Listen Up Español News Blog

Meet Juan Carlos Caire, Set Up & Assessment Director

Mon, 23 Mar 2015 21:53:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Juan Carlos joined Listen Up Español in 2006 and works on the Set Up & Assessment team in Mexico. Discover what brings him inspiration and motivation and what he would do with $5,000!

What would you say to inspire others at LUE to improve their personal results?

To identify and have a clear WHY. What you are doing matters… the rest will follow.

What are three words to describe LUE?

Courage, persistency and audacity.

What’s your favorite quote?

“You can get all that you want in life if you help other people enough to get what they want.” - Zig Ziglar.

If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

Ernest Shackleton because of his ability to survive in the Antarctic Ocean for nearly two years and help his crew stay alive. That´s a story of courage, endurance, leadership and many other values that you can imagine.

You are given a bonus of $5,000 dollars, but it has to be spent on knocking one item off your bucket list – what would you do? What are two other things you considered doing?

Travel to Europe with my wife. My other two things would be to travel to Africa and then to South America.

Hispennials: How they're changing the marketing world

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 02:47:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

By Tom Sheppard, Vice President of Business Development

Millennials and Hispanics are two of the least understood and most desired markets for brands. Combining these two demographics creates a new cohort called the Hispennials. As one of the fastest growing subgroups, Hispennials already make up a staggering 21 percent of the millennial generation, which is approximately 17 million people. Such a large number of people translates to overwhelming purchasing power, so it's time for marketers and brands to start paying special attention to this sub-demographic. However, most brands and marketers are lost when it comes to making a connection with Hispennials. The following information is designed to provide insight into this emerging, but powerful segment of the population.

Meet the mighty millennial

Despite all the buzz surrounding millennials, there isn't much truly known about this group other than the fact that they love taking "selfies." Millennials are roughly defined as those born between 1980 and 2000. They represent the largest generation in the history of the United States, at approximately 80 million people. This cohort will wield a gargantuan spending power of more than $200 billion each year starting in 2017. Over their lifetimes, millennials are projected to spend $10 trillion.

Know Hispanics to market to Hispennials

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics currently make up one out of six Americans. This year alone, the purchasing power of Hispanics will catapult to $1.5 trillion dollars. More importantly, approximately 70 percent of Hispanics are under the age of 40. As a result, marketers and brands must position themselves to attract Hispennials – people between 20 and 40 years of age within the Hispanic community.

Digital Hispanic marketing

According to a Nielsen report, 10 million Hispanics watch mobile video for an average of more than six hours each month. Consumption of U.S. Hispanic digital media through YouTube has continued to increase 1.25 times year over year. Simply put, Hispennials are ahead of the digital curve and are 1.5 times more likely to purchase digital media and mobile apps than non-Hispanics, based on a Google Consumer Survey. One excellent example of this trend is the bilingual multi-channel network MiTu. Although MiTu has only been around for two years, it has amassed an audience of more than 36 million subscribers. Surprisingly, MiTu has been able to generate one-third of HBO's viewers, even though the latter channel has been around for more than 40 years. This trend in digital media consumption suggests marketing for Hispennials must include a healthy mix of video and social media. Moving forward, brands will indeed invest more in online digital video targeted to Hispennials.

Content is still king to Hispennials

According to Google, 56 percent of Hispanics who are not online cite the lack of Spanish content as the primary reason they do not use the Internet. The goal for brands is to effectively start the right dialogue and create valuable content specifically for Hispennials through Spanish marketing. In October 2014, Google rolled out the domain .soy, which translates to "I am." This domain was created as a vehicle for Hispanics to connect online. Simply put, Hispennials are hungry for content designed specifically for them. Whether it's in English or Spanish, you can expect to see more content designed specifically for Hispennials.

Hispennials are mobile

Those brands that manage to deliver the right content at the right time across the proper channels will be rewarded with a connected and engaged Hispennial audience. When it comes to marketing through the right channel, Hispennials are also very connected through smartphones. With 80 percent of the 52 million Hispanics in the U.S. already smartphone-ready, you can also expect to see an increase in mobile Spanish marketing.

