- 2 days ago
The Dave Pamah Show. A business training experience and B2B sales advice. Episode 416.
The ”Dave Pamah Show” is hosted by Dave Pamah, retired firefighter, former International track athlete, BA (Hons) Politics and Society graduate of the University of London, author of ”Firefighting from Within” and a certified coach. We tell REAL stories about REAL people from all walks of life. We discuss the ups and downs, wins and losses, successes and struggles, the good and bad in a respectful but candid way with our guests. We’re better than entertainment, we’re the REAL thing.
Dave Pamah has a passion, a passion to help others. In early school years, like many children, Dave was the subject of bullying and decided that the way to ‘fight back’ was to help others who had been in the same position.
Turning to athletics at the tender age of 10, Dave learned that physical activity and nutrition is important for wellbeing, the investment paid off as Dave competed in many high profile events and retired from serious competition at the age of 33. He still continues to follow the discipline of physical activity and nutrition.
As a working firefighter for 25 years, his drive to help people not only spanned the general public, when the brave crews had to attend some horrific scenes, but also that of his fellow colleagues, as Union Learning Representative for his trade union, Fire Brigades Union (FBU). Here he provided the advice and support to union members about their training, educational and developmental needs.
Taking lessons learned from his colourful life of athletics and as a member of a tough workforce, Dave has battled for equality and now wants to help people, there is no specific person, this is help that will see everyday people, with everyday issues find some resolve in his words. Dave is author of the book "Firefighting from within". In the book, Dave shares the ups and downs of life, many thrown at him from a young age and which he has learned to deal with. He quotes ‘We are always learning and grow…
Interview with the CEO of Costa Rica’s Call Center - Richard Blank
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.
The ”Dave Pamah Show” is hosted by Dave Pamah, retired firefighter, former International track athlete, BA (Hons) Politics and Society graduate of the University of London, author of ”Firefighting from Within” and a certified coach. We tell REAL stories about REAL people from all walks of life. We discuss the ups and downs, wins and losses, successes and struggles, the good and bad in a respectful but candid way with our guests. We’re better than entertainment, we’re the REAL thing.
Dave Pamah has a passion, a passion to help others. In early school years, like many children, Dave was the subject of bullying and decided that the way to ‘fight back’ was to help others who had been in the same position.
Turning to athletics at the tender age of 10, Dave learned that physical activity and nutrition is important for wellbeing, the investment paid off as Dave competed in many high profile events and retired from serious competition at the age of 33. He still continues to follow the discipline of physical activity and nutrition.
As a working firefighter for 25 years, his drive to help people not only spanned the general public, when the brave crews had to attend some horrific scenes, but also that of his fellow colleagues, as Union Learning Representative for his trade union, Fire Brigades Union (FBU). Here he provided the advice and support to union members about their training, educational and developmental needs.
Taking lessons learned from his colourful life of athletics and as a member of a tough workforce, Dave has battled for equality and now wants to help people, there is no specific person, this is help that will see everyday people, with everyday issues find some resolve in his words. Dave is author of the book "Firefighting from within". In the book, Dave shares the ups and downs of life, many thrown at him from a young age and which he has learned to deal with. He quotes ‘We are always learning and grow…
Interview with the CEO of Costa Rica’s Call Center - Richard Blank
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.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Welcome to the Dave Palma Show, the podcast that revives, restores, and awakens your innermost
00:08capabilities.
00:09You have the training and the talent to succeed, but do you have the guts to fail?
00:15I love what I do.
00:16When you love what you do, you want to be the best at it.
00:18Today is about the power of you.
00:20You will change the world.
00:22Find your path to success through the journey of those who have succeeded.
00:26And now, your host, Dave Palma.
00:33Hi, welcome, welcome back to the Dave Palma Show.
00:37And with me in this episode, I have someone who moved abroad to build a company from scratch
00:42in Costa Rica.
00:44We've been discussing advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal
00:48soft skill, customer support, rhetoric, gratification, employee motivation, and phonetic micro-expressing
00:55read.
00:56And before that, we'll go into my guest's story about how he started this and built this successful
01:04business in the first place.
01:06So, Richard Blank, welcome to the Dave Palma Show.
01:09Dave, thank you so much for inviting me.
01:11I could say good evening to you and good morning to me in Costa Rica.
01:14It's amazing.
01:14Yeah, yeah.
01:15Actually, it's about three in the morning, actually.
01:18Yeah.
01:18And actually, I've repatriated back to the UK from Philippines.
01:22So, it's kind of like nighttime there.
01:24It's 10 at night there.
01:25So, you would have been speaking to me at 10 at night.
01:29Unbelievable.
01:30Unbelievable.
01:30Unbelievable.
01:31I think it's amazing that we both take the time in our worlds to come together.
