Hello, and welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building
Profitable Connections. Welcome back to the show,
folks. I'm your host, Michael Foreman, and you're
listening to the podcast where networking is
more than just awkward handshakes and bad coffee.
It's an art and a talent. But here's the twist.
It's an art and talent you can actually learn.
Yes, even if you're the person hiding in the
corner at every event, pretending to check emails.
Networking isn't just a nice skill to have, it's
a game changer. And when you get good at it,
you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner. More
connections, more opportunities, more profits.
It's like unlocking a cheat code for life. So
whether you're the life of the party or the just
let me stay at home and text type, we've got
something for you. So stick around. Let's turn
those awkward small talk moments into big wins.
Now, I've got quite an interesting guest today,
Richard Blank. He's calling all the way from
Costa Rica, and I'll let him go into that a little
bit further. But following his childhood dream,
he owns the largest collection of restored American
pinball machines and antique jukeboxes in Costa
Rica. That in itself... Just sparks all my interest.
But I'll let Richard. Richard, how are you? And
welcome to the show. I'm so happy to be here,
Michael. Thank you so much for having me as a
guest. Yes, I'm in the land of Pura Vida, of
pure life. And I did follow a dream. I grew up
in the 70s and 80s. And Ricky Schroeder's arcade
on silver spoons made everyone envious. And once
you have discretionary income. Instead of buying
a Rolex, I'd rather have three pinball machines.
And so that's what I decided to do. Good, good.
Okay. You know what? I'm going to delve right
into the whole thing. Let me ask a question.
Sure. How has your background in telemarketing
shaped your approach to networking? Great question.
And first is I am the CEO of Costa Rica's call
center. We're a dedicated bilingual. near shore
call center located here in beautiful Central
America, north of Panama, south of Nicaragua.
And real quick for your audience, and there's
no exam or quiz on this, but we're the only democratic
society in Central America, no standing army.
They put their money into education, 95 % literacy
rate, neutral English accent, best infrastructure
in Central America, and companies such as Amazon,
HP, Intel, and Oracle have made a very big name
here. So we have a labor pool that packs a punch.
And before we even got onto the podcast, you're
like, what part of the world you call me from?
And we're very close to the United States, just
a couple hours flight from Florida and mountain
time zone. But a lot of people either have been
to the States, travel, no family. We have a large
expat community here. So we're very attuned to
the North American market. Anyway, in regards
to telemarketing and networking. I see it as
a means to an end. AI, I think, is wonderful
in regards to gathering, but they can never master
empathy. And if they try, it's weird. I don't
want a computer to hug me. What happens is that
people are used to chat, texting, and emails.
We call that omni -channel non -voice. While
today it's the actual reverse. Making a phone
call might seem first class, top grade. going
above and beyond. And if you want to talk about
super old school, strangers or friends you haven't
met yet, you're giving comparisons between being
the life of the party and break dancing in front
of everyone compared to staying at home and sending
texts and both are good for you. But I agree
with that. But there's times, Michael, when people
need to shed some skin and they don't need to
go all out and be the prom king and beat up the
bully. But there are certain things where you
can learn a proper introduction or listening
skills or even asking second and third questions.
So it's not glancing over it. It's actual foundation
interest. And you might have one or two things.
Yeah, of course. And I can remember something
about you a year from now. You respect that.
Telemarketing, a lot of people, it has a bad
rap because of Hollywood or just bad experiences.
But I tell you what, and I'll make this quick.
If someone is clever, rehearsed, does their due
diligence, knows positive escalation so they
can make nice around the company before speaking
to the decision maker, it's a means to an end.
You're gonna make a ton of money. And those that
have that skill are extremely marketable. They'll
never have to look for a job. People want them.
And not only that, but besides being the top
on the board and making a ton of money, just
like yourself, where you do speaking at schools
and helping the younger generation find jobs
and tie a tie and be first class, you have the
chance in this language, in this art of speech.
To literally balance someone's bike and to pay
it forward in regards to grammar, vocabulary,
or just self -confidence and self -reliance.
