The Erika and Abi Show. The importance of mindset with special guest Richard Blank

1. Downloadedfrom:justpaste.it/ErikaandAbiShow TheErikaandAbiShow.Theimportanceofmindset withspecialguestRichardBlank TheepisodeisadetailedconversationfeaturingRichard,anexpat entrepreneurwhofoundedandgrewacallcentercompanyinCostaRica toover150employees.Itcoversseveraltopics:MindsetandSoftSkills: Richardemphasizestheimportanceofmindset, Exploretheunseen pathsto successwithErika &Abi. Ourguestsrange fromindustry leaders, innovators,andartistseachwithastorythatwillinspireandinform.

2. Subscribetojoin ourcommunityof curiousand passionatelisteners.Erika: NYCAffordable Housing Directorturned full-timeland investorandentrepreneur. Hercompany, GokceCapital, buysandsellslandthroughouttheUnitedStates.Don'tmissherinsightfulbook,"Land InvestingMistakes,"nowonAmazon.Abi:WallStreettechmanagerwithapassionforhelping peopleusetechnology toearn moreand workless. HowToGetPeopleToSayYes TheepisodeisadetailedconversationfeaturingRichard,anexpatentrepreneurwho founded and grew a call center company in Costa Rica to over 150 employees. It covers several topics:

3. MindsetandSoftSkills:Richard emphasizestheimportanceofmindset, likeningitto"whistling whileyou work," enabling oneto overcome challenges. He discusseshow to develop andutilizesoftskillseffectively,suchasactivelistening,empatheticcommunication,andpositive reinforcementtomanageandnavigatedifficultconversationsandcustomer interactions.

4. Movingto Costa Rica: Richard shareshis initial reactions upon movingto Costa Rica, highlightingthefamily-orientedculture,thewarmthofthepeople,andthebeautyofthe environment.Hetalksabouttheimportanceofintegratingintothecommunityandfosteringa funandsupportiveatmosphereatwork. EntrepreneurshipJourney:HedelvesintohisjourneyofstartingacallcenterinCostaRica, frominitiallyrentingastationinablendedcentertoeventuallyowningabuilding.Heshares insightsonovercomingchallenges,suchasunderstandinglocallaborlaws andmaintaining ethicalbusinesspractices.

5. EmployeeManagementandRetention:Richarddetailshisapproachtoemployeemanagementandretention,focusingon empathy, dignity,andcreatingapositive,engaging workenvironment.Heemphasizesthesignificanceofselectingtherightpeopleforthejoband cultivatingaculturewhereemployeesfeelvaluedandmotivated.

6. SalesandCommunicationTechniques:Throughouttheconversation,Richardshares various salesandcommunicationtechniques,suchasthe"bufferboomerang"method,focusingon theimportanceofmakingastrongfirstimpression,buildingrapport,andestablishinga connectionwithclients andcustomers. Heunderscores thepowerof usingone's namein conversationas a key tosuccessful communication.

7. LifeandBusinessPhilosophy:Richard's narrativeisimbuedwith hislifeandbusiness philosophyofpayingitforward,believingintheprincipleofactionandreaction,andthe importanceofsmall actsof kindness.He alsotouches onpersonal goals,like writingchildren's booksand the simple joys of everyday life. Advice for Developing Communication Skills: He suggests watching certainTV shows from the pasttoimprovespeechanddelivery, practicingdedicatedly,andbeinginthe rightframeofmindtoeffectivelycommunicateandconnectwithothers. Thisconversationoffersvaluableinsightsintothepowerofpositivethinking, effective communication,theimportanceofcommunityand cultureinbusiness,andthejourney of entrepreneurshipinaforeigncountry. OvercomingAccentBias in Calls Ifsomeone from Costa Ricais making that call,who is, like, bornthere, they would havean accent,right?SowhentheycallErica,wouldn'tEricaknow,like,Herfirstreactionwillbe,oh,I knowit's asales call becauseit's not evensomeone from theUS. Sodon't they haveto work evenharder?Youraccentisinthe UnitedStatesasmuchasaLatino oneoranAsianoneor anyone.TheUnitedStatesisameltingpot.Soformetoday, onceagain,anyonecouldbe

8. anywhere.AndtheLatinomarket'sgrowing.Buthowaboutthis,mygoodfriend?Yougota coolaccent.Well,that'sthereasonwhyIdon'tmakeoutboundphonecalls. SoftSkills: MoreThan Just forCall Centers Andhowdo you,how doyou developthisskillset? Ifyou're not,say you'renotsomeone who's goingtomaketheircareerworkingatacallcenterorstartingacallcenter,butyouare someonethatneedsto,asyoumentionedearlier,therearealotoffrontlineworkerswhoreallyneedtobeable tocommunicatewithpeople whoareoftennot inagoodstateof mind, doctors,anyoneinthemedical field.Howdoyou learntheseskillsifyou're notgoingtoget the

9. practiceof100calls adayworkingwith people?Oh,you watchthispodcast.Well, maybe theseare thesort ofsoft skillsthat cansave amarriage oraThanksgivingdinner. ThePowerofActiveListeningand EmotionalIntelligence EQ.Yeah. Likemeditation,youneedtobeintherightframeofmindandyoucan'tplay happy ifyou'resad.Youcantry. Butno,ifyoudothisafterthreeweeks,itbecomes habit.Andyou knowwhat'sthebeautifulpartaboutthis?Andalotofitisjustactivelistening.Youcanstilldo yourjob.Youcanstilltypeandconvertyourcallsandaskquestions.Butit'salmostlikethat guythatjugglesthatcan bitetheappleas well.There'sstillroomin thecarttodo something, oryoucanupgradeitalittlebit.Youknow,youjustdon'taskaquestion.Yousaytheperson's name,or asI didin thebeginning, the companyname spike.And it'sso niceto hear youtwo reactwhen I say the name of your podcast. Iknow that makes you smile.