01:34So, I'm really looking forward to spending time with you and your audience today.
01:37Yeah.
01:38So, at first, I mean, I'm intrigued to find out how your BPO works, your call center business
01:44that you've built, because I've seen so many.
01:47I've been in some, you know.
01:49So, I know how they work in the Philippines.
01:51They call it the call center of the world, but I don't know if that's true.
01:54But certainly, you know, that's what I was around for the seven years.
01:58But I went to volunteer in the Red Cross and, you know.
02:00So, I'd just like to hear your story about before, during, and after.
02:07What was you doing before that?
02:09And what made you go to the Costa Rica?
02:10And how did you build this business?
02:12And then tell us more about the business afterwards.
02:15Absolutely.
02:15And once again, thank you very much for allowing me the chance to explain my story.
02:19It all begins back in the day, back in northeast Philadelphia in Pennsylvania,
02:23when I was at Abington High School.
02:25When I was graduating in 1991, most of my friends were choosing certain vocations,
02:30such as law, medicine, engineering, architecture.
02:33They had a plan.
02:34And they were going to Ivy League and other sort of universities.
02:37It was almost like their destiny was predetermined for them.
02:40And they had it already worked out.
02:43I, myself, my favorite class was Spanish.
02:46And I gravitated towards that.
02:48I got a college recommendation from my principal and my Spanish teacher,
02:52which encouraged me to continue those studies.
02:55And I went to the University of Arizona because it's very nice and sunny and a lot of fun.
02:58And I studied Spanish and communication for four years.
03:02And post-grad, when I was 27, I had the opportunity from a good friend of mine to move to Costa Rica
03:07and do about two months' worth of English training with his call center staff.
03:13And so I came down just on a whim and decided to dip my toe in the waters.
03:17And you working in the Philippines and me being in Costa Rica and seeing a call center for the first time,
03:23it's very dynamic, it's amazing the sort of infrastructure, equipment,
03:28and what they do there to be able to produce so much volume.
03:33And so I believe that I shed a skin that day.
03:36I realized that I wanted to stay there and learn the business.
03:40And I wanted to maybe have a vision quest where the Australians call it a walkabout.
03:45I wanted my final adventure before I got bald, got married, and settled down.
03:51I've got the same thing here as well.
03:54So you and I took that chance.
03:56I'm still bald and married.
03:58To keep that open mind.
04:00Yeah, sure.
04:01And to learn about new cultures and to be embraced with those cultures.
04:04And the most amazing thing is that when you and I travel abroad,
04:08the things that we hold dear and things that are valued in our own country,
04:11in our own culture, sometimes don't mean anything.
04:15Where you go.
04:16And most people judge you, Dave, just on your essence.
04:19And for an example, reading your biography, which is incredible,
04:22being this international Division I athlete and being a firefighter,
04:27that is universal.
04:29People can understand the fact that you invested in your body
04:31and you had structure and discipline and went to such high levels.
04:35And every country knows a firefighter.
04:37Every country loves a firefighter as well, doesn't they?
04:41Yeah.
04:41I did it because, you know, in my heart I wanted to do that, you know.
04:44So it was really a passion for me to help people.
04:48Everyone loves a firefighter.
04:50When I was 10 years old, I wanted to be one.
04:52Little did I know I was a CEO of a call center.
04:54It was a what?
04:55Sorry?
04:55When you're a child and you're thinking of your future,
04:59a lot of the times it's, you know, you want to be an astronaut, a pilot, a firefighter.
05:04You want to be this hero.
05:06Yeah, yeah.
05:07And not saying that I didn't pursue that, but this thing almost, I gravitated towards it.
05:14It was a metamorphosis.
05:15I know that certain careers are not made.
05:19They're just produced organically.
05:21And since I am a speaker and I enjoy the phone and I love the art of speech where I could study rhetoric and the thesaurus.
05:30And I've complimented you prior to this podcast in regards to your Queen's English.
05:34I wish I could speak that well.
05:36And the most important thing, my friend, was that as a business owner, when I was working at the call center,
05:45when you were in the Philippines, you realize that the agents sometimes did not have their dignity.
05:50And they felt like a number or a robot or they felt expendable.
05:55And as a business owner, I know that I could start from the core, from the foundation, as you did with your athletic teams.
06:02You start with the teamwork and then you expand from there.
06:05And just going pure old school, because you and I grew up in the 70s and 80s.
06:11This was before the computers and phones.
06:13So you had to do it the old school way where you got on your bike and you rode to your friend's house and knocked on the door to play.
06:19Yeah, mind you, I did computer studies at school when I was at, well, high school, you call it.
06:24We call it secondary school.
06:26So I did computer studies, but it was like basic, the language basic, you know, and stuff like that.
06:32And Apple and Microsoft just started.
06:37What computer were you using back in those days?
