When it worked podcast. Using a nearshore contact centre to generate sales with Richard Blank.

When it worked podcast. Using a nearshore contact centre to generate sales with Richard Blank.

Success is about moments...

When it worked podcast shares the experts who over came the odds to forge success on their own terms. Listen as Julian Leahy shares with us the key moments that changed everything for them.


Cost Savings Of Using Offshore Telemarketers
We are considered near shore because of our distance to the United States the agents that we have here are bilingual spanish and english which in the United States spanish could be the most spoken language in the next 10 years and also in regards to our cost savings you can get a turnkey agent here for salary benefits, hr telecom and overhead for the same price you would be paying an hourly agent in the United States.

https://youtu.be/s5O_Zr6tElI


Call Centers: More than Just a Job

It can be a very grueling job for people making phone calls. And if you've got somebody that is looking out for the people, allowing them to be treated as humans, the clients are going to get better results because happy people on the phone is what you want after all, isn't it? Oh, absolutely. And, you know, this is not a job. This is a career. And call centers pay more than most vocations in Costa Rica. So I do have people here with law degrees and engineering degrees because it's much more lucrative. But as I mentioned before, there's nothing better than someone being an amazing speaker, because what happens then is that your potential is limitless. You're able to represent yourself properly. You can speak for others. And once again, your earnings potential is incredible.

Legal and ethical management of call lists and client responsibilities

No, they want to get some leads happening for themselves. Do they need to have their own list of phone numbers to provide you with or do you have any sort of ability to provide a phone list? My clients supply me with the list and there's something in the United States, the DNC, which is the do not call list. So legally they have to have this list scrubbed for me because my company is inscribed in the United States. So I do follow all US business and banking laws. They in turn hire my Costa Rican corporation, which follows all the Costa Rican labor laws. So as much as somebody might want to use me as their face man or their fall guy, there's absolutely no way that we're going to compromise our ethics, values, and morals to make phone calls for you. I have to make sure everything checks out. And we're also in a very quick Catholic country. Julian, these agents have to go home and tell their parents what they do for a living. So as much as I want to fulfill the needs of the client, it's much more important to show empathy, dignity, and allowing the agents to feel good about themselves and the job that they're doing.



It's Different When Telesales Agents Really Enjoy The Job
Most of the agents in the States believe that call center and telemarketing jobs are transitional or they look down on it. I don't know why because many people earn a living making and receiving calls.

In Costa Rica they find a second language stimulating and so they're constantly looking to increase their english skills and thus their marketability.

So by making these calls in the United States they really find it fascinating and so what we try to do is to cultivate and grow their second language skills by expanding their vocabulary by explaining certain genres that we have.

Incorporating Soft Sales Skills
We are also serious about incorporating certain soft skills that some people claim that we've lost today because most people are chatting or sending emails.

I prefer to speak with somebody. I think there's a much better chance to retain that client to get a referral, possibly an upsell and even worst case scenario if someone is not doing business with you. Maybe through an exit interview they can tell you ways in which you could imp