well. Sometimes Gary was not the good fit on a certain campaign and it just wasn't the right guy. Guy can't bat a thousand. Sure. Sure. And so I'm willing to take that hit too. But the beauty of it is at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, the fact that you might have faith in somebody else besides yourself.
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I am singing and playing the piano for the song called "Wildflower by Billie Eilish" recorded through my camcorder. This song played in the key of 'F Minor'. I am only playing the piano chords for this song. I know that I had pressed a wrong note with the piano.
Business Bros Classroom Podcast. An AP exam on Revolutionizing Call Centers by teacher Richard Blank
Do you struggle with managing your call center and telemarketing operations? Are you looking for ways to improve your customer service and expand your business appeal? Our guest today is here to help. He's a leader in the call center industry, with over a decade of experience training and managing top-performing telemarketers in Central America. With a background in communication and Spanish, he knows how to effectively motivate and inspire his teams to achieve success.
Episode 1156 . Now, let's welcome to the show the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank.
The Business Bros Podcast's goal is to help you create wealth today and generational wealth for tomorrow by effectively adding insurance in to your existing business and through the power of podcasting to help you take control of your branding and marketing.
Hernan Sias has a number of certifications and professional designations like High School Financial Algebra Teacher, Real Estate Sales License, Life and Health License, a partner at Pipeline Insurance, CTEC Certified Tax Professional and a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy.
We have a plethora of education and a number of experiences that we utilize every day to build businesses, invest in real estate and secure our financial freedom. We invite you to be a part of the conversation, ask us questions, critique our advice, share your opinions, and help us to grow as we work hard to help you too achieve success.
Ethical Telemarketing and First Impressions
I still find telemarketing is a means to an end, and I think you should gauge the calls you make in regards to ethics. You feel comfortable making the call, or you're being shady, or as you say, just spammy. And so since I'm a guest in a Catholic country, the agents have leveraged it, and I need to make sure that they can go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. But let's be realistic here. You're looking to buy time. You're not gonna get the 10 minutes that Hollywood shows you. There's a lot of gatekeepers out there. So my suggestions for people that are doing, let's just say business-to-business type of phone calls, your first impression should be a company name spike. As much as I want to know how well Ernance CS is doing today, if you answer the call, I'm going to say, hey, Business Bros Podcast, how are you doing today? I'm going to say it better than you do. And so what it's going to do is use my anonymity as good faith. It's almost like a mystery shopper. I've been there before. So these gatekeepers reduce it a little bit. They start asking me my name and politely I will introduce myself, but I'll take it a step further.
Introduction to Traditional Marketing's Relevance
Boom all right ladies and gentlemen i know we communicate a lot through social media but some of these traditional ways of marketing and getting uh you know your message out like picking up the phone if that sounds interesting to you because there's still money to be made in that industry a lot of it we're going to talk about that on this episode let's get this thing going here we go shut up and sit down look A business can give you everything you want in life, prestige, wealth, freedom. It can also take everything away from you. This show is for those who are willing to take that risk. These are the real-life stories of entrepreneurs. But before we start, I have one small favor to ask. Please leave a comment. It can be advice, critiques, tips, feedback, or share this with someone because your engagement is the most valuable and most powerful form of social currency. So thank you, and welcome to another episode of...
Listen Actively for Superior Customer Service
customer support, you take notes so they don't have to repeat themselves. And I tell you what, people hedge. They say, okay, wonderful, great. Well, sometimes the answer is not wonderful. Sometimes the answer is not great. If the guy's like, I've been married 50 years and I'm the happiest in the world, that's great. Married 50 years, okay, that's great. But if they're saying, I live on one, two, three main seat, that's great. No, it's not, it's crack infested. And someone just got shot yesterday. And so if you're not sure, Those are the times when you use that monotone robot. Hernan, did you say one, two, three Main Street? Is that correct? Yes, Richard. Thank you. Then you move on because I've seen people open up rabbit holes by being excited for the worst or missing the tell sign of being positive on something. So watch that hedging. Hedging's terrible. And stop calling people sir and ma'am... potentially listening to you because you want to vent for a minute. And then we take nice notes. So when we call back, we remind you what you've spoken about. So now we're five steps ahead.
https://youtu.be/U7hpx0d0GiI
https://youtu.be/jXPstDpwBNc
https://youtu.be/afih4W2AG1E
https://youtu.be/c4rslXdlyxA
Hernan’s tenacity is infectious and his advice simple, yet poignant. Finding meaning looks different for each of us but there are common strategies that can be implemented no matter your pursuit. By focusing less on the dollars and more on the passion you can learn things along the way that will help you support a life worth living.
With his brother James, Hernan runs the Business Bros podcast to reach others with opportunity and expertise as well as a utilizing it as vehicle for reaching more clients, allowing the pair to see substantial growth.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
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/
#BusinessBrosClassroomPodcast #Hernan Sias #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #Businessbros
Business Bros Classroom Podcast, Hernan Sias, 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
Overcoming Pressure and Following Passion
And I was under an enormous amount of pressure to go to Ivy League like my grandpa. He went to Harvard Law. My pop was at Columbia Business School. My brother went to Washington and League. And two of them graduated Germantown Academy, a very fine private school that Once again, I left in seventh grade. So there are certain areas where you shine and there are certain places where I believe that you belong and you're more comfortable. You should believe in your intuition. You shouldn't listen to the naysayers and the gray believers. I believe if you live life with good intentions, you should drink life. And for me, my passion was Spanish. My good friends, it wasn't the five hours in class or the one hour of homework. I was watching movies, listening to music, reading books, finding as many intercombios as I could just to practice my passion. Little did I know it unlocked all these doors. And when I moved to Costa Rica, I started off five steps ahead
Success Metrics and Importance of Soft Skills
In business, there's always all kinds of metrics. For me in marketing, I'm always looking at click through rates and conversion rates and all these different numbers that mean different things for the marketing space. When it comes to the call center, what do you measure as success? What metrics are you prioritizing to kind of measure that success rate? Depends on the stage of the project. If you're in a ramp up onboarding stage, you're looking at simple metrics, if they can just keep pace. And then you're focusing when you have your quality control department, if they're hitting their KPIs, which are key performance indicators, are they qualifying the call properly? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? But I, my friend, I'm always looking for the 10% wiggle. Where's the soft skills? When do we talk about the dog? Or Philadelphia? Or going fishing? Or one of those things that come up when I look at your company's bio and see how freaking cool it is. I mean, Business Bros Podcast, man, I could read about you guys for hours and listen to, you know, all of the episodes. And so these are the sort of things that just, as I'm saying, just add momentum. I hate standstill starts. I think you can catch people in a certain way and just connect with them in certain ways. So that's kind of my thoughts to that, my good friend.