Embracing Hispennials means embracing the Hispanic culture

Brands must fully embrace the Hispanic culture to thrive in the future. Facebook has chosen to step up to the task by offering marketers different language targeting segments, such as:

Hispanic (U.S. - all)
Hispanic (U.S. - Spanish dominant)
Hispanic (U.S. - English dominant)
Hispanic (U.S. - bilingual)

Undoubtedly, you can expect to continue to see this type of trend proliferate as marketers and brands vie to gain the trust and dollars of the powerful Hispennial demographic.

Sources:

http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/millennial-generation-research-review

http://adage.com/article/news/affluent-millennials-live-spend/238679/

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/us-hispanic-market-digital.html

http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2014%20Reports/the-digital-consumer-report-feb-2014.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/user/mitu

http://www.bardadvertising.com/blog/hispanic-marketing-trends-2015/

http://www.portada-online.com/2015/01/16/sounding-off-david-santana-lost-in-translation-better-serving-hispanics-with-relevant-digital-content/

Creative Hispanic Advertising Tips to Reach Burgeoning Marketing

Thu, 12 Mar 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

This post is an excerpt from a presentation by Craig Handley, CEO of Listen Up Español, at the conference Direct Marketing Day @ Your Desk on March 12, 2015

The Hispanic marketplace is growing by leaps and bounds. Projections indicate that the Hispanic population in the United States will increase by 167 percent between 2010 and 2050, whereas the total U.S. population is only expected to increase by 42 percent over the same period. Looking forward, it is easy to see that the Hispanic market is wide open while other markets will stagnate. If you are looking to grow your business, you should consider bringing your products to this market.

This will require re-thinking your outreach approach in terms of the Hispanic advertising. Your television, radio and print advertising will need to change to reflect this cultural variety. Here are some creative tips to effectively reach Hispanic consumers.

Not English or Spanish, but Both

The Hispanic market speaks a different language; however, you cannot approach members of this demographic by simply translating your promotional materials into Spanish. Most Hispanics in the United States speak both English and Spanish, and some even prefer to be approached in English rather than Spanish. It is important to give people a choice. Sometimes, the choice is not an either/or, but a both/and.

For instance, McDonald's carefully inserts “me encanta” into its mostly English advertisements. This Spanish version of the fast-food chain’s tag line, “I'm lovin' it,” really appeals to the Hispanic consumer. You might also include an emotive reference to “your abuela's cooking,” as the influence of the grandmother is an important cultural cue for many Hispanics. Using this Spanish word is likely to connect emotionally with your consumers, just like McDonald’s use of “me encanta.”

Culture Counts

Speaking the language will only get you so far. Hispanics have a different culture than the rest of Americans, so engaging with customers in this marketplace requires cultural nuances that go beyond language barriers. Culture embodies a series of values, preferences and ways of life, so a Hispanic advertising strategy to promote your business will need to acknowledge these cultural issues.

For example, Dallas-based pizza chain Pizza Patrón saw declining sales during the Catholic season of Lent. The company realized that many of its Hispanic consumers were devout Catholics and did not eat meat on Fridays during Lent. Pizza Patrón adjusted its strategy and was able to increase sales by running specials on vegetarian and meatless pizzas. You can learn from Pizza Patrón and pay attention to the same kind of issues when developing a marketing strategy for Hispanic consumers.

A Tailored Approach

The Hispanic market is not monolithic. Age, geographic location, nationality, ethnicity and level of acculturation represent significant cultural and economic differences. A marketing team needs to leverage this information in order to reach Hispanic consumers. For instance, if you want to reach out to young Hispanics with a high degree of acculturation, you need a specific approach tailored to the unique features of this group. This is going to be very different from a strategy designed to reach older Hispanics with less acculturation. Assuming there is a generic Hispanic market is a huge mistake.

Mexicans make up 65 percent of the Hispanic market in the U.S., but in your area, this may not be the case, so don’t cater to Mexicans if you have a very different composition of Hispanic people in your local market. Similarly, while many Latinos love soccer, Puerto Rican people tend to like baseball and basketball. You cannot make blanket assumptions about Hispanic cultural cues without careful research into your target audience and region.