And so it's a beautiful environment of energy
giving. And when I first got here 25 years ago
and I walked into my friend's call center, just
as a guest, I got the chills. There are some
times you know where you belong. And I saw this
environment. I go, besides being a native speaker,
I have an advantage of them. Secondly, I love
the artist's speech. I thought it was fun. And
so I just took it in a different direction. I
added some play and knowing people and going
old school. But I still believe that a lot of
companies can make a ton of money retaining clients
and prospecting new business. And that's great.
And you keep referencing old school ways. And
people think, come on, that's old school. But
it's so important now, that one -on -one connection.
It's so important. And yes, you have to put the
cell phone down. You have to put the Zoom computer
away. You have to just feel what the other person
is like. What conflict management techniques
have you found most effective in professional
relationships? Okay, really depends on the stage
of the relationship. But in my opinion, I think
adjustments of tone is very important. There's
a technique in sales called mirror imaging, but
you don't want to mirror image someone yelling
at you or cursing at you. But we have a technique
called the buffer boomerang technique where I
can name Michael. That's an excellent question.
ABC is one, two, three. Richard, what's one,
two, three? Michael, that's an excellent question.
One, two, three is ABC. So you read readjust
negativity, put it into positive answer their
questions. Don't be a child getting scolded by
a principal or teacher. Come on, man. That's
not fun. You need to buffer it. Michael, thank
you for bringing that up. Calm you down for a
second there, buddy. But there's certain ways
to earn your respect. And like a chessboard,
you make certain moves and sacrifice certain
pieces. Let's talk another strategy of conflict
management. I don't like to say excuse me. Same
message, different delivery. I'll say, Michael,
for my clarification, was it ABC or 123? Don't
say I'm sorry, excuse me. And also the major
thing people say is how may I help you? But I
said may. I know you did. But help, it evokes
an ego defense. I think of someone sinking in
quicksand and James Bond needs to save you. Depending
on the stage of the relationship, Michael, use
words such as assist. In the middle, it's guiding.
And towards the end, it's lending a hand. Since
English is their second language, we thrive in
the thesaurus. We look at similes to expand their
vocabulary, give them roots and branches, so
they're just not regurgitating the same word
over and over again, which is just stale. They
need to speak like a painting and be colorful
to capture people's attention every 30 seconds,
Michael. So we have checkpoints in these conversations.
It's not a Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross, two minute
pitch where you close them. Sometimes I need
these positive or negative reinforcements from
people. And so something very important. You
wanted to gain the respect of the other person.
and keep that respect. And as long as the person
knows that's what you're trying, that you want
to gain their respect, that goes such a long
way. And in networking, there's a mantra. Know
you, like you, trust you, they'll do business
with you. And know you and like you. That's pretty
simple because everybody knows you. You're a
nice guy. Everybody likes you. Not everybody
likes you. That narrows the field down just a
little bit. But trust you. That's such a crucial
factor. And the respect, the trust, it all goes
hand in hand. Michael, sorry to interrupt real
quick, but people will beat you for price in
contractual terms or whatever. But if I come
into your office and I speak to Judy prior to
meeting you, and I mentioned how amazing this
assistant was or how Billy in the IT department,
I was talking to him having coffee this morning.
I didn't know he went to Penn State, but a nice
guy. He's a football fan. And when you write
these follow -up emails and you do meeting minutes
and you mention these people, maybe, just maybe.
By doing verbal and written positive escalations,
you might get that consideration compared to
the person that's bullying in there. Why am I
telling you this? Because the majority of the
clients that I've closed where I've beaten out
the price in the Philippines and India, they
said, Richard, I love the way you spoke to Judy.
You know you're going to be working with Billy.
And look at that relationship you have prior.
You wiped your feet. You asked permission. And
you knew your please and thank yous. And when
I do things that are outside of the box, where
it's like chum in the water with sharks, and
you and I need to sometimes bite our tongue,
be reserved, or suck in our pride to earn it.
I don't want you to do that, brother. I know
what you're worth. You shouldn't have to work
for free or beg for their business. It should
be done on merit. And I tell you what. If a client
says to me, I can get it for half the price.
I go, listen, Michael, if my person can do twice
the amount of calls in an hour, they can, but
the metrics say they can't because it's a five
minute talk time. Can't do 30 calls an hour.