Reach Out If You're Interested - No Strings Attached
if you can leave us with some final thoughts, but at the same time, plug your stuff. If people want to reach out, they're like, look, this guy understands communication. Richard knows what's up. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to train his staff. This is the kind of call center I want behind my business. How can they reach out and find out more information to work with you? First, your amazing audience needs to put their checkbook away. I'm not selling anything. There's no 1995 seminar. I don't have a book. But if you want to get in touch with me, definitely buy a first-class plane ticket. Come down here and visit me. But I do have an extremely large Facebook fan page, and I got 114,000 local Costa Ricans. And it will give your audience a real grasp of the business process outsourcing industry in Central America. Now, real quick, we're north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. We're the only democratic society in Central America. It's amazing
Business Bros Classroom Podcast. An AP exam on Revolutionizing Call Centers by teacher Richard Blank
Do you struggle with managing your call center and telemarketing operations? Are you looking for ways to improve your customer service and expand your business appeal? Our guest today is here to help. He's a leader in the call center industry, with over a decade of experience training and managing top-performing telemarketers in Central America. With a background in communication and Spanish, he knows how to effectively motivate and inspire his teams to achieve success.
Episode 1156 . Now, let's welcome to the show the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank.
The Business Bros Podcast's goal is to help you create wealth today and generational wealth for tomorrow by effectively adding insurance in to your existing business and through the power of podcasting to help you take control of your branding and marketing.
Hernan Sias has a number of certifications and professional designations like High School Financial Algebra Teacher, Real Estate Sales License, Life and Health License, a partner at Pipeline Insurance, CTEC Certified Tax Professional and a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy.
We have a plethora of education and a number of experiences that we utilize every day to build businesses, invest in real estate and secure our financial freedom. We invite you to be a part of the conversation, ask us questions, critique our advice, share your opinions, and help us to grow as we work hard to help you too achieve success.
Ethical Telemarketing and First Impressions
I still find telemarketing is a means to an end, and I think you should gauge the calls you make in regards to ethics. You feel comfortable making the call, or you're being shady, or as you say, just spammy. And so since I'm a guest in a Catholic country, the agents have leveraged it, and I need to make sure that they can go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. But let's be realistic here. You're looking to buy time. You're not gonna get the 10 minutes that Hollywood shows you. There's a lot of gatekeepers out there. So my suggestions for people that are doing, let's just say business-to-business type of phone calls, your first impression should be a company name spike. As much as I want to know how well Ernance CS is doing today, if you answer the call, I'm going to say, hey, Business Bros Podcast, how are you doing today? I'm going to say it better than you do. And so what it's going to do is use my anonymity as good faith. It's almost like a mystery shopper. I've been there before. So these gatekeepers reduce it a little bit. They start asking me my name and politely I will introduce myself, but I'll take it a step further.
Introduction to Traditional Marketing's Relevance
Boom all right ladies and gentlemen i know we communicate a lot through social media but some of these traditional ways of marketing and getting uh you know your message out like picking up the phone if that sounds interesting to you because there's still money to be made in that industry a lot of it we're going to talk about that on this episode let's get this thing going here we go shut up and sit down look A business can give you everything you want in life, prestige, wealth, freedom. It can also take everything away from you. This show is for those who are willing to take that risk. These are the real-life stories of entrepreneurs. But before we start, I have one small favor to ask. Please leave a comment. It can be advice, critiques, tips, feedback, or share this with someone because your engagement is the most valuable and most powerful form of social currency. So thank you, and welcome to another episode of...
Listen Actively for Superior Customer Service
customer support, you take notes so they don't have to repeat themselves. And I tell you what, people hedge. They say, okay, wonderful, great. Well, sometimes the answer is not wonderful. Sometimes the answer is not great. If the guy's like, I've been married 50 years and I'm the happiest in the world, that's great. Married 50 years, okay, that's great. But if they're saying, I live on one, two, three main seat, that's great. No, it's not, it's crack infested. And someone just got shot yesterday. And so if you're not sure, Those are the times when you use that monotone robot. Hernan, did you say one, two, three Main Street? Is that correct? Yes, Richard. Thank you. Then you move on because I've seen people open up rabbit holes by being excited for the worst or missing the tell sign of being positive on something. So watch that hedging. Hedging's terrible. And stop calling people sir and ma'am... potentially listening to you because you want to vent for a minute. And then we take nice notes. So when we call back, we remind you what you've spoken about. So now we're five steps ahead.
https://youtu.be/U7hpx0d0GiI
https://youtu.be/jXPstDpwBNc
https://youtu.be/afih4W2AG1E
https://youtu.be/c4rslXdlyxA
Hernan’s tenacity is infectious and his advice simple, yet poignant. Finding meaning looks different for each of us but there are common strategies that can be implemented no matter your pursuit. By focusing less on the dollars and more on the passion you can learn things along the way that will help you support a life worth living.