10. SpottingandAddressingBurnoutinthe Workplace Andso that's my main thing is I have to put some water ontheir face, give them some coffee, or just a timeout to play some Pac-Man and pinball just to readjust themselves. But how doyouevenknowthatthey'reinabadstatetoday?Wehaveaqualitycontroldepartment.So immediatelyyou can see talktime. I mean, onceagain, if someone isrushing a call, they're hangingup,or ifthey're goingtoo long,they're justnot listening.Andyou havepeople thatare eitheraroundthemorthemonitorsthatwillletyouknowthatsomethingisoff.Ifit'sabrand newagent,I don'tknow them.But ifit's someonethat's beenwithme andI havea luxuryof a trackrecord, Ican easilycompare it toother timesand othermetrics. But wehavepreventativemeasures.Wedo touchbasewitheverybody inthemorningsand justseehow they'redoingthatdayandwhat'shappening.

11. Willing to Die for aPassion Rememberwespokeaboutdying,youknow,fallingonswordsanddyingonhills.Listen,thisis the one with my wife that sheknows I'm willing to die on. Of course.I love my pinball machines,especiallytheolderones,themarqueesandtheplayfields,thebellsandthelights. It'sjustincredibleforme,therestoration. StressReductionTechniquesandIndustryExpectations Andso reallyreducing some ofthat stresswith cognitive skillsis whatI like. Butit's practice. Youknow,wehavescriptswithrebuttals.Sendmeinformation.WhyshouldIdobusinesswith you?Asyou say, I'mbusy goinginto ameeting, thingslike that.And sowe'll havethingswrittendown.Andwhen theypractice it,what theycan do is,as Iwas tryingto do,is anchor by usingnames.Imean,Icouldsay, Iknowyou're busy,I'llsendyouinformation,butI'mgoingto say Erica,just fora second,just tocalm everyonedownand thenmake mypoint.As Isay, therecanbestabilitywhenthere'sunstableground.Youjustgottofindhowto readjust yourself.Becausethingsare movingsofast.But Itellyou what,Imean,if thisisthe sortof thingthatbeatsyouupsobad,youshouldn'tbeinthisindustry.It'snotforthefaintof heart.

12. TheLastingImpactof Mentorship AndifIcangetthatoutofsomebodyandbethatpropermentortothem,they'regoodforthe restoftheirlife.Andso that'swhatItrytodo tokeeptheartofspeech andtomakeitfresh. If not,you'rejustgoingto seethisasa grind,aforcedmarch, andyoujustcan't waittobounce thisjobandgo tothenext onethatmightpay anextrafive bucks.Andit'san interesting industry, my friends. PursueYour Passion Andifgreat-grandpadidn'tcome,wewouldn'tbe heretoday.Soeveryoneneedstocalm downalittlebit.Theworstthingyoucouldeverdo,becausemyintentionsarehonorable,is

13. takethesparkoutofsomebody.YouseethatIhaveinvestedmylifeinSpanish.Idothe dedicatedpractice.Ido aboveandbeyond whatschoolasked metodo.Andyouhave togive meashotatit.YougottoseewhatIcando.LittledidIknow...thatIwasnotabusiness major.Sowhat'sthesecondchallenge?BeingaCEOofa company. TheErikaandAbiShow,RichardBlank,CostaRica'sCallCenter,Outsourcing,Telemarketing CallCentre,BPO,NearshoreContactCenter,Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B,Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership,Marketing,CX,Guest,Money,B2Ceducation,BPOtrainer,call centre,contactcentre,contactcenter

14. Richard’sjourney inthe callcenter spaceis filledwith twists andturns. Whenhe was27 years old,herelocatedtoCosta Ricatotrainemployeesfor oneofthelargercall centersinSan

15. Jose.With amix ofmotivational publicspeaking stylebacked bytactful andappropriate rhetoric,Richardsharedhisknowledgeandtrainedover10000bilingualtelemarketers. Mr.RichardBlankholdsabachelorsdegreeinCommunicationandSpanishfromthe UniversityofArizonaandacertificateoflanguageproficiencyfromtheUniversityofSevilla, Spain.AKeynotespeakerforPhiladelphia'sAbingtonHighSchool68thNationalHonors Societyinductionceremony.Inaddition,inductedintothe2023HallofFameforBusiness. GivingbacktoAbingtonSeniorHighSchoolisveryimportanttoMr.Blank.Assuch,he endowsascholarshipeachyear forstudentsthatplanon majoringinaworldlanguage atthe university level. CostaRica’s CallCenter (CCC)is a stateof theart BPOtelemarketing outsource company locatedin thecapital cityof San Jose,Costa Rica.Our main focushas been,and will always beto personallytrain eachand everyCentralAmericacall center agentso thatwe mayoffer thehighestqualityofoutboundandinboundtelemarketingsolutionsandbilingual customer serviceto smalland mediumsized internationalcompanies, entrepreneursas well asfortune 500companies.

16. Weencourageyoutovisitoneof ourcallcentersonyournext personalvacationorbusiness tripto CentralAmerica’sparadise, CostaRica. Whileyou arehere, wewould recommendtakinganextradayofyourtriptovisitbreathtakingvirginbeaches,playgolfnexttotheocean, tryyourluckat deepseafishing, exploretropicaljungles, climbvolcanosor justrelaxin natural hotsprings. Come and see for yourself why callcenter outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solutionforyour growingcompany anda powerhousein theBPO industry. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #TheErikaandAbiShow#RichardBlank#CostaRica#CallCenter#Outsourcing#Telemarketing #BPO#Sales#Entrepreneur#B2B#Business#Podcast#Gamification#CEO