06:41Well, it wasn't far off from a PC, actually.
06:46In the school.
06:47They weren't, but obviously it was a lot bigger.
06:50There were big things.
06:50And I think they had like tapes, didn't they?
06:53Big tapes and things like that.
06:54So they were massive.
06:57Our first was that Apple IIe with those floppy disks.
07:00Floppy disks, that's right.
07:01And I had to see people programming and logo and NAS and stuff.
07:04And that was a lot of fun.
07:05That's it, exactly, yeah.
07:05Uh-huh.
07:08Database 1, 2, 3, stuff like that, yeah.
07:10But, you know, at 27, when you're at a middle age, it's still okay to still find yourself.
07:17And you're probably wondering, Dave, why I wasn't this hot shot teenager or genius 20-year-old that started a company.
07:24Well, since we're friends, I may be candid with you.
07:28A lot of it has to do with impulse control and maturity.
07:32It took me into my mid-30s to realize that I would be responsible enough to fulfill contracts and work hard enough to ensure job stability.
07:42Not saying I couldn't have done it earlier, but there are certain stages in life when you know that you're more prepared for something.
07:50And so when you enter those stages, it seems a lot more natural and not a forced fit.
07:56And so I've enjoyed my progression of moving abroad, learning the business for four years, realizing that I had the earnings potential to do this and I had the knowledge.
08:06And just don't kid yourself, I just didn't have a turnkey 300-seat workstation where I just walked into.
08:13I started off by renting a seat at a glorified internet cafe.
08:18It was more of a blended center or mixed center.
08:21And then from there, I saved enough money to rent space and then get used computers and furniture, which was in top condition.
08:28There's a lot of companies that do go out of business, and I was able to scoop up their stuff.
08:32And then after X amount of years, you save enough money to build your building and move it forward.
08:37So there weren't any loans.
08:39I didn't have any partners.
08:41I didn't pay any interest.
08:43I did it the way that my grandparents taught me, and they said, Richard, if you don't have the money, just don't do it.
08:49And for me to be able to sleep at night, Dave, I'd rather own the dirt than possibly have to give away back to a bank three-floor building.
08:58And that's just the kind of business model that I was sticking with, to be able to withstand the storms and to go through the tough times.
09:06And as I mentioned before, having that sort of reserve of capital.
09:12But that's a true entrepreneurial spirit, isn't it?
09:14Taking risks like that.
09:17Sure, of course.
09:18And, I mean, life is made to take risks.
09:20But a lot of these risks have to be calculated risks.
09:24Yes, yeah.
09:24Okay, now you were a professional athlete, and I'm sure you're excellent at multiple sports, but obviously the track is where you excelled the most.
09:34And so you decided to invest your time there.
09:36And so I could have chosen many different vocations.
09:39I probably would have done well.
09:41But there was a still dreamer in me, a romantic that wanted adventure and to go exploring.
09:47And, you know, I'm not going to sail the seven seas, but being bilingual and having the opportunity to move to Central America in my mid-twenties, it really just seemed like the perfect time.
10:00And I've been here for 22 years.
10:01I married a Costa Rican woman, and she and I built this business together.
10:07Oh, wow.
10:08Okay.
10:08Of course.
10:09I'm the owner, but she's the boss, Dave.
10:11Yeah, very similar to Philippines.
10:13There's a few that, you know, I'm married to a Filipina, actually, but she's not in the BPO business or call center business.
10:20But, yeah, there's a couple, you know, people like yourself that's actually done that.
10:26Yeah, I've been to Costa Rica as well.
10:29It's a very nice place.
10:30Very nice.
10:30It probably would have been a place that I would have probably retired to otherwise, you know.
10:34They're all Panama.
10:36But I've heard...
10:36Where did you go in Costa Rica?
10:37Did you go surfing or to the hot springs?
10:39No, I didn't do surfing.
10:40I just stayed in San Jose and went to the Caribbean Sea part, not far from Lemon, just a bit further down from Lemon.
10:51Puerto Viejo is a very nice place.
10:52That's it, yeah.
10:53And then I went up north somewhere, more on the Pacific side to a resort.
10:59In Guanacaste?
11:00Uh-huh.
11:01Up in that area?
11:01Probably, yeah.
11:02To be honest, it's so long ago.
11:03It's about 20 years ago, I believe it.
11:05Yeah, but I can ask you a question.
11:06When you were in Puerto Viejo, did you try their pate?
11:09That's some of the best food I've ever eaten.
11:10Yeah, yeah.
11:11Well, it's a Caribbean kind of everything because I'm from Caribbean descent.
11:18So the food is Caribbean food.
11:20You know, it's almost like you're in the Caribbean, isn't it, really, there?
11:23And how are the kitchens?
11:24Jamaican pates are there.
11:25Yeah, rice and beans.
