17. Grow Your Business With the Power of Positive Escalation, with Richard Blank

Bootstrapping his way from just a desk and a single account to a large successful call center in Costa Rica, Founder and CEO Richard Blank joins Jim Barnish on this episode to share his insight on effective communication strategies, investing in his teams, and the power of positive escalation.

With a track record for successful sales and training programs, Richard walks us through his key communication strategies that are beneficial not just for landing a sale, but also for every relationship in life. They discuss soft skill training instead of just hitting the sales goals; his “buffer boomerang technique” that keeps conversations constructive; “positive escalation” that builds relationships and pipelines, and boosts morale among teams; and how to hone your listening skill with “phonetic, micro expression reading.”

Join their conversation on reducing attrition by helping people grow, and in turn, growing the business.

3 Key Takeaways

• Invest in your teams not as a means to an end, but as individuals who will pay it forward in the organization for years to come. Have faith in your people.
• Use effective communication techniques that will not only land a sale, but build relationships that will last.
• Positive escalation is the practice of building (real) relationships with everyone in the organization that you speak with. Do this right, and you will stand out from every other person calling that company.

Resources

Richard Blank's LinkedIn

Facebook Page

Buffer Boomerang Technique

Phonetic Micro Expression Reading

About

As the Founder/CEO for Costa Rica’s Call Center for the last 15 years, 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. When he’s not building his business, Richard is scouring the Costa Rican countryside to add to his impressive collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes (making him the largest collector in Costa Rica).