With his brother James, Hernan runs the Business Bros podcast to reach others with opportunity and expertise as well as a utilizing it as vehicle for reaching more clients, allowing the pair to see substantial growth.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
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/
#BusinessBrosClassroomPodcast #Hernan Sias #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #Businessbros
Business Bros Classroom Podcast, Hernan Sias, 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
Overcoming Pressure and Following Passion
And I was under an enormous amount of pressure to go to Ivy League like my grandpa. He went to Harvard Law. My pop was at Columbia Business School. My brother went to Washington and League. And two of them graduated Germantown Academy, a very fine private school that Once again, I left in seventh grade. So there are certain areas where you shine and there are certain places where I believe that you belong and you're more comfortable. You should believe in your intuition. You shouldn't listen to the naysayers and the gray believers. I believe if you live life with good intentions, you should drink life. And for me, my passion was Spanish. My good friends, it wasn't the five hours in class or the one hour of homework. I was watching movies, listening to music, reading books, finding as many intercombios as I could just to practice my passion. Little did I know it unlocked all these doors. And when I moved to Costa Rica, I started off five steps ahead
Success Metrics and Importance of Soft Skills
In business, there's always all kinds of metrics. For me in marketing, I'm always looking at click through rates and conversion rates and all these different numbers that mean different things for the marketing space. When it comes to the call center, what do you measure as success? What metrics are you prioritizing to kind of measure that success rate? Depends on the stage of the project. If you're in a ramp up onboarding stage, you're looking at simple metrics, if they can just keep pace. And then you're focusing when you have your quality control department, if they're hitting their KPIs, which are key performance indicators, are they qualifying the call properly? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? But I, my friend, I'm always looking for the 10% wiggle. Where's the soft skills? When do we talk about the dog? Or Philadelphia? Or going fishing? Or one of those things that come up when I look at your company's bio and see how freaking cool it is. I mean, Business Bros Podcast, man, I could read about you guys for hours and listen to, you know, all of the episodes. And so these are the sort of things that just, as I'm saying, just add momentum. I hate standstill starts. I think you can catch people in a certain way and just connect with them in certain ways. So that's kind of my thoughts to that, my good friend.
Reach Out If You're Interested - No Strings Attached
if you can leave us with some final thoughts, but at the same time, plug your stuff. If people want to reach out, they're like, look, this guy understands communication. Richard knows what's up. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to train his staff. This is the kind of call center I want behind my business. How can they reach out and find out more information to work with you? First, your amazing audience needs to put their checkbook away. I'm not selling anything. There's no 1995 seminar. I don't have a book. But if you want to get in touch with me, definitely buy a first-class plane ticket. Come down here and visit me. But I do have an extremely large Facebook fan page, and I got 114,000 local Costa Ricans. And it will give your audience a real grasp of the business process outsourcing industry in Central America. Now, real quick, we're north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. We're the only democratic society in Central America. It's amazing
Business Bros Classroom Podcast. An AP exam on Revolutionizing Call Centers by teacher Richard Blank
Do you struggle with managing your call center and telemarketing operations? Are you looking for ways to improve your customer service and expand your business appeal? Our guest today is here to help. He's a leader in the call center industry, with over a decade of experience training and managing top-performing telemarketers in Central America. With a background in communication and Spanish, he knows how to effectively motivate and inspire his teams to achieve success.
Episode 1156 . Now, let's welcome to the show the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank.
The Business Bros Podcast's goal is to help you create wealth today and generational wealth for tomorrow by effectively adding insurance in to your existing business and through the power of podcasting to help you take control of your branding and marketing.
Hernan Sias has a number of certifications and professional designations like High School Financial Algebra Teacher, Real Estate Sales License, Life and Health License, a partner at Pipeline Insurance, CTEC Certified Tax Professional and a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy.
We have a plethora of education and a number of experiences that we utilize every day to build businesses, invest in real estate and secure our financial freedom. We invite you to be a part of the conversation, ask us questions, critique our advice, share your opinions, and help us to grow as we work hard to help you too achieve success.
Ethical Telemarketing and First Impressions
I still find telemarketing is a means to an end, and I think you should gauge the calls you make in regards to ethics. You feel comfortable making the call, or you're being shady, or as you say, just spammy. And so since I'm a guest in a Catholic country, the agents have leveraged it, and I need to make sure that they can go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. But let's be realistic here. You're looking to buy time. You're not gonna get the 10 minutes that Hollywood shows you. There's a lot of gatekeepers out there. So my suggestions for people that are doing, let's just say business-to-business type of phone calls, your first impression should be a company name spike. As much as I want to know how well Ernance CS is doing today, if you answer the call, I'm going to say, hey, Business Bros Podcast, how are you doing today? I'm going to say it better than you do. And so what it's going to do is use my anonymity as good faith. It's almost like a mystery shopper. I've been there before. So these gatekeepers reduce it a little bit. They start asking me my name and politely I will introduce myself, but I'll take it a step further.
Introduction to Traditional Marketing's Relevance
Boom all right ladies and gentlemen i know we communicate a lot through social media but some of these traditional ways of marketing and getting uh you know your message out like picking up the phone if that sounds interesting to you because there's still money to be made in that industry a lot of it we're going to talk about that on this episode let's get this thing going here we go shut up and sit down look A business can give you everything you want in life, prestige, wealth, freedom. It can also take everything away from you. This show is for those who are willing to take that risk. These are the real-life stories of entrepreneurs. But before we start, I have one small favor to ask. Please leave a comment. It can be advice, critiques, tips, feedback, or share this with someone because your engagement is the most valuable and most powerful form of social currency. So thank you, and welcome to another episode of...
Listen Actively for Superior Customer Service
customer support, you take notes so they don't have to repeat themselves. And I tell you what, people hedge. They say, okay, wonderful, great. Well, sometimes the answer is not wonderful. Sometimes the answer is not great. If the guy's like, I've been married 50 years and I'm the happiest in the world, that's great. Married 50 years, okay, that's great. But if they're saying, I live on one, two, three main seat, that's great. No, it's not, it's crack infested. And someone just got shot yesterday. And so if you're not sure, Those are the times when you use that monotone robot. Hernan, did you say one, two, three Main Street? Is that correct? Yes, Richard. Thank you. Then you move on because I've seen people open up rabbit holes by being excited for the worst or missing the tell sign of being positive on something. So watch that hedging. Hedging's terrible. And stop calling people sir and ma'am... potentially listening to you because you want to vent for a minute. And then we take nice notes. So when we call back, we remind you what you've spoken about. So now we're five steps ahead.
https://youtu.be/U7hpx0d0GiI
https://youtu.be/jXPstDpwBNc
https://youtu.be/afih4W2AG1E
https://youtu.be/c4rslXdlyxA
Hernan’s tenacity is infectious and his advice simple, yet poignant. Finding meaning looks different for each of us but there are common strategies that can be implemented no matter your pursuit. By focusing less on the dollars and more on the passion you can learn things along the way that will help you support a life worth living.