But if it's lead generation or sales or retention,
and I believe that through merit or old school
training like you and I do, where we call the
balls and the strikes, that gives winning teams.
That makes a difference. Come on, where's Rocky
without Mickey? You got to give Mickey credit
and even Adrian and give the team credit. And
so when people look at me, I go, you're damn
right. I moved from Philadelphia to Costa Rica.
I'm bilingual. I started my own call center.
That's the kind of cat you want. That's raw.
Or you can go to the B company where they don't
even know you. So go with the home run king.
Yeah, man, go with me. And you'll get the sort
of attention that you're looking for. And so.
Absolutely. Okay. How can. Customer support principles
be applied to networking strategies. Customer
support principles. That's what you're all about.
Yes. It's listening. I don't know what you know.
I know what I know. And so the more that I let
you vent. Oh, and I have some interesting advice
for you. Profanity. What do you do, Richard?
I tell you what, if it's like the cartoons where
steam's coming out of their ears. And they're
saying, F this, I'm frustrated with that. Let
them curse. And then I'll go, Michael, you're
done. And then I make you feel guilty. And then
you go, yeah, Richard, I go, yeah, sure. You
can curse three more times. It won't hang up
on you. And then the relationship we have after
you apologizing to me, we get super straight
and then we can walk calmly and resolve your
issue. But if you curse at me, you get a warning.
And secondly, we kill the call. But listen, there
are certain times you will be speaking to someone
on the best or the worst day of their life. Unless
you know them well, they might be out of character.
Or why don't you give the kid the benefit of
the doubt? So as an owner of a company, unless
they're flat out breaking the labor law, throwing
a rock through a window or scratching my car.
And as long as he's not cursing on the phone.
But if there's a Jerry Maguire moment, I understand
the timeout. He's got three kids. He's taking
care of grandma. He's late on his rent. So what
you do is, and I've seen grown men cry, guys
that are twice my size. And I think it's geographical.
What you're saying is, first of all, you have
to have the patience to do what you're saying.
But the patience on the other end, I come from
New York. Okay. That's a hustle and bustle. Come
on, get it done. You don't have what I want.
I don't care. Next. And they don't even give
you that chance. But I've since moved down to
Georgia. Things are a little slower, but we have
a little more patience. And you can actually
respond to the person you're talking to. And
telemarketers, that's a different horse, okay?
Because everybody has their own thoughts on telemarketers.
But you have to have that patience in order.
If you can have the patience before you get on
that phone, then that's half your battle. That's
really good. It can be, but patience can wear
thin. It depends on the person. It depends on
the person and what they're going through. You
may get hold of that person and they're going
through whatever terror they're going through,
whether it's the three kids or their parents
or in -laws or whatever, and doesn't have the
time. But so it really depends on what that person
is going through. Yeah. Yeah. What's up? What's
up? All right. How has gamification influenced
your approach to building and maintaining professional
relationships? Of course. Your best friends were
made on the playground. Kickball captured the
flag. Nerf football in the snow when they called
off school that day, which was great. I love
that. I love that. Of course you do. That's why
you die for passes and stuff. I love it too.
I was also a hockey player. So I'm a huge Flyers
fan when we used to beat your Islanders and your
Rangers. I'm a Rangers fan. I'm a Rangers fan.
Okay, well, that's fine. Bernie Perrant, my broad
street bullies. But where am I going with all
this? You need play. You need to let off steam.
And just because we're an adult doesn't mean
we need to be boring. Look at the movie Tom Hanks.
It was funny. The adult jumping on trampolines
and playing with toys. Why? Because we have responsibilities.
And so I tell you what, many things happened.