11:26Are they tasty?
11:28It's kind of a blend of Costa Rican food because some of it's similar, isn't it, really, with the beans and rice and things like that.
11:33But, yeah, yeah, it's very nice.
11:36And I'm sure when you were here, and you mentioned being in San Jose for a while, that did you ever get a chance to go to the farmer's market and see all the exotic food?
11:45I didn't, no, no.
11:46I stayed.
11:47What did I stay?
11:47I can't remember now.
11:48But it was near a hotel where they had a big TV screen and they were watching football.
11:52I think, no, the World Cup wasn't on then, but there was a lot of soccer being watched there, which I didn't mind, actually.
12:00I just really can't remember the name of the places.
12:02It was like nearly 20 years ago.
12:03Yes, but obviously you still have wonderful memories here.
12:07Oh, absolutely.
12:08Absolutely.
12:08I loved it there.
12:09I would have probably gone there instead of Philippines if I, you know, my retired life.
12:13So it just happened to go the other way, you know.
12:16And the cost of living here, like in the Philippines, it's less than in the UK.
12:20Oh, a lot less.
12:21Yeah.
12:21Yeah.
12:22I mean, you can probably a third of the cost.
12:25So a third, whatever cost is here, it'll cost a third there.
12:29But, I mean, with the cost of living going up everywhere, actually, because of the pandemic and probably the war in Ukraine,
12:33for the UK anyway, at least.
12:36But, you know, it's had an effect on things like oil and things like that and fuel prices.
12:40I have a good question for you.
12:41Did you ever get homesick for something when you were living in the Philippines?
12:45Not too much, because I've got a daughter, actually, as well.
12:48So I've got a seven-year-old daughter.
12:49Oh, okay.
12:50He's a fan of this podcast sometimes.
12:53Cool.
12:54And I, yeah, I just had a family there.
13:00So, you know, the seven-year-olds I was there, I was just raising my daughter and just had a lot to get on with, really.
13:06Because it's a similar kind of feel, you know, got volcanoes, mountainous, beaches, but there's more islands.
13:12It's more of an island there, really.
13:14But, I mean, Costa Rica, as I said, they had the Caribbean side.
13:16And I used to go to the Caribbean a lot anyway.
13:18And I've been to Cuba, as well, because I've got family there.
13:21So it had a very similar feel, you know.
13:25I just realized living abroad, you need a lot of patience.
13:28Because the things you expect back home might not be where you're at.
13:31So take deep breaths.
13:32Be prepared to wait sometimes.
13:34And just realize you are a guest to your country.
13:39And if you can do that, then you'll most likely be embraced.
13:41Absolutely.
13:42Yeah.
13:43Well, I'm repatriating now.
13:44I'm not with my family.
13:44I haven't been in there for quite a long time, and I'm getting kind of a little bit heartbroken rather than homesick, you know.
13:50So just trying to get that sorted out, really.
13:53But anyway.
13:53But with your child, it's probably one of the greatest experiences is to visit the world and live in different places in the world.
14:00Yeah.
14:01So I've visited so many places, actually.
14:03So that's a good thing.
14:05But, yeah, so let's get back to the call center.
14:07So you built this call center up.
14:10And so that obviously didn't go wrong.
14:14You've only got one call center there, is it?
14:17That is correct.
14:17I have currently 150 seats and a 300-seat place.
14:22But once again, when the cameras are off, I might make it look easy.
14:27But in 2010, I almost went out of business.
14:30One of the worst things you could ever do is put all of your eggs in one basket.
14:34Right.
14:35Unfortunately, a client of mine, it was in the debt settlement industry.
14:39The laws had changed then, and they had to reduce their stuff and almost go out of business.
14:43So it affected our call center.
14:46So I learned a huge lesson is, once again, to still be very selective of the campaigns that come in.
14:52Because this is a strict Catholic country.
14:54And as much as I think I could fulfill the needs of the client, I have to fulfill the need of the agent.
15:00Amazon is here.
15:01Oh, you've got Amazon, yeah.
15:03You've got some big accounts in.
15:07Oh, huge accounts.
15:08I don't have them, but we compete against them.
15:11And so in order for me to scale and get some of the best talent, not only do I match their salary and benefits, but I have a different culture here.
15:20Dave, I start off with a gamification culture at my call center.
15:25Let me give you an example.
15:27They come in on a Monday morning at 7 a.m. for training.
15:30Class doesn't start until 7.30.
15:32From 7 to 7.30, we do recess.
15:35They go into my arcade to play pinball and Pac-Man and air hockey.
15:39So they can meet one another.
15:40They can hang out with the boss.
15:42They can reduce their stress and warm themselves up.
15:45That's good to have that kind of interaction, isn't it?
15:47It's important because you worked at such large centers.