With his brother James, Hernan runs the Business Bros podcast to reach others with opportunity and expertise as well as a utilizing it as vehicle for reaching more clients, allowing the pair to see substantial growth.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
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/
#BusinessBrosClassroomPodcast #Hernan Sias #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #Businessbros
Business Bros Classroom Podcast, Hernan Sias, 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
Overcoming Pressure and Following Passion
And I was under an enormous amount of pressure to go to Ivy League like my grandpa. He went to Harvard Law. My pop was at Columbia Business School. My brother went to Washington and League. And two of them graduated Germantown Academy, a very fine private school that Once again, I left in seventh grade. So there are certain areas where you shine and there are certain places where I believe that you belong and you're more comfortable. You should believe in your intuition. You shouldn't listen to the naysayers and the gray believers. I believe if you live life with good intentions, you should drink life. And for me, my passion was Spanish. My good friends, it wasn't the five hours in class or the one hour of homework. I was watching movies, listening to music, reading books, finding as many intercombios as I could just to practice my passion. Little did I know it unlocked all these doors. And when I moved to Costa Rica, I started off five steps ahead
Success Metrics and Importance of Soft Skills
In business, there's always all kinds of metrics. For me in marketing, I'm always looking at click through rates and conversion rates and all these different numbers that mean different things for the marketing space. When it comes to the call center, what do you measure as success? What metrics are you prioritizing to kind of measure that success rate? Depends on the stage of the project. If you're in a ramp up onboarding stage, you're looking at simple metrics, if they can just keep pace. And then you're focusing when you have your quality control department, if they're hitting their KPIs, which are key performance indicators, are they qualifying the call properly? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? But I, my friend, I'm always looking for the 10% wiggle. Where's the soft skills? When do we talk about the dog? Or Philadelphia? Or going fishing? Or one of those things that come up when I look at your company's bio and see how freaking cool it is. I mean, Business Bros Podcast, man, I could read about you guys for hours and listen to, you know, all of the episodes. And so these are the sort of things that just, as I'm saying, just add momentum. I hate standstill starts. I think you can catch people in a certain way and just connect with them in certain ways. So that's kind of my thoughts to that, my good friend.
Reach Out If You're Interested - No Strings Attached
if you can leave us with some final thoughts, but at the same time, plug your stuff. If people want to reach out, they're like, look, this guy understands communication. Richard knows what's up. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to train his staff. This is the kind of call center I want behind my business. How can they reach out and find out more information to work with you? First, your amazing audience needs to put their checkbook away. I'm not selling anything. There's no 1995 seminar. I don't have a book. But if you want to get in touch with me, definitely buy a first-class plane ticket. Come down here and visit me. But I do have an extremely large Facebook fan page, and I got 114,000 local Costa Ricans. And it will give your audience a real grasp of the business process outsourcing industry in Central America. Now, real quick, we're north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. We're the only democratic society in Central America. It's amazing
Business Bros Classroom Podcast. An AP exam on Revolutionizing Call Centers by teacher Richard Blank
Do you struggle with managing your call center and telemarketing operations? Are you looking for ways to improve your customer service and expand your business appeal? Our guest today is here to help. He's a leader in the call center industry, with over a decade of experience training and managing top-performing telemarketers in Central America. With a background in communication and Spanish, he knows how to effectively motivate and inspire his teams to achieve success.
Episode 1156 . Now, let's welcome to the show the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank.
The Business Bros Podcast's goal is to help you create wealth today and generational wealth for tomorrow by effectively adding insurance in to your existing business and through the power of podcasting to help you take control of your branding and marketing.
Hernan Sias has a number of certifications and professional designations like High School Financial Algebra Teacher, Real Estate Sales License, Life and Health License, a partner at Pipeline Insurance, CTEC Certified Tax Professional and a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy.
We have a plethora of education and a number of experiences that we utilize every day to build businesses, invest in real estate and secure our financial freedom. We invite you to be a part of the conversation, ask us questions, critique our advice, share your opinions, and help us to grow as we work hard to help you too achieve success.
Ethical Telemarketing and First Impressions
I still find telemarketing is a means to an end, and I think you should gauge the calls you make in regards to ethics. You feel comfortable making the call, or you're being shady, or as you say, just spammy. And so since I'm a guest in a Catholic country, the agents have leveraged it, and I need to make sure that they can go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. But let's be realistic here. You're looking to buy time. You're not gonna get the 10 minutes that Hollywood shows you. There's a lot of gatekeepers out there. So my suggestions for people that are doing, let's just say business-to-business type of phone calls, your first impression should be a company name spike. As much as I want to know how well Ernance CS is doing today, if you answer the call, I'm going to say, hey, Business Bros Podcast, how are you doing today? I'm going to say it better than you do. And so what it's going to do is use my anonymity as good faith. It's almost like a mystery shopper. I've been there before. So these gatekeepers reduce it a little bit. They start asking me my name and politely I will introduce myself, but I'll take it a step further.
Introduction to Traditional Marketing's Relevance
Boom all right ladies and gentlemen i know we communicate a lot through social media but some of these traditional ways of marketing and getting uh you know your message out like picking up the phone if that sounds interesting to you because there's still money to be made in that industry a lot of it we're going to talk about that on this episode let's get this thing going here we go shut up and sit down look A business can give you everything you want in life, prestige, wealth, freedom. It can also take everything away from you. This show is for those who are willing to take that risk. These are the real-life stories of entrepreneurs. But before we start, I have one small favor to ask. Please leave a comment. It can be advice, critiques, tips, feedback, or share this with someone because your engagement is the most valuable and most powerful form of social currency. So thank you, and welcome to another episode of...
Listen Actively for Superior Customer Service
customer support, you take notes so they don't have to repeat themselves. And I tell you what, people hedge. They say, okay, wonderful, great. Well, sometimes the answer is not wonderful. Sometimes the answer is not great. If the guy's like, I've been married 50 years and I'm the happiest in the world, that's great. Married 50 years, okay, that's great. But if they're saying, I live on one, two, three main seat, that's great. No, it's not, it's crack infested. And someone just got shot yesterday. And so if you're not sure, Those are the times when you use that monotone robot. Hernan, did you say one, two, three Main Street? Is that correct? Yes, Richard. Thank you. Then you move on because I've seen people open up rabbit holes by being excited for the worst or missing the tell sign of being positive on something. So watch that hedging. Hedging's terrible. And stop calling people sir and ma'am... potentially listening to you because you want to vent for a minute. And then we take nice notes. So when we call back, we remind you what you've spoken about. So now we're five steps ahead.
https://youtu.be/U7hpx0d0GiI
https://youtu.be/jXPstDpwBNc
https://youtu.be/afih4W2AG1E
https://youtu.be/c4rslXdlyxA
Hernan’s tenacity is infectious and his advice simple, yet poignant. Finding meaning looks different for each of us but there are common strategies that can be implemented no matter your pursuit. By focusing less on the dollars and more on the passion you can learn things along the way that will help you support a life worth living.