First is one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Arcades are going out of business. So I would
look on Mercado Libre and I'd see some guy selling
some game room and I'd drive three hours to Perez
Zeledon with a pickup truck and three of my...
buddies and a wad full of 20s, right? Ready to
buy. And it was great. People were just giving
them away. And you could get a machine for under
500 bucks, spend a couple dollars to replace
certain placas, certain memory cards and the
screens. And now you're sitting on a $5 ,000
machine. So it's amazing. And through the years,
I've collected 13 pinball machines. My oldest
is a 1970s Bally's Camelot. The newest is a 94
Last Action Hero. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Data
East. But I tell you what, when you have this
space, it gives people a chance to meet others
from different departments to try a game. to
try a pinball machine. And they'll say, hey,
Michael, I've played virtual pinball. You're
like, yeah, great. It's like looking at Playboy
and not going on a date. Come on, man. You need
to be real. And so they get to feel the machine
like Elton John when he wrote it. about you could
you feel the machine you become one with it these
and size these electrical mechanical machines
that are just on contacts say what you want of
course you're part of this experience there is
an energy transfer and the ball could either
go into the spot or run down the middle and they're
gorgeous they're beautiful the marquees and the
artwork and especially the ones from the late
70s prior where they used to paint the play field.
So it wasn't a laminate and say what you want.
And Mike, I will say this to you and your amazing
audience. When you know what you love, when I
see these pinball machines and I can have them
and maintain them, restore them, clean them up
and shine them and turn them on. And just when
you're a kid, 25 cents in a pinball will go in
a minute compared to asteroids where I can play
that for 45 minutes. And so. this is a dream
for me. I'm like a child. And I love them, my
purest passion. And the fact that I'm able to
share this with people and we can be equal, we
can tap each other on the shoulder and laugh.
And I've been able to retain people, reduce attrition.
People have fallen in love there. They smoke
less cigarettes. They're on their phone less
in the corner looking at Japanese anime or Instagram.
My man, I've created fun place, fun time. Like
Willy Wonka where he opened up that one room
and you can eat anything and there's a river
of chocolate. You walk into a company. Have you
ever seen a game room? Never. Maybe a TV in a...
ping pong table or something but have you flat
out seen a half a dozen pinball a bunch of fighting
machines air hockey machine and an alpine racer
to name coast ski machine yeah that's how i treat
my people that's how i treat me and so networking
wise when people come in and size me up and have
options of where they can work in the country
they look at that and go you know what maybe
i belong in this environment so it's about showing
to then receive It's amazing. You're really bringing
out the fun that an employee can have, but that
makes them work that much harder. They're much
more into their work because they know that it's
a great place to work. So if you love the place,
you work harder. And that goes to your customers
as well. I always say, because I've owned many
businesses. And you can be one way to your employees,
but if you're not good to your employees, how
can you expect your employees to be good to your
clients? So you have to treat, that's the first
and foremost, you have to treat your employees
the best so they can treat your clients the best
because they're not going to laugh and smile
with your client if they're not happy. And it
sounds like you're making everybody happy. But
as long as we're on the pinball trajectory, what
lessons of the world of pinball machines have
you applied to your networking strategies? Concentration,
using other senses, sometimes anticipation, planning.
Or how about this? Regardless of the outcome,
just enjoying the time. It's like a scent of
a woman. When Al Pacino danced with that woman,
yeah, they had the most beautiful dance for five
minutes. Didn't mean they got married. But I
tell you what, you ask either of them, hey, do
you remember dancing with this person at that
hotel back in 96? They'll be like, absolutely,
I do. You remember somebody for the rest of their
lives, so you don't need 30 years to do it. You
could do it in five minutes. And so you try to
anchor with people. You try to get real. If not,
you're just like everybody else. And you're proving
to me that you're not like everybody else. You're
not like any other employer. And I like to think
of myself in the same way because I've always
treated the employees that way. So I got news
for you. We are the exception to the norm. And
it's unfortunate, but it's true. But you're painting
a rosy picture on it, Michael. And I very much
appreciate this. We might as well show the highlights.
Why don't we show the fumbled footballs and interceptions
and lost, you know, first place. All right. Let
me ask you a question. Talk to me. Because you've
had some great success with your company today.
What mistakes did you make and how did you overcome
it? The number one mistake I made was hiring
supervisors or executives on the outside. I'll
hire specialists for IT and stuff, but it needs
to be promoted from within. So that was a huge
mistake. They never earned the respect of the
people. But my labor pool is about 24 years old.