Much like all marketing, speaking to Hispanic consumers requires careful planning. The potential for growth in this market is immense, so take the time and effort to develop a marketing strategy to effectively reach the Hispanic demographic.

Sources

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/09/03/5-steps-to-capturing-the-hispanic-market-the-last-true-growth-opportunity/

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/marketing-tips-for-reaching-hispanic-americans/?_r=2

Meet Lana Charlton, Director of Client Services | Listen Up Español

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 22:00:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Meet Lana Charlton, Director of Client Services - US

Lana leads Listen Up Español’s client services team in the United States and is responsible for assisting clients using the company’s services and products. She contributes to the goal of helping clients increase revenue and guides the U.S. client services team to create a flawless experience for customers. Lana previously worked at the Swedish Trade Council, where she analyzed the export markets to help Swedish companies reach the Ukraine and grow internationally. She also served as an account and sales manager at Academy Research, where she was responsible for client relationships and managed a team of third-party developers. After spending time as part of CIEE’s billing and registration team, Lana joined Listen Up Español in 2009.

We’re interviewing you because you’re doing an exceptional job here at LUE. Why do you think you do so well?

Thank you, it’s much appreciated to know my modest contribution doesn’t go unnoticed!

I love and truly LIVE my job. I believe being passionate about what I do is what really impacts the final outcome. Nothing is more rewarding to me than knowing that we, as a company, have contributed in one way or another to our clients’ success.

What are three words to describe LUE?

Dedication, passion, creativity.

What’s your favorite quote?

“Per aspera ad astra” – “Through hardship to the stars.” I love challenges and conquering them; to me they represent opportunities.

If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

Probably Einstein. Who wouldn’t want to have dinner with a genius who also happens to have the best sense of humor?

You are given a bonus of $5,000 dollars but it has to be spent on knocking one item off your bucket list – what would you do? What are two other things you considered doing?

I’d use the bonus to participate in another buildOn school building activity. It was truly life-changing.

If I didn’t have an opportunity to do that, I’d add the bonus to the contributions I make to help people who are suffering due to recent political events in Ukraine.

The LUE holiday story

Tue, 23 Dec 2014 21:53:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

A school in Chicago, a school in Haiti and an Orphanage in Mexico all have this in common.

By Tony Ricciardi, President and Co-founder of Listen Up Español

I think that one of the charms of the holiday season is that it’s the time where we all reflect on the accomplishments of the year and set new intentions. In the past days in our yearly strategy meeting we worked long hours evaluating our performance and setting up new goals and metrics. One of the key goals that we are aiming to grow in 2015 is our involvement in corporate social responsibility projects. Not just because it increases employee engagement and motivation or because of the goodwill that the Listen Up Español brand acquires anytime we contribute to good causes. Simply put, and I’m being a bit selfish, it makes me happy. I discovered that helping others is one of the greatest joys of life. And many of my team members at Listen Up Español share that same sentiment. The impact that 800+ employees can make is far beyond what one person could have ever accomplished. So what is the impact? Let me share some of what we have done United As One (one of our core values) in 2014:

We funded the construction of a school in Lezanglias, Haiti. Haiti’s record of illiteracy at 52% is very high, but an even worse fact is that 60% of children abandon primary school before the 6th grade. Thanks to our strategic partnership with Synapse and with buildOn, the nonprofit organization leading the project, we were able to be part of providing the town of Lezanglias with a permanent building for their school. We are helping this community to Grow Brain Cells (another or our core values). I cannot even imagine the impact that increased access to education will have on this small community.

We provided funds for a year-round after school program where students get involved in intense community service. The Benito Juarez Community Academy is located in Pilsen, a Chicago neighborhood, where 97% of the students are of Hispanic descent. Unfortunately, many of those students face hunger, violence and drugs in their communities, all facts contributing to the insanely high dropout rate of 50% in the city. What helps students beat the odds of quitting school is motivation; students who are engaged in community service become change-makers and find the motivation to reach their potential. This year this program is expected to have more than 250 students. I feel a sense of happiness knowing we’re empowering youth to Embrace and Drive Change - another of our core values - and to be our leaders of tomorrow.