With his brother James, Hernan runs the Business Bros podcast to reach others with opportunity and expertise as well as a utilizing it as vehicle for reaching more clients, allowing the pair to see substantial growth.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
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/
#BusinessBrosClassroomPodcast #Hernan Sias #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #Businessbros
Business Bros Classroom Podcast, Hernan Sias, 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
Overcoming Pressure and Following Passion
And I was under an enormous amount of pressure to go to Ivy League like my grandpa. He went to Harvard Law. My pop was at Columbia Business School. My brother went to Washington and League. And two of them graduated Germantown Academy, a very fine private school that Once again, I left in seventh grade. So there are certain areas where you shine and there are certain places where I believe that you belong and you're more comfortable. You should believe in your intuition. You shouldn't listen to the naysayers and the gray believers. I believe if you live life with good intentions, you should drink life. And for me, my passion was Spanish. My good friends, it wasn't the five hours in class or the one hour of homework. I was watching movies, listening to music, reading books, finding as many intercombios as I could just to practice my passion. Little did I know it unlocked all these doors. And when I moved to Costa Rica, I started off five steps ahead
Success Metrics and Importance of Soft Skills
In business, there's always all kinds of metrics. For me in marketing, I'm always looking at click through rates and conversion rates and all these different numbers that mean different things for the marketing space. When it comes to the call center, what do you measure as success? What metrics are you prioritizing to kind of measure that success rate? Depends on the stage of the project. If you're in a ramp up onboarding stage, you're looking at simple metrics, if they can just keep pace. And then you're focusing when you have your quality control department, if they're hitting their KPIs, which are key performance indicators, are they qualifying the call properly? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? But I, my friend, I'm always looking for the 10% wiggle. Where's the soft skills? When do we talk about the dog? Or Philadelphia? Or going fishing? Or one of those things that come up when I look at your company's bio and see how freaking cool it is. I mean, Business Bros Podcast, man, I could read about you guys for hours and listen to, you know, all of the episodes. And so these are the sort of things that just, as I'm saying, just add momentum. I hate standstill starts. I think you can catch people in a certain way and just connect with them in certain ways. So that's kind of my thoughts to that, my good friend.
Reach Out If You're Interested - No Strings Attached
if you can leave us with some final thoughts, but at the same time, plug your stuff. If people want to reach out, they're like, look, this guy understands communication. Richard knows what's up. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to train his staff. This is the kind of call center I want behind my business. How can they reach out and find out more information to work with you? First, your amazing audience needs to put their checkbook away. I'm not selling anything. There's no 1995 seminar. I don't have a book. But if you want to get in touch with me, definitely buy a first-class plane ticket. Come down here and visit me. But I do have an extremely large Facebook fan page, and I got 114,000 local Costa Ricans. And it will give your audience a real grasp of the business process outsourcing industry in Central America. Now, real quick, we're north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. We're the only democratic society in Central America. It's amazing
Business Bros Classroom Podcast. An AP exam on Revolutionizing Call Centers by teacher Richard Blank
Do you struggle with managing your call center and telemarketing operations? Are you looking for ways to improve your customer service and expand your business appeal? Our guest today is here to help. He's a leader in the call center industry, with over a decade of experience training and managing top-performing telemarketers in Central America. With a background in communication and Spanish, he knows how to effectively motivate and inspire his teams to achieve success.
Episode 1156 . Now, let's welcome to the show the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank.
The Business Bros Podcast's goal is to help you create wealth today and generational wealth for tomorrow by effectively adding insurance in to your existing business and through the power of podcasting to help you take control of your branding and marketing.
Hernan Sias has a number of certifications and professional designations like High School Financial Algebra Teacher, Real Estate Sales License, Life and Health License, a partner at Pipeline Insurance, CTEC Certified Tax Professional and a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy.
We have a plethora of education and a number of experiences that we utilize every day to build businesses, invest in real estate and secure our financial freedom. We invite you to be a part of the conversation, ask us questions, critique our advice, share your opinions, and help us to grow as we work hard to help you too achieve success.
Ethical Telemarketing and First Impressions
I still find telemarketing is a means to an end, and I think you should gauge the calls you make in regards to ethics. You feel comfortable making the call, or you're being shady, or as you say, just spammy. And so since I'm a guest in a Catholic country, the agents have leveraged it, and I need to make sure that they can go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. But let's be realistic here. You're looking to buy time. You're not gonna get the 10 minutes that Hollywood shows you. There's a lot of gatekeepers out there. So my suggestions for people that are doing, let's just say business-to-business type of phone calls, your first impression should be a company name spike. As much as I want to know how well Ernance CS is doing today, if you answer the call, I'm going to say, hey, Business Bros Podcast, how are you doing today? I'm going to say it better than you do. And so what it's going to do is use my anonymity as good faith. It's almost like a mystery shopper. I've been there before. So these gatekeepers reduce it a little bit. They start asking me my name and politely I will introduce myself, but I'll take it a step further.
Introduction to Traditional Marketing's Relevance
Boom all right ladies and gentlemen i know we communicate a lot through social media but some of these traditional ways of marketing and getting uh you know your message out like picking up the phone if that sounds interesting to you because there's still money to be made in that industry a lot of it we're going to talk about that on this episode let's get this thing going here we go shut up and sit down look A business can give you everything you want in life, prestige, wealth, freedom. It can also take everything away from you. This show is for those who are willing to take that risk. These are the real-life stories of entrepreneurs. But before we start, I have one small favor to ask. Please leave a comment. It can be advice, critiques, tips, feedback, or share this with someone because your engagement is the most valuable and most powerful form of social currency. So thank you, and welcome to another episode of...