And most of them live at home. And this is fun
money. And Amazon could hire them first thing
tomorrow morning. So to think about a huge investment
in someone and longevity is one thing. And so
there's a very special balance there. First,
we're very selective of A, the campaigns that
come in. We don't do sports books, casinos, stocks,
pharmacies, or sweepstakes. Secondly, I'm only
150, so I can be selective of the candidates.
But then you say, Richard, You see the shining
object. Yeah, that's like a mercenary. They're
not going to last. They'll be a jumper and a
cancer. I'd rather have an 18 -year -old kid
with great English that can mold like a squire,
okay, that doesn't have bad habits, not a cancer.
I can teach these things. But then again, how
do I really filter somebody out? And even in
networking, this could be a very interesting
question to ask people. I always ask for a coming
-of -age moment. I want to know a time when you
beat up a bully or saved a kitten. Why? Because
Michael might ask you a zig and zag question
every now and again. Put your script down. Maybe
he just wants to know, besides what your golf
handicap, was there a time you stood up for yourself?
Are you capable of telling me a three -minute
story that's not well rehearsed? And so I get
to see people because that might be the way I
get the contract with Michael. Because he's got
10 people to choose from, but no one could answer
the simple question of standing up for themselves
or saving the day. And when I see what some people
write about taking care of families, of younger
siblings, growing up, losing their innocence,
or learning the violin. doing something in regards
to travel or how many books they've read. So
I'd rather hire the marathon runner. I want to
see what somebody does outside of the office,
which showed dedicated practice. Why? So I can
also give you a nickname, call you killer or
baby saver. Let's have kitten saver moments.
I can tell you that on a Wednesday, but then
I get to know you. Come on, give me some depth.
Because if you don't play pinball with me, if
you can't tell me that you saved a kid, then
guess what, Michael? No offense. You might be
qualified and you're a great kid, but I don't
think you belong here. And it's not just me.
It's the 10 other guys you're working with. They're
going to be like, this guy just doesn't fit in.
It's not part of the crew edge. And so that's
what I think about too. I was in the Air Force
for nine years. I was a police officer. And I
saved five lives in that time. And I remember
every single one of them like they were yesterday.
And it's really amazing the difference when you're
trying to serve, when you're trying to do your
best, and you put the other person in front of
you. The world's a better place, I feel. It is.
Thank you for your service. Nine years. And we
use the military alphabet at the end. Why? Because
gentlemen like you've served. So instead of the
call ending, now we're talking about the Air
Force in Colorado Springs, the Air Force Academy
and how awesome and top gone. Which one did you
like? One or two? That was Navy. But still, that's
all right. Yes, it did. OK, so let me ask you
a question. Your top motivation that you give
to your employees. Your top motivation. Guilt.
I let you know that you're better than this and
you're out of character. And come on, you did
44 the other day. What's going on? And I also
say, listen, you saw me last week. I showed up
on time. You saw me last week with three clients.
You even sat in on a business meeting. And I'm
not going to tell someone to tie their shoes
if mine aren't tied. But I'll also see the best
in you. So I'll usually point something. I usually
ask for your permission. May I make a suggestion?
So now we're straight. And I'll usually do it
over coffee. So it's not like I'm going to grill
you, but I will grill you. And then I'm just
going to mention how amazing you are. Then I'm
going to mention about what I saw. And then I'm
going to put myself in there too. And then I'm
going to be quiet and just keep making faces
at you until you say you're right. And then you're
going to start telling me about things that are
happening at home and just things you never knew
about. So I can let off that steam. So I don't
lose you that day. What do you want to review
script or have me start quoting books from Zig
Ziglar or Tony Robbins and stuff? Here's the
thing about people like that. I think success
is amazing and you can have certain mentors and
gravitate towards. But at the end of the day,
they're very alone. These people are looking
in the mirror and realizing what they need to
do. And advice is only so good. So I need to
get something out of them. With broken ribs,
they still need to stand up. And when they see
someone like myself who has the leverage to make
or break them. But takes them off of the floor
when it's not their break time to either praise
them during a moment when they're shining or
a certain time where I see this readjustment
because I just don't want to lose Billy. What
a beautiful time. And so my motivation, unfortunately,
doesn't come through sunshine. It comes through
some darkness. Why? So you can find your own
light. And when you do that, you're golden, man.