15:51Imagine it's a happy medium for people in different departments to get to know one another.
15:55You can let off some steam so you don't burn out.
15:59You can recharge your batteries so you can perform.
16:02And it just gives you a chance to really bond and make friendships because that will reduce your attrition when people are very happy working together.
16:12Yeah.
16:13I start from within.
16:15I like to promote from within.
16:16And even if someone comes, and you've seen this too in the Philippines, Dave, they could be a freshman, right?
16:22They're bilingual, and they have the skills, just not the experience.
16:26You and I could mold them.
16:28They're not coming in with bad habits.
16:31No.
16:31So it enables you and I with the proper structure and the resources to get them to a level playing field, but they do it Dave Palmer's way.
16:40They just don't come in with terrible habits.
16:42Well, hopefully, when I build this podcast business, I'll have a team and we'll get them to do it the Dave Palmer's show way.
16:50Yeah.
16:51Similar kind of thing.
16:52Of course it is.
16:54And you're only as good as the foundation behind you.
16:57And if nobody shows up to your birthday party, you have no friends.
17:00So I believe in positive reinforcement.
17:02Gladly that's never happened.
17:04And I've got a book.
17:05Of course it hasn't.
17:06I've got a book and I did a couple of book signings and I did one massive one in Manila, Manila Book Fair.
17:13So I was in a good place and the book launch went well.
17:18I had a good turn up because even celebrities worry if anyone's going to turn up, don't they really, when they do their little books or whatever.
17:24But there was one case when I flew back to London to do another book signing, you know, while I was staying in the Philippines.
17:32But I'm flying back anyway, because I flew back regularly to the UK.
17:35And then it wasn't really as successful as I wanted.
17:39I think there's about three people that turned up, but there were very close people that I knew.
17:43So never mind.
17:45That only happened once.
17:46Isn't that the true face of character?
17:49You showed up.
17:51You're ready.
17:52You were ready to go.
17:54That's not the market speaking to you.
17:57No, you were gaining momentum.
17:59You told me that you had a packed house at one place, but then you also had the one that three people showed up.
18:05And the fact that you mentioned it today means that it actually really does mean something for you because you were able to move forward and carry on.
18:12So to be honest with you, I think I prefer that one more.
18:15It's more intimate.
18:16I could spend more time with you.
18:19Right?
18:19Exactly.
18:19And I could actually...
18:21So yeah.
18:21Well, the three well-known people, I lived near a tourist part of London.
18:29It was in Camden, the famous Camden Market in the Holiday Inn.
18:34And I think I didn't promote it well, but one of the people that turned up was my dentist.
18:39He was quite, you know, he sort of knew me quite well.
18:44I said, yeah, come along.
18:45And he did come along with another, actually four people, because he came along with another woman who did some writing around similar topics to the book I did.
18:53And then he said, yeah, yeah, come and have a drink afterwards with us.
18:56So we just went and had a couple of beers together.
18:59He was investing in your famous teeth.
19:01He wanted to make sure when you're smiling, he's getting business out of that.
19:06Yeah, yeah.
19:06It's nice of him to come along.
19:08And then we just socialized afterwards.
19:09So it wasn't really a waste in the end.
19:11I didn't promote it well, I don't think, anyway.
19:13Or making excuses.
19:14But, yeah, anyway, well, let's get into the kind of strategy side of your business, a telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal skills.
19:25I know we started touching on that just now, obviously, with building a rapport with your employee and management, you know, relationships.
19:33Tell us more about interpersonal communication and conflict management strategies that you use.
19:38Okay, once again, it's a challenge to try to out-English someone from London, but I will do my best.
19:45Just once again, it's different cultures because I've listened to a lot of podcasts that call out of the UK and Australia and New Zealand.
19:52But I think that some of the suggestions I'm making are soft skills that would be universal for English, okay?
20:00As I mentioned before, the thesaurus is very important for my agents because English is their second language.
20:06So immediately for conflict management, instead of saying words like help, I would prefer to use assist guide or lend a hand.
20:13Because, once again, you are readjusting the tone from something negative to positive, and you're avoiding any sort of ego defense rabbit holes that could be created from that.
20:22Let me give you an example of what it would be like to do an outbound prospecting lead generation call, if I may.
20:29It's very interesting.
20:30There's a simple structure to a conversation, Dave, I believe it's an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
20:37And I'm a firm believer that the attention span is within 30 seconds to two minutes, just in seconds, not a full 10-minute conversation.
20:44So let's just say, hypothetically, I'm calling the Dave Palmer Company, right?
20:48And somebody, not yourself, answers the phone.
20:52The first thing I would do is a company name spike.
20:54I would ask how the Dave Palmer Company is doing today.
20:56So I'm using my anonymity, just as my first impression.
21:01I'm not anonymous the whole call.