I love the fact that many times our employees are the ones that come up with their own initiatives to give back to the community. We support them and this encourages them to continue Going Beyond Themselves – another of our core values. In the past, employees have initiated a recycling program benefiting a local animal shelter and a school supplies drive for less fortunate students in the surrounding community in Hermosillo. This year, our agents were moved with the story of Leonardo Melo Sabag, a baby boy in Hermosillo, Mexico with a rare congenital heart condition that only a pediatric surgeon in Boston Children’s Hospital was able to fix. The baby’s parents started a crowdfunding and social media campaign (#SaveBabyLeonardo) to raise the $400,000 required for his surgery. In Portland we heard that the family was in Boston and we went to visit the family and to give our contribution. The baby’s father shared with us that at first that amount seemed impossible to raise, but that thanks to the fact that he always kept this faith, his little one was able to receive treatment, recover and get to meet great people such as the singer Usher that came to visit him. I’m glad we were able to help this family Achieve the Impossible.

One of our project managers in Portland booked us for the second year to volunteer in Pebble Street Soup Kitchen, a nonprofit who serves 1,100 meals everyday to homeless and low income adults, children and families. Each year we volunteer together to participate in #GivingTuesday, the global movement that the United Nations Foundation started to encourage people to donate time and resources to balance out the commercial frenzy of the holiday season. We spend a great morning working together sorting out donated groceries, cooking, serving and washing dishes.

Last but not least, while we were at our strategic meeting we were honored to celebrate the Posada, a Christmas tradition in Mexico, with 25 children at the Casa Hogar Paz y Bien, an orphanage in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. I was moved by the love and joy that the nuns give to these children - it was something special to see. We had the greatest time hitting a piñata, bringing simple gifts like jeans, pajamas, cars and a soccer ball. But we were the ones receiving the true gifts of long hugs, smiles and the laughs we shared while we were there. Amazing.

So, this holiday season I’m grateful that in Listen Up Español we live our values and that each year we Go Beyond Ourselves a little bit farther to impact in a positive way the communities around us. Give some of yourself to others this season or this coming new year. It will change you and those around you.

Why Aren't You Turning Pesos Into Dollars?

Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:50:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

How to bring a product to the U.S. Hispanic market

By Craig Handley, CEO and Founder of Listen Up Español

Hispanics in the U.S. don't spend pesos, but some businesses still treat them like they do. I have some good news! They’re spending cold, hard dollars. The facts and figures of the growth, purchasing power and potential of this 54 million-person market have been all over the Internet for a while now. There are so many articles on the subject that reading them might feel like listening to a flight attendant telling you how to buckle your seatbelt (click here in case you don’t know the facts). If you still don’t think this market is worth tapping into despite all the information out there, maybe this guide will convince you. (Or maybe you're like my mom, who refuses to try sushi even though I’m always telling her it’s great.)

I run a big company. I understand strategic planning and I know that you have to focus your company’s attention on the most immediate matters. Targeting the Hispanic market may seem like a bigger project than it really is. It takes planning, execution and knowledge to reach Hispanics successfully, just like when you’re trying to appeal to any other target market, but it's easier than you think. Here are a few tips:

Product packaging: Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit. Most Hispanics, depending on their level of acculturation, speak or read English. Why would you invest in new Spanish product packaging? A wiser investment of your marketing dollars would be to focus on earning the trust and respect of Hispanics, but I will elaborate on that later. My point here is: You have a product at your fulfillment center. Ship it and don't let concerns about the packaging prevent you from acting on the marketing front.

Translation: Do you have an infomercial, a PDF, a booklet, an educational product, or a downloadable e-book? Great. Any reputable company working in the Hispanic market can get this content translated or hand you a list of contacts who can do this for you. What's it going to cost? That depends on the number of pages, how many voices you want to dub and whether you want to completely redo segments of your spot. Ultimately, though, the expense is less than you think. I recommend you get three quotes and negotiate. Enculturation is key to make sure your content has impact. A literal translation, or dubbing over the voice of someone who is obviously not Hispanic, is a hit-or-miss strategy.