I don't even know. Your motivation can come from
either way. It's how you have created your atmosphere,
whether you're going to do it in good times or
bad times, whatever it is, but whatever works.
That's right. Your motivation is so important
because you're letting them know it's going back
to that trust and respect factor that you respect
this person so much that you're willing to find
out what's wrong. Let him vent. Let him get it
out of his system. He's a good person. You're
doing a good job. So come on, get out there and
do your best. Michael, we're cashing in the chips.
If it's a person you've never met before, you
can't do that unless they want to crawl on your
shoulder. I'm talking about an employee. I'm
talking about a track record. You can cash in
those chips. Those are the time you leave the
building so people don't see the scene and you
take the walk. Like a body. And so people and
then they look at you go, I'd never expected
that from you. And then you say, why? Come on,
Michael, how many people know me second and third
chance? It's exact. I guess they didn't. Or they
compared you to other bosses that just piece
them out and fire them. And I don't know, man,
I'm seaworthy. I don't know anything else besides
technology. I got to hire a guy, my accountants,
they got to do the numbers for me. What do I
know? I know how to take a walk and have a coffee.
My goodness. I guess that's the sort of thing
that sustains seasons and tough weather. It's
the only thing I know. It's what separates you
from the masses. That's where people want to
work for you. They want to work for you. They
can take a job. They can take a job anywhere.
But if they want to feel at home, they want to
feel respected, they want to feel like a person,
then they'll work for you. Work with me. Work
with you. Sorry about that. Come on, Michael.
What is it, 1984? Remember, they have the leverage.
They can leave me anytime. It's like a cat. You
don't want to spook the kitty. And then the feral
cat runs away. So there's a beautiful balance
of the open cage bird. And I think I've learned
to understand that through the time. And I tell
you what, by really assisting their English.
And investing in this and giving them proper
grammar and certain suggestions to watch the
face man from the A -team or the show Remington
Steel in their English. I love Remington Steel.
They smile. It reduces defense. Let me ask you
one last question that's going to bring everything
together. Just give me a tip for networking that
you would give to my listeners that they can
begin today or tomorrow. to get them on their
journey. Of course. Dedicated practice in your
delivery. I need for you to record yourself.
And because this is how people are going to hear
you when you leave a message or see you in conversation.
As much as you might think it's funny to sit
in front of a mirror, if you're planning on sitting
in business meetings and networking at a club
and shaking hands and stuff, you better realize
because sometimes people... They get not only
distracted, but they give away tell signs. They
get lazy in regards to self and object adapters,
start biting nails, scratching, doing weird things.
I've always put my customer service people, I
used to have them have a mirror right next to
their telephone. Of course. And when they were
on the phone, they looked at themselves because
when you smile, and you are happy, it comes through
the phone. It comes through and the other person
actually picks up on that, on the vibe of the
person, and they're not even there. So I found
that to be such an important part of customer
service. Well, Michael, they're in the now. They're
not spacing out or thinking of lunch. And I tell
you what, this is something that will make things
very easy for your audience. Like you and I did
prior to the podcast, if you do just a little
bit of due diligence. Facebook, LinkedIn profile,
looking at the website. And it's not to have
it memorized for final exam time, but there are
goodies there. You'll see certain pictures of
someone doing athletics or a company event or
the loading dock that's next to the lake. You
can say, this is beautiful where you guys are
located in Maine. And it's just when people have
called me and you've mentioned it multiple times,
my arcades, if somebody calls me to pitch me,
regardless of any sort of widget. But they go,
hey, Richard Blank, I hear you collect pinball
machines here in Costa Rica. What's happening?
I'm going to give you three minutes unless I'm
on the phone with Michael and I'm busy. I'm like,
listen, credit card at the ready. It's yours
to lose it because you snapped me out of the
trance. You got rid of the bad taste of the black
and blue, bad telemarketers. You might even patted
my ego by saying Costa Rica's call center. How
are you today? I was like. How nice. How nice
is that? You gave me a company name spike, which
snaps me out of the, hi, sir. Can I speak to
a, I don't do things like that. And so I've realized
that instead of making a hundred calls a day,
make 85 calls a day and spend an extra 30 seconds
looking up something and complimenting Judy,
the secretary, and maybe leaving a custom made
voicemail. You might get back that 20%. And you
know what it also does? It doesn't ice a kicker.