Listen Actively for Superior Customer Service
customer support, you take notes so they don't have to repeat themselves. And I tell you what, people hedge. They say, okay, wonderful, great. Well, sometimes the answer is not wonderful. Sometimes the answer is not great. If the guy's like, I've been married 50 years and I'm the happiest in the world, that's great. Married 50 years, okay, that's great. But if they're saying, I live on one, two, three main seat, that's great. No, it's not, it's crack infested. And someone just got shot yesterday. And so if you're not sure, Those are the times when you use that monotone robot. Hernan, did you say one, two, three Main Street? Is that correct? Yes, Richard. Thank you. Then you move on because I've seen people open up rabbit holes by being excited for the worst or missing the tell sign of being positive on something. So watch that hedging. Hedging's terrible. And stop calling people sir and ma'am... potentially listening to you because you want to vent for a minute. And then we take nice notes. So when we call back, we remind you what you've spoken about. So now we're five steps ahead.
https://youtu.be/U7hpx0d0GiI
https://youtu.be/jXPstDpwBNc
https://youtu.be/afih4W2AG1E
https://youtu.be/c4rslXdlyxA
Hernan’s tenacity is infectious and his advice simple, yet poignant. Finding meaning looks different for each of us but there are common strategies that can be implemented no matter your pursuit. By focusing less on the dollars and more on the passion you can learn things along the way that will help you support a life worth living.
With his brother James, Hernan runs the Business Bros podcast to reach others with opportunity and expertise as well as a utilizing it as vehicle for reaching more clients, allowing the pair to see substantial growth.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
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/
#BusinessBrosClassroomPodcast #Hernan Sias #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #Businessbros
Business Bros Classroom Podcast, Hernan Sias, 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
Overcoming Pressure and Following Passion
And I was under an enormous amount of pressure to go to Ivy League like my grandpa. He went to Harvard Law. My pop was at Columbia Business School. My brother went to Washington and League. And two of them graduated Germantown Academy, a very fine private school that Once again, I left in seventh grade. So there are certain areas where you shine and there are certain places where I believe that you belong and you're more comfortable. You should believe in your intuition. You shouldn't listen to the naysayers and the gray believers. I believe if you live life with good intentions, you should drink life. And for me, my passion was Spanish. My good friends, it wasn't the five hours in class or the one hour of homework. I was watching movies, listening to music, reading books, finding as many intercombios as I could just to practice my passion. Little did I know it unlocked all these doors. And when I moved to Costa Rica, I started off five steps ahead
Success Metrics and Importance of Soft Skills
In business, there's always all kinds of metrics. For me in marketing, I'm always looking at click through rates and conversion rates and all these different numbers that mean different things for the marketing space. When it comes to the call center, what do you measure as success? What metrics are you prioritizing to kind of measure that success rate? Depends on the stage of the project. If you're in a ramp up onboarding stage, you're looking at simple metrics, if they can just keep pace. And then you're focusing when you have your quality control department, if they're hitting their KPIs, which are key performance indicators, are they qualifying the call properly? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? But I, my friend, I'm always looking for the 10% wiggle. Where's the soft skills? When do we talk about the dog? Or Philadelphia? Or going fishing? Or one of those things that come up when I look at your company's bio and see how freaking cool it is. I mean, Business Bros Podcast, man, I could read about you guys for hours and listen to, you know, all of the episodes. And so these are the sort of things that just, as I'm saying, just add momentum. I hate standstill starts. I think you can catch people in a certain way and just connect with them in certain ways. So that's kind of my thoughts to that, my good friend.
Reach Out If You're Interested - No Strings Attached
if you can leave us with some final thoughts, but at the same time, plug your stuff. If people want to reach out, they're like, look, this guy understands communication. Richard knows what's up. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to train his staff. This is the kind of call center I want behind my business. How can they reach out and find out more information to work with you? First, your amazing audience needs to put their checkbook away. I'm not selling anything. There's no 1995 seminar. I don't have a book. But if you want to get in touch with me, definitely buy a first-class plane ticket. Come down here and visit me. But I do have an extremely large Facebook fan page, and I got 114,000 local Costa Ricans. And it will give your audience a real grasp of the business process outsourcing industry in Central America. Now, real quick, we're north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. We're the only democratic society in Central America. It's amazing
Business Bros Classroom Podcast. An AP exam on Revolutionizing Call Centers by teacher Richard Blank
Do you struggle with managing your call center and telemarketing operations? Are you looking for ways to improve your customer service and expand your business appeal? Our guest today is here to help. He's a leader in the call center industry, with over a decade of experience training and managing top-performing telemarketers in Central America. With a background in communication and Spanish, he knows how to effectively motivate and inspire his teams to achieve success.
Episode 1156 . Now, let's welcome to the show the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank.
The Business Bros Podcast's goal is to help you create wealth today and generational wealth for tomorrow by effectively adding insurance in to your existing business and through the power of podcasting to help you take control of your branding and marketing.
Hernan Sias has a number of certifications and professional designations like High School Financial Algebra Teacher, Real Estate Sales License, Life and Health License, a partner at Pipeline Insurance, CTEC Certified Tax Professional and a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy.
We have a plethora of education and a number of experiences that we utilize every day to build businesses, invest in real estate and secure our financial freedom. We invite you to be a part of the conversation, ask us questions, critique our advice, share your opinions, and help us to grow as we work hard to help you too achieve success.
Ethical Telemarketing and First Impressions
I still find telemarketing is a means to an end, and I think you should gauge the calls you make in regards to ethics. You feel comfortable making the call, or you're being shady, or as you say, just spammy. And so since I'm a guest in a Catholic country, the agents have leveraged it, and I need to make sure that they can go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. But let's be realistic here. You're looking to buy time. You're not gonna get the 10 minutes that Hollywood shows you. There's a lot of gatekeepers out there. So my suggestions for people that are doing, let's just say business-to-business type of phone calls, your first impression should be a company name spike. As much as I want to know how well Ernance CS is doing today, if you answer the call, I'm going to say, hey, Business Bros Podcast, how are you doing today? I'm going to say it better than you do. And so what it's going to do is use my anonymity as good faith. It's almost like a mystery shopper. I've been there before. So these gatekeepers reduce it a little bit. They start asking me my name and politely I will introduce myself, but I'll take it a step further.
