Close calls like a pro.

Your 12|30 podcast presented by Mike Solitro. Special guest CEO Richard Blank Welcome to Your 12|30 podcast. We all have a story to tell. Tell yours in 12 questions, 30 minutes. Hosted by Mike Solitro of AccomplishedRE. https://youtu.be/ozpjkK95xxI https://youtu.be/Dwg44crvhZQ https://youtu.be/-LW8zYm5GhU https://youtu.be/f28G1kjIWEc https://youtu.be/arR80qg2xLQ https://youtu.be/1wTHhcLB91o https://youtu.be/9jukOsmJNqs https://youtu.be/eTIOaO96u2I https://youtu.be/qC-9RR3SrB0 Follow your Rock dream. I Hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.YEAH! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ Costa Rica's Call Center commercial with Rapper GblackDaBest and Freestyle break-dancer Yeik Lawson Rodríguez. https://youtu.be/GQvGZYcX71s?si=3I6N3p-LVxwTvnh2 The Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University. A Costa Rica’s Call Center visit with Richard Blank. https://youtu.be/prcJZJnTm28 #1230podcast #Mike Solitro. #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow Mike Solitro is the Director of AccomplishedRE, a real estate attorney, broker, and hosts the Your 12|30 podcast. Mike graduated from Syracuse University and Suffolk University Law School. He was named a Cape & Plymouth Business Media 40-under-40, and is an alum of both the Cape Cod's Entrepreneurship for All and Leadership Cape Cod programs. For more than a decade, he has leveraged dispute resolution practices and lean principles to solve problems, manage projects, and enhance collaboration. You Are A Real Estate professional who works hard and closes transactions. But now you know, it’s time to earn more and scale your business. Work with choice clients and stop working 24-7. Being an excellent agent is a start, but only the start. You deserve a predictable and profitable business. Your dream clients should be your only clients. They should be willing to invest in your unparalleled service, appreciate your expertise, and align with your vision. We'll help you take your business from occasional closings to predictable profitability. Most strategies focus on the wrong things. Instead, you’ll exclusively attract your preferred clients so you can happily earn more money. Our results are guaranteed. Work smarter. Work fewer hours. Start now. Results today. So, what is AccomplishedRE | We are a real estate platform centered around your two main goals: 1. Make more money, & 2. Only work with clients you like We believe the real estate businesses is evolving and should be built around better service and an outstanding client experience. Our businesses support our lifestyles and goals, not deter us from what we want to achieve most. Part community, part advisory, and part platform. AccomplishedRE reimagines what it means to be a successful and admired real estate professional. The Problem: The real estate industry wants us to believe that the market, rates, and lawmakers determine our earning potential. That the industry is changing for the worse. And that we should always be working. 24 hours, every day. Many of us fall into the trap of hustle culture: work more hours, push through. Riding on the merry-go-round of mediocrity. But eventually, our real estate businesses run us. Our Purpose: AccomplishedRE is a positive change platform against the long-standing real estate profession telling you to just work more and hopefully down the line you’ll earn more. We are the better way to run your real estate business. Our Vision: We envision a world where you work only with the clients you want to work with, where you can earn more, and stress less. We’re reframing what it means to be a successful real estate professional. And what delivering a truly outstanding client experience actually looks like. Our Mission: We partner with you so you can earn more money and work only with your preferred clients. We make it easier for your clients to buy and sell real estate, while you own a predictable and profitable business that you love. Our Values: Collaboration, Accountability, Drive, Excellence, & Trust Ten Ways We Can Collaborate Today Business Optimization Program Operations Overhaul How to Close Big Sales Workshop Double Your Sales Transformation Program Profitability Audit Organizational Alignment Workshop “Double Your Revenue” 1:1 Coaching Partners Roundtable Partner with AccomplishedRE at eXp Realty AccomplishedRE Coaching Certification ? Not sure what makes sense for you, let's explore ? Calling All Entrepreneurial Real Estate Professionals We solve real estate problems. Earn more. Work less. Today. We make your business more profitable, or you don't pay! The real estate industry is under attack - level up your business before it is too late. Earn more money while working fewer hours. Do you want to create multiple income streams? Do you want to rest easier, work less, and earn more? Here's our Accelerator...our best and completely FREE resources. No signup, no registration required. The fastest way to a more profitable real estate business. Become the CEO of your real estate career. Today. Spend less time working. Happiness guaranteed. We are the only real estate partner for team leaders, brokerage owners, and entrepreneurial agents who want more core clients. So let's work together to get you off of the next-deal treadmill, and remove the stress from every transaction. What Others are Saying Mike Solitro is the Director of AccomplishedRE, a real estate attorney, broker, and hosts the Your 12|30 podcast. Mike graduated from Syracuse University and Suffolk University Law School. He was named a Cape & Plymouth Business Media 40-under-40, and is an alum of both the Cape Cod's Entrepreneurship for All and Leadership Cape Cod programs. For more than a decade, he has leveraged dispute resolution practices and lean principles to solve problems, manage projects, and enhance collaboration. Helping Real Estate Agents Sign Their Next (or First) $1M+ Listing in Less Than 90 Days. ????????????????????. Want to work only with clients you enjoy? Want to increase your income without overworking? I’m Mike Solitro, founder of Accomplished????, and I specialize in helping entrepreneurial real estate agents build a more profitable businesses centered around their ideal