You were talking earlier about people in their
rhythms and stuff and why the games are there.
I tell you what, man, when people are on break
time, if they slow down, it's like running in
place at the stoplight, certain marathon runners.
If you go down and play Pac -Man, air hockey,
pinball machine for 15 minutes, don't go back
to the phone. It's not saying you're going to
do it better, but I tell you what, you're still
warmed up. Your muscles aren't sore. So I can
at least guarantee the same, if not better performance,
not ramping up and getting lucky with a curve
shot. It's just, you can't do that. People get
stale, get cold. But what a beautiful art of
speech. You're talking networking. Forget the
guys that are texting. I don't even want to go
there. Let's talk about speech. If you're capable
of reading with conviction, using trigger words,
spiking those for attention so it's not monotone
speech. You should be pausing before names and
numbers for emphasis, okay? You should be name
dropping your name, at least in the beginning
of a transitional sentence. Michael, makes sense,
right? Move forward, right? And then if you say,
but you don't use the word Michael over and over
again, I know to name drop, calm down. It's like
the beginning and the end of the bridge. Okay,
the entrance and the end of the transitional
sentence and the conclusion. But in the middle,
why don't you just emphasize the personal pronouns,
the your, or, what do you mean? Add a quarter
second slide and spike it a little bit because
it's still a tension grabber. It's the cousin
of the name drop. Do you understand? And if you
can do these things every 30 seconds, it gives
you such balance. And movement. But Richard,
two steps back. Yeah, brother, you got to sacrifice
pieces. But I'm moving seven steps forward in
this 30 seconds because I was able to checkpoint
the fact of this. ABC, we checkpointed and moved
it forward. Now, I have something for you. And
you talk about target paralysis in the Air Force
where you focus on the trees or the mountain,
you hit something. People will get target paralysis
on the phone. And I understand that. And one
of the greatest things to do is to be in the
now on so many different buttons to press, things
to concentrate, breathing, if even it's the basics.
And so it's a technique that we use, Michael.
It's a phonetic micro expression reading because
people love to read body language. We can talk
about that on another podcast. But in the course
of 25 years, tens of thousands of phone calls,
I think I've cracked a code. And since you're
my boy. And I'm so proud of your nine years of
the Air Force. I'm going to share it with you
and your audience. Is that cool? I'll give you
some declassified top secret information. Are
you ready for this? Go ahead, go. Okay, let's
do this. Let's do this. Okay. So you have a simple
XY chart. So think about it like this. The X
is your rate of speech and your Y is the speaking
level, the pitch. So it can be done in any language.
So besides your tone of voice, which in my opinion
should be confident and empathetic consistently
until I can readjust your tone, I pay attention
to how fast and how loud you go because I don't
even know you. And so every 30 seconds, regardless
of the transitional sentences, the semantics,
our pitching, our... all the soft skills that
I gave you earlier of the escalation, the company
name spike, the due diligence. I still want to
see if you're going fast, slow, loud, or soft.
Why? Because if you're spiking or dipping, I
stop and I ask a clarification question, if it
makes sense. Sounds good. May we move forward?
So these are insurance policies that take three
seconds to get it to move forward because a lot
of the people, and I've seen this in metrics,
will just run through a call and realize they
don't get the appointment. I'd rather have a
five minute solid than a 10 minute shaky that
doesn't hit. So you need to really solidify this
thing and move it forward. Like in the show Get
Smart, where you walk down the hallway and the
doors close behind them. That's the only way
to seal it, deal it and move it forward. And
so the paralysis. The target paralysis is thinking
of G when you should be on Bravo on B. And so
I'm trying to get these people to focus on besides
carrying this weight, you can mentally after
three weeks of practice, it becomes habit. You
become very lucid in regards to this micro expression
reading. But then you say, Richard, yes, Michael,
can't the tone rate and pitch be manipulated?