Online: You have a list of keywords for your English search strategy, right? To target the Hispanic market, translate and buy those in Spanish. Simple. Most companies’ English online marketing strategies aren’t as thorough as they should be, but the simplest of approaches is to apply whatever you're doing in English to Spanish. Your current agency may be able to do AdWords in Spanish as easily as in English, or you can find a firm that specializes in Spanish. I can tell you that when my clients have bought Spanish traffic, their cost of acquisition online has been about 30-40% lower compared to English.

Social Media: Hispanics are hooked on social media, and several studies confirm this trend. One found that Hispanics are twice as likely to share or click on shared content than non-Hispanics. Another interesting find is that content shared by Hispanics is 35% more likely to be clicked on than content shared by non-Hispanics. Last but not least is the fact that Hispanics purchase the products and services they talk about over social media. The bottom line is that offering your Hispanic clients an incentive to leave you a good review or give your brand a shout-out should yield great results.

The Offer: Most of the time, the same offer that you're using in English works in Spanish. Simple changes such as delayed billing or starting with a trial offer will help increase your sales. In some cases, you’ll need to delay the billing on an upsell or present a better premium to convert a trial offer into a pay-today offer. Another key aspect here is how the call is handled. Selling in Spanish is relationship selling more than in any other language. Trust is paramount in your messaging across all channels and it’s critical to remember that cost isn't the most important thing. Make sure the price is in line with the value. Cheap isn’t always good and good is never cheap.

Customer Service: Hire someone who speaks Spanish to staff your current customer service center (in-house or outsourced). Chances are you already have someone who is bilingual on the team. There are also companies that specialize in Spanish customer service, so you can always reach out to one and learn about its services and timelines. I recommend you start in-house and move outward as you grow. Just be careful that Hispanic agents speak good Spanish and not Spanglish, and avoid candidates who have poor grammar. This key touchpoint can make or break your long-term relationship with your Hispanic customers.

My mom was at my house the other day and I bought sushi... She loved it! I bet you’ll feel the same way about your efforts to engage the Hispanic demographic.

How Corporate Giving Can Motivate Employee Performance

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 14:52:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

By Randall Anderson, Chief Operating Officer at Listen Up Español

Is it really more rewarding to give than to receive? Many of us know how great it feels when we donate to a cause that is dear to our hearts. It is also known that gift-matching programs have been around for many years and are commonly used as a recruiting tool for businesses. However, the connection between corporate donations and employee performance is not as widely known. At Listen Up Español we have proven that the connection between being socially conscious and donating to nonprofit organizations can increase employee performance. Ultimately, this makes it a Win-Win-Win situation.

Let’s start with the facts. According to GIVING USA, corporate giving in the United States amounts to approximately $17.88 billion a year. This is an impressive number and the benefits companies receive from corporate giving are well known; some corporations may obtain tax breaks from their donations, while others may experience increased community and political support, and the remainder may simply enjoy helping those in need. For most companies, tax breaks and community support are where the benefits end, but at Listen Up Español we discovered that strategically approaching corporate giving could result in benefits for everyone involved.

Listen Up Español is a call center founded in 2006. Early on and with great ambition the company founders, Craig Handley and Tony Ricciardi, set a goal to give a billion dollars to charity. Although the company growth was significant in its early years, this goal was risky considering the company was still young. We, as an executive team, knew that we had to be creative in how we approached this goal, because we also wanted charitable giving to work for the business. We asked ourselves, “What if it is possible to retain all of the existing benefits from corporate giving and also improve employee performance by adjusting the company’s giving strategy?” Then we decided to test several initiatives in order to find out.

First, we decided to directly involve employees in the decision to donate time and money to a nonprofit organization. Then we connected donations to employee sales numbers by offering to donate a set amount for each successful sale. With these changes, we were able to use corporate giving as an employee incentive to increase sales performance. Regular examination of the weekly sales reports showed that sales conversion numbers had improved dramatically. Specifically, during the weeks when charitable gifts were offered as employee rewards, sales conversion rates increased by 15%. We were very excited with these results! Our executive team also tested doubling the normal cash bonus for employees to see how it would impact their performance. As expected, this too raised the sales conversion rates, but this time by 19.5%. These results demonstrate the power of rewarding employees and specifically that charitable giving, something companies might already be doing, can be used to drive employee performance.