Introduction to Traditional Marketing's Relevance
Boom all right ladies and gentlemen i know we communicate a lot through social media but some of these traditional ways of marketing and getting uh you know your message out like picking up the phone if that sounds interesting to you because there's still money to be made in that industry a lot of it we're going to talk about that on this episode let's get this thing going here we go shut up and sit down look A business can give you everything you want in life, prestige, wealth, freedom. It can also take everything away from you. This show is for those who are willing to take that risk. These are the real-life stories of entrepreneurs. But before we start, I have one small favor to ask. Please leave a comment. It can be advice, critiques, tips, feedback, or share this with someone because your engagement is the most valuable and most powerful form of social currency. So thank you, and welcome to another episode of...
Listen Actively for Superior Customer Service
customer support, you take notes so they don't have to repeat themselves. And I tell you what, people hedge. They say, okay, wonderful, great. Well, sometimes the answer is not wonderful. Sometimes the answer is not great. If the guy's like, I've been married 50 years and I'm the happiest in the world, that's great. Married 50 years, okay, that's great. But if they're saying, I live on one, two, three main seat, that's great. No, it's not, it's crack infested. And someone just got shot yesterday. And so if you're not sure, Those are the times when you use that monotone robot. Hernan, did you say one, two, three Main Street? Is that correct? Yes, Richard. Thank you. Then you move on because I've seen people open up rabbit holes by being excited for the worst or missing the tell sign of being positive on something. So watch that hedging. Hedging's terrible. And stop calling people sir and ma'am... potentially listening to you because you want to vent for a minute. And then we take nice notes. So when we call back, we remind you what you've spoken about. So now we're five steps ahead.
https://youtu.be/U7hpx0d0GiI
https://youtu.be/jXPstDpwBNc
https://youtu.be/afih4W2AG1E
https://youtu.be/c4rslXdlyxA
Hernan’s tenacity is infectious and his advice simple, yet poignant. Finding meaning looks different for each of us but there are common strategies that can be implemented no matter your pursuit. By focusing less on the dollars and more on the passion you can learn things along the way that will help you support a life worth living.
With his brother James, Hernan runs the Business Bros podcast to reach others with opportunity and expertise as well as a utilizing it as vehicle for reaching more clients, allowing the pair to see substantial growth.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
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/
#BusinessBrosClassroomPodcast #Hernan Sias #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #Businessbros
Business Bros Classroom Podcast, Hernan Sias, 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
Overcoming Pressure and Following Passion
And I was under an enormous amount of pressure to go to Ivy League like my grandpa. He went to Harvard Law. My pop was at Columbia Business School. My brother went to Washington and League. And two of them graduated Germantown Academy, a very fine private school that Once again, I left in seventh grade. So there are certain areas where you shine and there are certain places where I believe that you belong and you're more comfortable. You should believe in your intuition. You shouldn't listen to the naysayers and the gray believers. I believe if you live life with good intentions, you should drink life. And for me, my passion was Spanish. My good friends, it wasn't the five hours in class or the one hour of homework. I was watching movies, listening to music, reading books, finding as many intercombios as I could just to practice my passion. Little did I know it unlocked all these doors. And when I moved to Costa Rica, I started off five steps ahead
Success Metrics and Importance of Soft Skills
In business, there's always all kinds of metrics. For me in marketing, I'm always looking at click through rates and conversion rates and all these different numbers that mean different things for the marketing space. When it comes to the call center, what do you measure as success? What metrics are you prioritizing to kind of measure that success rate? Depends on the stage of the project. If you're in a ramp up onboarding stage, you're looking at simple metrics, if they can just keep pace. And then you're focusing when you have your quality control department, if they're hitting their KPIs, which are key performance indicators, are they qualifying the call properly? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? But I, my friend, I'm always looking for the 10% wiggle. Where's the soft skills? When do we talk about the dog? Or Philadelphia? Or going fishing? Or one of those things that come up when I look at your company's bio and see how freaking cool it is. I mean, Business Bros Podcast, man, I could read about you guys for hours and listen to, you know, all of the episodes. And so these are the sort of things that just, as I'm saying, just add momentum. I hate standstill starts. I think you can catch people in a certain way and just connect with them in certain ways. So that's kind of my thoughts to that, my good friend.
Reach Out If You're Interested - No Strings Attached
if you can leave us with some final thoughts, but at the same time, plug your stuff. If people want to reach out, they're like, look, this guy understands communication. Richard knows what's up. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to train his staff. This is the kind of call center I want behind my business. How can they reach out and find out more information to work with you? First, your amazing audience needs to put their checkbook away. I'm not selling anything. There's no 1995 seminar. I don't have a book. But if you want to get in touch with me, definitely buy a first-class plane ticket. Come down here and visit me. But I do have an extremely large Facebook fan page, and I got 114,000 local Costa Ricans. And it will give your audience a real grasp of the business process outsourcing industry in Central America. Now, real quick, we're north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. We're the only democratic society in Central America. It's amazing
Business Bros Classroom Podcast. An AP exam on Revolutionizing Call Centers by teacher Richard Blank
Do you struggle with managing your call center and telemarketing operations? Are you looking for ways to improve your customer service and expand your business appeal? Our guest today is here to help. He's a leader in the call center industry, with over a decade of experience training and managing top-performing telemarketers in Central America. With a background in communication and Spanish, he knows how to effectively motivate and inspire his teams to achieve success.
Episode 1156 . Now, let's welcome to the show the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank.
The Business Bros Podcast's goal is to help you create wealth today and generational wealth for tomorrow by effectively adding insurance in to your existing business and through the power of podcasting to help you take control of your branding and marketing.
Hernan Sias has a number of certifications and professional designations like High School Financial Algebra Teacher, Real Estate Sales License, Life and Health License, a partner at Pipeline Insurance, CTEC Certified Tax Professional and a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy.
We have a plethora of education and a number of experiences that we utilize every day to build businesses, invest in real estate and secure our financial freedom. We invite you to be a part of the conversation, ask us questions, critique our advice, share your opinions, and help us to grow as we work hard to help you too achieve success.
