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The BUILD & BALANCE Show with Richard Blank. A call center sales training expert in Costa Rica.

BUILD & BALANCE Show dedicated to serving salespeople with 0 - 5 years of experience; and anyone who wants to improve their public speaking skills. Michael Neuendorff has been in sales and marketing for more than 20 years and knows what it's like to start out in sales. It's not easy! This is why Michael Neuendorff post videos that help you to get the basics down and also understand various success secrets that can catapult you to the front of the group faster than it would take on your own.

In this video, Michael Neuendorff talks with Richard Blank a successful call center owner and sales trainer, located in beautiful Costa Rica! In this video, Richard shares many tips on cold calling and how to become successful with cold calling. If you have more questions, be sure to leave a comment on this video! Check time stamps below for interview questions.

Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center (CCC), appeared on The BUILD & BALANCE Show with host Michael Neuendorff to discuss outbound B2B sales strategies, call center operations, and workplace culture.

• Best Practices in Outbound Sales: Blank breaks down effective techniques for cold calling, handling rebuttals, leaving compelling voicemails, and prioritizing conversion quality over rigid talk-time metrics.
• Why Costa Rica for Nearshoring: He explains the strategic advantages of operating a call center in San José, highlighting the country's democratic stability, lack of a standing army, 95% literacy rate, strong infrastructure, bilingual talent pool, and alignment with U.S. time zones.
• Gamification & Company Culture: Blank discusses how he combats agent burnout and builds retention by integrating play into the workplace, notably through his collection of restored American pinball machines and antique jukeboxes at the office.
• Entrepreneurial Journey: He shares his background moving from the U.S. to Costa Rica at age 27, training over 10,000 bilingual telemarketers, and leading CCC since 2008.

Interview Questions
00:00 intro
01:56 Why did you open a call center in Costa Rica?
05:36 Why are cold calls better than cold emails?
08:18 What is a good percentage of answered cold calls?
10:54 Tips for cold calling?
23:10 How do you develop new salespeople?
27:26 When should a business consider using a call center?



https://youtu.be/BDAGoHBahBo?si=IvrJ4MNZswK7AG3u
Transcript
00:00I will say this, my friend, if somebody is just using these cold emails as their marketing strategy, why don't
00:06you take an extra 30 seconds, okay, just to look at their website or LinkedIn profile, because you would possibly
00:13be able to uncover something that would give you a sort of connection, or you can congratulate them on a
00:20promotion, on an anniversary, a third location, you could say their slogan, I don't know.
00:26But if you're just calling me sir, and giving me some email, it's extremely informal. But if you mentioned my
00:33pinball machines, I'm going to read your entire email. So at least you're going to have a shot with me.
00:37So my suggestion is just to instead of being a print, be a painting, actually add a little bit to
00:46these templates, if that's your only strategy. But Michael, to answer your question, you are eliminating so many different ways
00:53to build momentum, energy and relationship building.
00:56By eliminating any sort of phone calls.

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