After proving donations enhanced sales performance we focused on finding a nonprofit that aligned with Listen Up Español core values, while at the same time including the interests of our employees and customers. The fundraising method we continue to use was strategically planned, as was the choice of the charity we donated to. The nonprofit that we selected and support to this day for this initiative is buildOn, which serves the educational needs of impoverished children in the United States and internationally. Supporting education is directly aligned with the Listen Up Español core values to “Grow Brain Cells” and “Embrace and Drive Change.” In three consecutive years, the money raised by Listen Up Español has funded the building of schools in Nicaragua and Haiti. Funding also went to a year-round program at the Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago, allowing 150 underserved and uninvolved students the capacity to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service. Knowing the company has a positive impact is one of the best parts of working at Listen Up Español. It is a source of pride for sales agents, middle management and the company founders.

So, it is more rewarding to give than to receive. The key is in the connection of the values of the company, the employees, and the nonprofit organization receiving the funds and executing on those values. I hope other companies and nonprofits find ways to partner and to have a greater positive impact.

Video - We are proud of sponsoring buildOn after school program in Chicago for the second year in a row

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:22:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

We are looking forward to the success of year two of the Benito Juarez HS after school program in Chicago

Why Our Employees Asked Us To Stop Giving Away Cars

Thu, 19 Jun 2014 05:31:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Easy-to-implement ideas to improve your corporate culture and drive employee engagement

By Craig Handley, CEO and Founder of Listen Up Español

We gave a new car away to our employees every other month, six cars in total, to keep the motivation and excitement up among our best performing sales agents. We were really impressed with ourselves and wanted to know what else we could do to improve the happiness factor. We sent out a survey (which we still do today) to ask our employees about the cleanliness, the temperature in the building, the security, the lighting, the management, the pay, the incentives, the likelihood that they’d leave if another company offered them more money, all-in-all we had about twenty five questions. Two months later the same survey showed that the work space was cleaner, the building temperature more comfortable, the security better, the lights brighter, the managers more helpful, the pay was better, our incentive plan produced better results, and less of our employees would leave for more money.

How did we manage to change our employees’ perception and why did they want us to stop giving away cars?

First off, we discovered our core values. Five years ago, in our second year of business, we asked employees to write a statement that would define what Listen Up Español wanted to be when it grew up. We compiled a list of approximately 30 things that we wanted to be recognized for and went through a rigorous process to determine our seven core values. Some of the 30 were merged together, others were deemed less important; however, over three days we were able to determine the most significant characteristics of our business. Then we set out to support those core values.

If you haven’t determined your precise list of values, you can still implement the following ideas based on values you want your company to embrace in order to improve your corporate culture.

To ensure you’re able to prove your success, send out a survey to employees about the current company culture. Ask them to rate agent pay, schedule, commissions, management, lighting, cleanliness, etc. Then implement a few projects that align with the values you have or would like to have in your business.

At Listen Up Español, the value of “Going Beyond Ourselves” is very important. We decided to align with a non-profit organization that builds schools in impoverished communities in Latin America and also supports young Hispanics living in the United States. We worked with our partners to donate $1.00 for every sale of a specific product that could be sold across all product lines. In total we donated over $30,000 over two months. Our corporate culture department set out a video contest to employees and the winners went to Nicaragua for a week to help build a school in the town of Jicaro.

We also believe in “Growing Brain Cells” so we bought multiple copies of approximately fifty books that aligned with our business and built our own library. Our employees look forward to the new business books that we constantly bring to the library.

Our business strives to be “United as One” so in our survey when we asked about incentives the feedback showed that winning a car is great for the one person who wins the car, and it does align with our core value of “Living Life Like an Extreme Sport” however the majority of our employees, including the top performers, asked us to stop giving away the cars and come up with a broader selection of incentives that gets as many people as possible to benefit.