21:02That's kind of shady.
21:03But the first impression that your assistant would hear, would me saying the name of your company better than you, and asking and encompassing how everybody is doing.
21:14And so naturally, they're going to say, we're doing great.
21:16And then this is usually the first time they ask me a question.
21:19They will say, what is your name?
21:20What I have here, and I have an example, it's called a buffer boomerang technique, okay?
21:27And it usually happens eight to 10 times on a call.
21:30The first time you ask me a question, I would say, Kathy, that's an excellent question.
21:35My name is Richard Blank.
21:37I do a name drop.
21:39I buffer him out with the, that's a good question.
21:41Glad you brought it up.
21:42I repeat the question that you asked to show active listening.
21:45And then if you're a positive, I'll match you.
21:47If you're negative, I will offset it to make sure I can reset the tone with a positive Richard, positive David.
21:53And you do that multiple times, one, two, or three, depending on the sort of tone and questions they ask you.
21:59So now the individual likes me because I name dropped, answered the question, and I'm representing myself in the best light.
22:06And they're planning on transferring me to you.
22:09So what I'm going to let that individual know, using Kathy for an example.
22:12Kathy, I can't wait to tell Dave how amazing you are.
22:15It's a positive escalation.
22:17You worked at the call centers.
22:18You know you get money and prizes for that.
22:20And so when I get transferred to you, once again, I'm taking the advantage of anonymity before introducing myself, Dave, to say how amazing your assistant Kathy is.
22:30And so you think it's great, and then you ask me my boomer question, what is your name again?
22:33I get to bring it back.
22:35And now we're having a conversation, and the conversation is doing great.
22:38And there's always a time when you need to discuss your products, your one, two, or three items.
22:44And I believe a lot of times people will run through that.
22:47It's almost like desert pitching without an oasis.
22:50Because I know what I know, and I kind of need to know what you know.
22:54So there is positive and negative reinforcements.
22:58And so by pausing after you make a statement, you're gauging their level of interest.
23:02You know this.
23:03And so I believe that every single topic you bring up is almost like a dessert tray.
23:07It deserves its own presentation and performance.
23:11And then what I like to do, I call it raking.
23:13That after I give you three or four things about myself, I'm going to say, Dave, I'm sure you like at least one.
23:18You know, I'm brazen and I'll not have to say ten.
23:20But I'm sure you like at least one.
23:21So I can take a horizontal into a vertical and start stacking those open-ended questions on where you're interested.
23:28So then I get through the body of the call, right?
23:30And I'm doing my buffer boomerang.
23:32I'm finding out your interest.
23:34But this is the most important part.
23:36It's called micro-expression reading, but I do it phonetically.
23:40People study body languages, but what happens when we're on the phone?
23:43Obviously, we're losing three of our senses, Dave.
23:46We're losing our taste, touch, and smell.
23:48Your hearing should be expanded because it's a controlled environment.
23:52People claim you can't see, but I say quite the contrary.
23:55Books are better than movies.
23:57And if you close your eyes, you have image streaming.
24:00So my only suggestion for individuals is to be a little bit more descriptive.
24:03So that's why here I have a phonetic micro-expression reading.
24:10Phonetics is broken down into four different segments.
24:13You have your tone, rate, pitch, and duration.
24:16Think of this as a consistent study.
24:18Your tone, especially yours, Dave, is confident and empathetic.
24:22And I believe that should always be consistent.
24:24Mirror imaging technique, which I know you're familiar with, should only be done during the rate and the pitch, how fast and how loud they go.
24:34Why do we do this?
24:35Every 30 seconds to two minutes, if you do a spike or a dip or make a motion, it might be an indicator to ask a tie-down question or a pin-down question, if it makes sense or sounds good.
24:47Or, for my clarification, did you say A, B, C, or 1, 2, 3?
24:53And so these are indicators non-visually that might give you a tell sign.
24:57But here's the skinning.
24:59These could be manipulated.
25:01Dave, you know people can manipulate a tone and rate a pitch.
25:06But the one thing subconsciously that they cannot do consistently is their answering speed.
25:11That's why the police always ask you the tough fourth or fifth question.
25:15And they don't gauge your tone or your cursing or whatever.
25:17They gauge your answering speed.
25:19And so that's more of an insurance policy, not to say that they're lying.
25:23I didn't say that.
25:24But there might be some room for edification or maybe another explanation.
25:29Okay.
25:30So we get through that section and we get towards the conclusion of the call.
25:36Right.
25:36So I always like to recap what we did.
25:39I go, once again, Dave, since you have me on the phone, you told me you like A.
25:43Do you remember we spoke about B, C, and D?
25:45And you go, I like D.
25:47Of course you do.
25:48Dave, D?
25:49Of course you do.
25:50And so we start talking about D again.