Ethical Telemarketing and First Impressions
I still find telemarketing is a means to an end, and I think you should gauge the calls you make in regards to ethics. You feel comfortable making the call, or you're being shady, or as you say, just spammy. And so since I'm a guest in a Catholic country, the agents have leveraged it, and I need to make sure that they can go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. But let's be realistic here. You're looking to buy time. You're not gonna get the 10 minutes that Hollywood shows you. There's a lot of gatekeepers out there. So my suggestions for people that are doing, let's just say business-to-business type of phone calls, your first impression should be a company name spike. As much as I want to know how well Ernance CS is doing today, if you answer the call, I'm going to say, hey, Business Bros Podcast, how are you doing today? I'm going to say it better than you do. And so what it's going to do is use my anonymity as good faith. It's almost like a mystery shopper. I've been there before. So these gatekeepers reduce it a little bit. They start asking me my name and politely I will introduce myself, but I'll take it a step further.
Introduction to Traditional Marketing's Relevance
Boom all right ladies and gentlemen i know we communicate a lot through social media but some of these traditional ways of marketing and getting uh you know your message out like picking up the phone if that sounds interesting to you because there's still money to be made in that industry a lot of it we're going to talk about that on this episode let's get this thing going here we go shut up and sit down look A business can give you everything you want in life, prestige, wealth, freedom. It can also take everything away from you. This show is for those who are willing to take that risk. These are the real-life stories of entrepreneurs. But before we start, I have one small favor to ask. Please leave a comment. It can be advice, critiques, tips, feedback, or share this with someone because your engagement is the most valuable and most powerful form of social currency. So thank you, and welcome to another episode of...
Listen Actively for Superior Customer Service
customer support, you take notes so they don't have to repeat themselves. And I tell you what, people hedge. They say, okay, wonderful, great. Well, sometimes the answer is not wonderful. Sometimes the answer is not great. If the guy's like, I've been married 50 years and I'm the happiest in the world, that's great. Married 50 years, okay, that's great. But if they're saying, I live on one, two, three main seat, that's great. No, it's not, it's crack infested. And someone just got shot yesterday. And so if you're not sure, Those are the times when you use that monotone robot. Hernan, did you say one, two, three Main Street? Is that correct? Yes, Richard. Thank you. Then you move on because I've seen people open up rabbit holes by being excited for the worst or missing the tell sign of being positive on something. So watch that hedging. Hedging's terrible. And stop calling people sir and ma'am... potentially listening to you because you want to vent for a minute. And then we take nice notes. So when we call back, we remind you what you've spoken about. So now we're five steps ahead.
https://youtu.be/U7hpx0d0GiI
https://youtu.be/jXPstDpwBNc
https://youtu.be/afih4W2AG1E
https://youtu.be/c4rslXdlyxA
Hernan’s tenacity is infectious and his advice simple, yet poignant. Finding meaning looks different for each of us but there are common strategies that can be implemented no matter your pursuit. By focusing less on the dollars and more on the passion you can learn things along the way that will help you support a life worth living.
With his brother James, Hernan runs the Business Bros podcast to reach others with opportunity and expertise as well as a utilizing it as vehicle for reaching more clients, allowing the pair to see substantial growth.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
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/
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Overcoming Pressure and Following Passion
And I was under an enormous amount of pressure to go to Ivy League like my grandpa. He went to Harvard Law. My pop was at Columbia Business School. My brother went to Washington and League. And two of them graduated Germantown Academy, a very fine private school that Once again, I left in seventh grade. So there are certain areas where you shine and there are certain places where I believe that you belong and you're more comfortable. You should believe in your intuition. You shouldn't listen to the naysayers and the gray believers. I believe if you live life with good intentions, you should drink life. And for me, my passion was Spanish. My good friends, it wasn't the five hours in class or the one hour of homework. I was watching movies, listening to music, reading books, finding as many intercombios as I could just to practice my passion. Little did I know it unlocked all these doors. And when I moved to Costa Rica, I started off five steps ahead
Success Metrics and Importance of Soft Skills
In business, there's always all kinds of metrics. For me in marketing, I'm always looking at click through rates and conversion rates and all these different numbers that mean different things for the marketing space. When it comes to the call center, what do you measure as success? What metrics are you prioritizing to kind of measure that success rate? Depends on the stage of the project. If you're in a ramp up onboarding stage, you're looking at simple metrics, if they can just keep pace. And then you're focusing when you have your quality control department, if they're hitting their KPIs, which are key performance indicators, are they qualifying the call properly? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? But I, my friend, I'm always looking for the 10% wiggle. Where's the soft skills? When do we talk about the dog? Or Philadelphia? Or going fishing? Or one of those things that come up when I look at your company's bio and see how freaking cool it is. I mean, Business Bros Podcast, man, I could read about you guys for hours and listen to, you know, all of the episodes. And so these are the sort of things that just, as I'm saying, just add momentum. I hate standstill starts. I think you can catch people in a certain way and just connect with them in certain ways. So that's kind of my thoughts to that, my good friend.
Reach Out If You're Interested - No Strings Attached
if you can leave us with some final thoughts, but at the same time, plug your stuff. If people want to reach out, they're like, look, this guy understands communication. Richard knows what's up. He knows how to communicate. He knows how to train his staff. This is the kind of call center I want behind my business. How can they reach out and find out more information to work with you? First, your amazing audience needs to put their checkbook away. I'm not selling anything. There's no 1995 seminar. I don't have a book. But if you want to get in touch with me, definitely buy a first-class plane ticket. Come down here and visit me. But I do have an extremely large Facebook fan page, and I got 114,000 local Costa Ricans. And it will give your audience a real grasp of the business process outsourcing industry in Central America. Now, real quick, we're north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. We're the only democratic society in Central America. It's amazing
Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxc2dIeGBj8
In this gameplay video I play the prison roleplaying game Stateview Prison where I am a prisoner in the stateview prison trying to escape during and evacuation and struggle with a cop harassing me.
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Watch this next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yYptsuccpY&t=0s
Stateview Prison is a roleplaying prison game where you can either take the role of a prisoner where you try to escape prison or take the role of the guards trying to mange the rowdy prisons moving them around the prison to where the need to go like the showers and to launch.
If you have a game that I should play next, drop it in the comments below.
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Timestamps:
0:00 Getting touched
12:50 Evacuate the building
17:43 Launch time
21:13 Busting out
26:21 End card
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