But wait, there’s more! By donating a dollar per sale to a non-profit, we increased conversions by an amazing 15 percent. We saved money, we improved performance, and by listening to our employees (which costs nothing) we raised the happiness bar and changed the perception of the company.

Here are eight ways to put focus on your culture:

Hire a culture manager. Someone who specializes in projects that support the values you want in your business.
Add some unconventional questions to your interview process. Experience is part of the picture, but hiring someone who fits your culture is more important.
Hire slowly and fire quickly. As soon as you’re not sure about someone in your company than it’s time to replace them. If you’re asking yourself if they are the right person they aren’t.
Be transparent with your company goals & financials. Everyone in your company has an oar. If they paddle together you get there quicker.
The 10-minute meeting. Do one everyday. Each department head will share good news whether personal or business. They will mention challenges/stuck points they are having and who they need help from.
Are there books that help you define what your business is? That shaped your ideas? Buy copies and give them away or loan them out. Consider promoting 5 hours a week dedicated to “growing brain cells.”
Give back. Find a cause your team believes in and set up projects that rally around that cause. Don’t give money away just to do it. Set goals and give away money as a company when goals are achieved. You can’t take care of others until you take care of yourself.
Have fun outside of work. If you’re culture is taking shape, the people in your business are people who you relate to and enjoy. Spend time with them. If you wouldn’t have them over to a barbeque than they don’t belong in your company.

Listen Up Español Ranked Among Top 50 Teleservices Agencies

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 17:21:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Español recognized in CUSTOMER magazine’s 29th edition of the Top 50 Teleservices Agency Ranking, which lists top teleservice firms in the world.

The bilingual call center was ranked in the categories of international, international inbound and global aggregate call-centers. In order to qualify for the ranking, agencies must respond to a comprehensive questionnaire that reflects an in-depth look at the company’s operations. They are also required to disclose the .... read more

Listen Up Español Named As Finalist In 2O14 Contact Center World Awards

Fri, 28 Feb 2014 18:46:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Español was named Finalist in the 9^th annual Contact Center World Awards (Top Ranking Performers). The categories included Best Executive, Best Scheme, and Best Supervisor. This accolade is important because it focuses on Contact Center operations - people, processes and performance. Being a Finalist acknowledges Listen Up Espanol’s commitment to serving the U.S. Hispanic market.

Julio Ortega Wins Gold In 2014 Stevie Awards

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 18:21:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Julio Ortega Wins Gold In 2014 Stevie® Awards For Sales & Customer Service

The Stevie Awards are the world’s top sales awards, contact center awards and customer service awards. Julio Orgea’s capacity to win a Gold Award reflects the commitment that he has made to himself, his team and the company to “Deliver Awesomness”. It is this caliber of agents, supervisors and managers that work to produce the best outcome for Listen Up Espanol clients.

LUE Stevie Awards Press Release

Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:31:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Español is off to a great start in 2014. Being named a Finalist in the Young Customer Service Professional category in the eighth annual Stevie® Awards marks their second award this year. Listen Up Español’s young professional will ultimately be a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winner in the program.

LISTEN UP ESPAÑOL WINS

2014 STEVIE® AWARDS FOR SALES & CUSTOMER SERVICE

Listen Up Español lands its second prestigious award in January

Portland, Maine – January 29, 2014 – Listen Up Español was named a Finalist in the Young Customer Service Professional category in the eighth annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and will ultimately be a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winner in the program.

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious International Business Awards and the new Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

The final results will be announced during a gala banquet on Friday, February 21 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Finalists from the U.S.A. and several other nations are expected to attend.

More than 1,500 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 36% over 2013. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 129 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.

Finalist Julio Ortega joined Listen Up Español as an agent in July of 2009 before accepting the challenge of Contact Center Supervisor in 2011. His individual and team accolades included “Team of the Month” for 9 consecutive months and “Supervisor of the Month” for 5 consecutive months. These performances were noteworthy because 91% of his team was in their first year of employment with the company. “Julio Ortega is known as the “Supervisor of Quality” at our contact center. His ability to motivate individuals and create a productive team environment is extraordinary,” said Randall Anderson, C.O.O. of Listen Up Español.