25:52So I raked you one more time.
25:54And then I finish it up with a military alphabet.
25:57Okay.
25:59You have your UAF.
26:00We have our army.
26:01And you know your alpha, bravo, Charlie, Delta.
26:04Yeah, the finessic alphabet.
26:06Absolutely.
26:07And so when I am confirming your information, and the call should be concluding, while I'm
26:13confirming certain spellings, and I do the military, don't be surprised if somebody says,
26:18hey, I served or know somebody that served.
26:20Now, for my own family, my uncle was in the Second World War.
26:24My dad was counterintelligence post-Korea.
26:27So I'm proud of that.
26:29And I bring that up.
26:30And I'm very proud of you, UAF.
26:32You guys are awesome.
26:33You know, we use finessic alphabet for our radio, you know, call signs and things like
26:39that.
26:39And then finally, after we've made that connection, and I'm writing you a letter, I will do a
26:45written positive escalation of everybody that assisted me in getting me to you.
26:52And this is prior to contracts.
26:54And when I call back and Kathy answers the phone, and she knows it's me, you know, she's
26:59going to say, Richard, in the last 12 years, you're the first person that ever wrote about
27:04me like that.
27:06And that's the Richard Circle day.
27:08That will give you an ethical call.
27:11We're not being slick.
27:13We're being a little bit clever.
27:14And we're being very strategic in order to do active listening, to reduce, oh, finally,
27:22how about this?
27:23Everybody's working from home these days.
27:26And so you might hear a dog in the background, or a child, or a distraction.
27:29I believe that inadvertently and passive aggressively, you and your audience could use the me too
27:36technique.
27:37I love dogs.
27:38I'm sure you love dogs, too.
27:39So the dog's barking.
27:40I can't hear you, Dave.
27:41Dog's barking.
27:42And I go, I love dogs.
27:44Yes.
27:44And then I'll say, Dave, what's the dog's name?
27:46And you're going to say Fluffy.
27:48Wonderful.
27:48And then you obviously realize you put Fluffy outside.
27:51And then you come back to the call, and we talk for a minute.
27:54That's accurate.
27:55Because it's not what I'm selling or concluding or trying to buffer boomerang you.
27:59Your dog came up.
28:00We're talking for a minute.
28:01And my friend, that's usually the time when you say, excuse me, what is your name again?
28:06He asked me earlier, but not now.
28:08You're asking me now.
28:10And I say, that's great, Dave.
28:11I'm so glad you asked.
28:11Once again, it's Richard Blank.
28:13And now you're name dropping me for the rest of the call.
28:15So I always give, and you worked in quality assurance in the Philippine centers.
28:20You know how you grade KPIs and metrics?
28:22I'll grade you on that if that's what you want me to do.
28:26But I give you the most points for the soft skills.
28:27If you buffer boomerang, if you positive escalate.
28:31And if the client says your name, not in the introduction or the conclusion, but in that
28:37body, and you anchored them good because of Fluffy, you get 500 points.
28:40I might even buy a pizza that day.
28:42And I couldn't be more proud.
28:45Because instead of being a print, Dave, you're a painting.
28:49You're not a character.
28:50You're in character.
28:52You're still raw.
28:53You still have the essence.
28:56And if you continue doing that, then you're going to be exceptionally successful.
29:03Excellent.
29:04Well, Richard, I'm really inspired by what you've done.
29:07And really, I've never heard this.
29:09You know, it's so much more value given to the listeners for a start and for any communication
29:14skills, not just call center.
29:16But it is imperative because I did, you know, got to know a bit more about the call center
29:20and BPO business because I was around it, you know, because I didn't know much about
29:25it.
29:25Otherwise, you know, it's more than customer service, as you've mentioned with what you've
29:31mentioned.
29:31And so it's really great for you to come on the show and give all this value.
29:35What would you, with your whole experience and your journey before, during, after, you
29:41know, Costa Rica and your call center, what would you give any kind of advice you would
29:48give for anything they want to do in life, you know?
29:53And of course, tell us the name of your call center in case there's someone listening that
29:56might, you want to pick up an account or give an account.
29:59I'd prefer that they buy a first class ticket and fly and visit me first.
30:04That would be wonderful.
30:05Well, that's right.
30:06I might do that.
30:08If I earn enough money for this podcast, I'll do that.
30:11I know people are expecting me since I'm a telemarketer to sell you something.
30:14So let me tell your audience to put your checkbook away.
30:17This is not a sales call and it's not forcing your hand or twisting an arm.
30:21And I do appreciate you allowing me to share my business.
30:23But let me leave you with something here that the most important thing is having
30:28me time, Richard time.
30:31And I have certain hobbies.
30:34I love working out every day.
30:35So I'll get up at 530 every day and I'll go to my home gym where I'll do the cardio,
30:40the weights.