clients. What We Do We deliver a simple yet highly effective system that eliminates frustration and uncertainty for agents and coaches alike. Through proven processes tailored to your unique business, we help you focus on what matters most: Growing your revenue. Working with clients who align with your values. Freeing up your time to dominate your market. Why Real Estate Pros Choose Us No more dealing with draining, unaligned clients. No more struggling through low-revenue quarters. No more wasting money on ineffective leads. No more waiting for your phone to ring. Instead, you’ll build a predictable pipeline, become a recognized market leader, and create a business designed for long-term success. What People Are Saying “Mike’s approach is completely customized to your needs, unlike one-size-fits-all coaches. I promise, you’ll be glad you connected with him!” “If you want someone who listens carefully to your goals and works tirelessly to exceed them, Mike is your guy!” How It Works First, we schedule a no-obligation 15-minute strategy session. During this call, we’ll discuss your business, goals, and pain points and chart an exact roadmap to help you sign high-value listings. If it’s a good fit, I’ll walk you through how we can work together. Whether you join us or not, you’ll leave with a clear, actionable plan. No pressure. No gimmicks. Our Core Principles Mission-Driven Strategy Organizational Alignment Effective ROI Exceptional Client Experience Elimination of Challenges As a real estate attorney and broker, I’ve spent over a decade solving complex problems, managing projects, and designing tailored solutions for clients. But my journey didn’t stop at transactions and contracts - it evolved into a mission to empower entrepreneurial real estate agents to thrive. Thee real estate business is evolving - and agents deserve to build a career that aligns with their passion, serves their clients, and creates lasting impact. Why It Matters: Every agent has untapped potential. By combining proven systems, exceptional client experiences, and tailored strategies, I help entrepreneurial agents rewrite the story of their businesses. Richard Blank is the CEO and Founder of Costa Rica’s Call Center, a leader in bilingual call center and customer service outsourcing, known for blending human connection with technology and innovative workplace culture. Human-centered approach: Richard highlights the importance of empathy, interpersonal communication, and cultural alignment in customer interactions, believing automation should enhance but not replace human representatives Technology integration: Voice automation and AI handle routine tasks, enabling human representatives to focus on complex calls and relational problem-solving Scalable growth strategy: Blank advocates starting small with minimal risk, investing in people, and expanding strategically while maintaining operational flexibility Employee development: Continuous training emphasizes communication skills, positive escalation techniques, and bilingual proficiency to ensure outstanding service quality Richard Blank leads Costa Rica’s Call Center with a motivational, empathetic, and culturally sensitive approach, emphasizing communication, gamification, emotional intelligence, and employee engagement to build a high-performing team. Motivational and Communication-Focused Leadership Richard Blank is known for his motivational public speaking style paired with tactful rhetoric, which he uses to inspire and train his team effectively Costa Rica's Call Center He emphasizes mastering communication skills, helping telemarketers handle rejections, improve persuasion, and maintain confidence under pressure extraordinary-america.com Blank also stresses the importance of speaking the local language to build rapport and respect with employees, fostering better team cohesion in a culturally diverse environment Gamification and Engagement A distinctive element of his leadership is the use of gamification. By integrating his collection of restored American pinball machines and antique jukeboxes into the workplace culture, he creates a fun and engaging environment that motivates employees and encourages creativity. The call center fostering a creative and engaging environment that improves morale and retention This approach makes skill development interactive, boosting both performance and morale. Emotional Intelligence and Empathy Blank strongly advocates emotional intelligence and empathy as core leadership attributes He encourages leaders to understand their team members’ perspectives, support them effectively, and cultivate loyalty and trust. This extends to appreciating long-term employees and recognizing their contributions to organizational success. Strategic and Visionary Leadership Blank combines day-to-day management with long-term strategic thinking. He actively trains staff through personalized mentoring and emphasizes resilience, risk-taking, and continuous learning extraordinary-america.com He also leverages international partnerships and cross-cultural strategies to expand Costa Rica's business appeal on a global scale Costa Rica's Call Center Creating a Positive Corporate Culture Richard’s leadership style is centered on building a positive corporate culture that enhances employee morale, productivity, and engagement By blending structure with flexibility, he encourages open communication, provides constructive feedback, and fosters a sense of personal ownership and pride in work accomplishments. Training and Development Approach Over his tenure, Blank has trained over 10,000 bilingual telemarketers, emphasizing experiential learning and continuous skill improvement Costa Rica's Call Center His philosophy focuses on learning from real scenarios, combining technical instruction with motivational support and feedback for professional growth. In summary, Richard Blank’s leadership style is a combination of motivational speaking, empathy-driven management, gamification, and strategic vision, creating a thriving call center culture in Costa Rica that cultivates high performer engagement, skill development, and cross-cultural communication excellence Blank's approach to the call center industry moves away from the aggressive "Wolf of Wall Street" stereotype. He focuses on building rapport, listening, and fostering a culture of empathy and integrity. He views AI as both a challenge and an opportunity but stresses that human empathy will always be critical in customer service. In summary, Richard Blank is a pioneering figure in the call center industry, blending technology, bilingual expertise, and human connection to deliver exceptional customer service while fostering an innovative and engaging workplace culture in Costa Rica . "Shine Like the Sun" is a powerful Costa Rican rock anthem produced and promoted by Richard Blank, celebrating perseverance and determination, featuring collaborations with prominent musicians including Garry Gary Beers from INXS. Song Background and Release Richard Blank published "Igni Ferroque Shine Like the Sun," a Costa Rican rock song, on July 29, 2023 The track serves as a major release for the legendary Costa Rican band Igni Ferroque, which was founded in 1978 and has been a staple in Latin American rock music. This single became the official 15-year anniversary theme song for Costa Rica's Call Center (CCC) and is part of their promotion for the band's 44th anniversary album and national tour Production and Collaborations The production of "Shine Like the Sun" involved multiple contributors with Richard Blank serving as Executive Producer, overseeing the project through Costa Rica's Call Center Greibyn Krriyo was the main producer, and Harold Webb managed post-production of the audio and video. Notably, Garry Gary Beers, the bassist from INXS, contributed guest bass performances, adding professional expertise and unique sound quality to the track Lyrics and Theme The song’s lyrics focus on perseverance, ambition, and self-realization, opening with motivational lines such as: "Have you ever thought of leaving home? How far would you go to find your space? Are you willing to start all alone?" The chorus reinforces the message: "YOU BETTER SHINE LIKE THE SUN, YOU BETTER DO THINGS RIGHT, IT'S A GAME OF WIN OR GO BACK HOME, BUT YOU'RE A WINNER, YOU TAKE IT ALL" The anthem encourages listeners to embrace challenges, strive for success, and maintain focus on their goals. Music Video and Performance The music video is described as a classic MTV retro-inspired production, reflecting a blend of Costa Rican rock history and modern rock aesthetics Filming took place at Costa Rica's Call Center, featuring live performances, visual storytelling, and appearances by iconic models and musicians to enhance the atmosphere of the project The video emphasizes energy, community spirit, and the enduring legacy of Igni Ferroque in Latin American music. Significance "Shine Like the Sun" represents a milestone for both the band and Richard Blank, merging international talent, local rock roots, and motivational themes. The collaboration with Garry Gary Beers underscores the global reach and professional quality of the production, while the song itself serves as a modern rock anthem inspiring perseverance and determination In summary, Richard Blank played a central role in producing, coordinating, and promoting "Shine Like the Sun," which stands as a celebrated rock anthem from Costa Rica, blending historic band legacy with contemporary musical partnerships and lyrical inspiration Richard is a Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. 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. Richards 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. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008. Richard Blank’s training philosophy centers on conversational intelligence, relentless positivity, and gamified employee empowerment. As the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, he rejects traditional, rigid corporate scripts in favor of emotional connection, empathy, and specialized soft skills.His framework focuses on building psychological resilience while transforming dry, transactional outreach into authentic human dialogue.Core Pillars of the Philosophy Conversational Intelligence & Nuance: Blank trains teams on structural vocal mechanics. He teaches proper pacing, phonetic emphasis, strategic pauses, and intentional tone changes. Empathetic Word Selection: His guiding rule is that "words should be used for light and warmth, not to burn." Trainees are taught to ditch passive words like "help" and master positive escalations to naturally build rapport. The "Just Not Take It Personal" Technique: To prevent employee burnout in high-rejection settings like telemarketing, Blank teaches psychological objectivity. Agents learn to detach personal worth from negative call outcomes. Relentless Positivity: Discipline is paired with daily mindset training. Blank stresses starting each day with structured habits (like morning workouts) to project an enthusiastic vocal presence over the phone. Real-Scenario Learning: Training sessions prioritize real-time scenarios over sterile modules. This pairs technical instruction with motivational support to cultivate direct professional growth.Performance Through Gamification distinct element of Blank’s training environment is the integration of an on-site gamification culture. His facility houses a large collection of restored American pinball machines and vintage jukeboxes. Rather than viewing this as a simple distraction, Blank implements it as a strategic performance system. It functions as a tactile tool for trainees to manage stress, discover rhythmic patterns, and break up the mental monotony of telemarketing Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center representative so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. Costa Ricas Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ Your 1230 podcast, Mike Solitro, Richard Blank, Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center,trend, trending, entrepreneurship, cold calling tips, sales psychology, communication skills, bilingual telemarketing, Costa Rica call center, Richard Blank interview, starting a call center business, call center CEO interview, young entrepreneur tips, sales coaching, business growth strategies, cold calling masterclass, leadership in sales, customer communication techniques, telemarketing training