Of course it can. The guess is one thing you
cannot manipulate. the duration. The beauty of
phonetics is without silence, you don't have
the sound. So I study even more of a higher level,
the silence time, compared to how your tone rate
and pitches, or even your word choice. Why? Because
someone like yourself, who's part of the police,
Air Force and had extensive training in interrogation
and psychology realized by the third or fourth
question of me cursing at you, flicking the cigarette.
Yeah, copper, you got nothing on me. All of a
sudden, when you show the evidence, look what
happens in regards to that. answering speed.
Either it takes an hour for them to start crying
or they start crying immediately. And so that
cannot be manipulated subconsciously. So if you
are capable in this controlled environment of
160 hours a month, 300 phone calls a day, to
besides doing your job, to crack this code in
regards to being very focused on rate, pitch,
and duration. To know when to ask these questions,
you will reduce your talk time from a 10 -minute
to a 7 -minute call, and your conversion ratios
will go up about 30 % because you're cutting
fat. You're reducing rabbit holes for my clarifications
compared to I'm sorry's. And here's the best
part, the military. Come on, Michael. Emails
bounce back. You got to be kidding me. You walk
through those emails at the end. And you pronounce
those exotic names properly because some people
will say, thank you. No one ever really asked.
They're too afraid to ask how to say my last
name. And that's a wonderful thing to do to somebody.
Don't be afraid. You should ask the proper pronunciation
the first time to not be afraid. And you ask
for secret sauces. Come on, Michael. This is
ABC 123 101. This is how grandma and grandpa
taught you to behave. And if you do these sort
of listening skills in the moment, paying attention,
moving forward, cutting the fat, taking notes,
acknowledging you're going to build an extremely
large business of really solid long -term clients
that will recommend you to people. Because they
know you're a good guy. And they loved you before
any contracts were even signed. Referrals are
gold. It's golden. Especially if they are mentioning
your name and everything. So that goes for a
whole other podcast. But referrals, your whole
goal is for that referral base. Because you do
that referral base tenfold. You've done your
job. That's right. Okay, Richard. Can anybody
get hold of you, either call center, for pinball
machines, for anything? What's the best way that
they can get hold of you? Naturally, buy a first
-class plane ticket, fly down and come visit
me. Besides that. I hear it's freezing up north.
It's cold. I'll give you that. Oh, my goodness
gracious. But now you can send me an email to
CEO Costa Rica's call center and check me out.
And I tell you what, all they need to do is mention
you, Michael, and say that they saw this podcast.
I'll be more than happy to review some scripts.
Some people give some advice for free. My thing
is to pay it forward. Anybody that's got the
guts to make a phone call and are not compromising
their ethics, I think they're wonderful. And
I'm going to say it again, dedicated practice.
Speak out loud, practice your phonetics, record
yourself, pay attention to this stuff. And if
you do, you'll become one of the most incredible
speakers that people will hire, promote. recommend
or say hey will you speak for us you're the guy
and yeah be bold and brave you only get one life
you get 99 years that's all you get what i used
to tell my players i was a coach for 16 years
a baseball coach and the parents should say perfect
practice makes perfect and i said no you're wrong
perfect practice makes perfect so you have to
because if you keep practicing the mistakes you're
going to always make those mistakes but if you
don't And you just practice, practice. That's
what I do with networking, with speaking and
everything else. Because I said in the beginning
of this podcast, networking is a skill. Okay.
And you have to practice, practice in order to
get good. Anyway, Richard, thank you so very
much. You have quite a background. You gave me
quite an interesting, you gave me interesting
thoughts on. the call centers and everything
else. And I hope that some of my listeners or
all my listeners, I don't care, once they reach
out to you, I'll feel better. Okay, so I'll talk
with you soon. Sounds good, Michael. Thank you.
Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let
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-U -P -K -I -D -S .org. Well, that's a wrap,
folks. A huge thank you to our special guests
for sharing such incredible insights today. And
of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
with us. Remember, networking isn't about being
perfect. It's about being present. So take what
you've learned today, get out there and make
some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this
episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us
a review and share it with someone who could
use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep
the conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
Spotify, YouTube or my website. Michael A. Foreman,
remember, until next time, keep practicing, keep
connecting, and keep building those relationships.
This is Michael A. Foreman signing off. Take
care and happy networking.