30:40I'll hit the bag and do my stomach.
30:42I'll eat a very good breakfast because I feel that's extremely important.
30:46Not trying to sound like I'm lecturing.
30:48But your health is essential.
30:49And look at this sort of podcast we're doing.
30:51You know, I got to eat two lunches to get my energy back after this.
30:55But it's really about when I'm washing my convertible car or I'm doing a pinball marathon
31:02on a Sunday.
31:03After about 20 minutes of decompressed stimulation day, what happens is my mind starts to wander.
31:09I'm not an Eastern meditator, so I can't just sit there and do that for a while.
31:14I have certain ways to connect and find my balance.
31:17And one of them is about allowing myself to get into a certain rhythm where I'm not on
31:24the phone.
31:24I'm not with people, but I'm still doing something active that I thoroughly enjoy.
31:30So I can double gun.
31:31I can be productive and reinforce the pastimes that I love so much, but then it allows me
31:39to be humble and grounded on how I got there.
31:42And I mentioned earlier about dignity.
31:46The one thing that I love doing in a call center is walking the roads.
31:50I love stopping by people when they're making a call and giving them a thumbs up.
31:54And I just don't say, hey, champ, you're doing a good job.
31:57No, I'm going to tell Dave exactly why he's doing it.
31:59And he's still a champ, but I'm going to let him know why he's doing it.
32:01I listened to your call.
32:04I heard how you spoke with the client.
32:06I heard the rebuttals.
32:07You sounded interested.
32:09And when somebody realizes that I'm sincerely investing in them, look where you got.
32:17Imagine the coaches you had since you started at the peewee sport level to the middle school,
32:22to the high school, to the college, and then your professional level.
32:25Look at all the different coaches that said, go, Dave, go.
32:30I believe in you.
32:32Kid, get up early.
32:33Stay late.
32:34Stretch.
32:35Eat.
32:35Be nice to your family.
32:37Do well in school.
32:39Don't take the easy way out, Dave.
32:41Take the hard way out.
32:43And you ran so fast.
32:45You jumped so high.
32:46But nobody saw what it was like those early mornings when you didn't want to get out of bed.
32:51And it was cold and rainy.
32:53And all your friends said, well, maybe tomorrow.
32:56No.
32:57You did.
32:58And don't kid yourself.
32:59It's not that you had a smile on your face every day.
33:01There were days you were not feeling well.
33:04You're only human.
33:05But there was something inside of you.
33:07Maybe it was that agreement that you had with little Dave and big Dave.
33:10When you looked in the mirror and you said, we're going all the way and we're doing this.
33:17And I've also found in my journeys that there's a lot of times you'll have naysayers or gray believers.
33:24And these are usually people that love you the most and they just want to protect you.
33:28But maybe they just don't understand your journey and where your heart is and where you're going.
33:35So as long as you have good intentions and good faith, and as you're doing saving people from burning buildings and putting your life on the line,
33:45my good friend, I would be remiss to compare my career to yours.
33:48You were a real hero.
33:50You saved people.
33:52You were there during the worst day of their life.
33:57And you probably gave a thousand hugs.
34:00And you probably gave so much of your energy every day.
34:03And you still were able to go home and have a successful family.
34:07So to have that sort of incredible, all-encompassing energy, Dave, I'm in awe.
34:14And that's why I wrote you.
34:16And that's why your show motivated me.
34:19And you just work with athletes and entertainers.
34:22You talk about amazing stories from everywhere in the world.
34:26And I was bold enough to thought that I qualified.
34:29And I wanted to be part of these people that speak with you.
34:32And the fact that you accepted me, I can't wait to show my entire course that I do.
34:38Thanks very much, Richard, yeah, for contacting me like that.
34:41And, yeah, I knew you'd have a great story to tell.
34:43And, you know, there was a way I can relate to this.
34:46And, you know, I know you can give some value.
34:49And you have.
34:50Thank you, Dave.
34:51It was my pleasure to share my best with you today.
34:55Yeah.
34:56Just to round things off, I really do appreciate the fact that you did contact me and come on the show to share your story, your journey, your expertise, and obviously giving great value to my audience today.
35:08Thanks very much, Richard.
35:10The value was given back to me.
35:11I've made so many new friends through your podcast today, especially you.
35:15Thank you, Dave.
35:15That's all for this episode.
35:18Thanks for listening.
35:19And remember, if you want to support what we do, then share, subscribe, and leave a review over on Apple Podcasts.
35:26Or head over to my website, DavePalmer.com, and click on Rate Show.
35:32Well, that's all for now.
35:33But I'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:38Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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35:47We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:48We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:49We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:50We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:51We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:52We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:53We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:54We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:55We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:56We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:57We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
35:58We'll see you in the next episode of The Dave Palmer Show.
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