More than 100 members of seven specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging, to take place January 27 - February 5.

“In a record-breaking year for nominations, the judges saw extraordinary quality in the achievements portrayed in these Finalist nominations,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “The final judges should enjoy reading and evaluating such a treasure trove of excellent work.”

“We strive to do more and more to deliver the best outcome for our employees and clients. Julio Ortega is an example of this commitment. What makes Julio unique is that where most great sales people are poor leaders Julio is an incredible leader. He has an innovative leadership style and passion for improvement which made his transition from agent to supervisor seamless. His numbers speak for themselves and winning a Stevie Award at 27 years of age is an exceptional achievement and acknowledges that he knows the meaning of "Delivering Awesomeness,” said Craig Handley, C.E.O. of Listen Up Español.

About Listen Up Español

Listen Up Español is the leading Spanish language call center and dominant online marketer focused solely on the U.S. Hispanic market. The company offers direct response, non-profit and corporate clients a broad range of bilingual call center services specializing in inbound sales, customer service and lead generation. Listen Up Español also offers online Hispanic marketing solutions including SEO, SEM, social advertising, organic marketing, social marketing and conversion rate optimization. For more information about Listen Up Español, please visit http://www.listenupespanol.com.

About The Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. A sixth program, the German Stevie Awards, will debut later this year. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors and supporters of the eighth annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include the BusinessTalkRadio Network, Competence Call Center, and ValueSelling Associates.

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Media Contact:

Nelson Hill (207)774-1425 X113 Nelson@ListenUpEspanol.com

$170,000 Gift Works to Keep Kids at Juarez High School off the Streets in 2014

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 22:21:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Español continues its partnership with buildOn by donating $170,000 to afterschool programs at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago. The gift will fund an entire year of programming to keep students engaged and committed to the buildOn movement.

Listen Up Español supports nonprofit buildOn and contributes $170,000 to afterschool service programs at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago.

Portland, ME - (January 9, 2014) Listen Up Español, has contributed $170,000 to support buildOn’s Afterschool service programs at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago.

buildOn’s Afterschool Service Program at Jaurez High School empowers approximately more than 150 underserved and uninvolved students each week to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service - working with senior citizens, the homeless, and younger children locally. Additionally, through this partnership, buildOn organizes three school-wide service days for the entire student body and collaborates with teachers to integrate service learning into classroom curriculum.

The program also takes 12 students from Juarez High School to build schools in some of the poorest countries on the planet, including Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua, Malawi and Senegal. In 2014, Juarez students will travel to Haiti this spring and to Malawi this summer to break ground on a school.

“Listen Up Español's support of buildOn at Juarez, where more than 94% of students identify as Hispanic, speaks powerfully,” said Paul Boye, buildOn illinois Regional Manager. “The students, faculty, and administration at Juarez have enthusiastically embraced buildOn to make incredible strides to transform students as committed and involved change-makers in the Pilsen and surrounding community.”

The gift from Listen Up Español will fund an entire year of programming at Juarez High School, helping keep students engaged in school and off the streets.

“We chose Juarez high school because it was the perfect cultural fit. It allows our call center agents and staff in Mexico to help first and second generation Mexican students and give them a chance to graduate from high school and pursue college,” said Tony Ricciardi, President of Listen Up Español. “The buildOn community service requirements push the teens to go beyond themselves which aligns with Listen Up Español’s core values.”

In addition to funding the buildOn afterschool program at Juarez High School, Listen Up Español has funded the construction of a buildOn school in Nicaragua and one in Haiti.

About Listen Up Español: Listen Up Español is the leading Spanish language call center and online marketer focused solely on the U.S. Hispanic market. The company offers direct response, non-profit and corporate clients a broad range of bilingual call center services specializing in inbound sales, customer service and lead generation. Listen Up Español also offers online Hispanic marketing solutions including SEO, SEM, social advertising, organic marketing, social marketing and conversion rate optimization. For more information about Listen Up Español, please visit http://www.listenupespanol.com

About buildOn: At home or abroad, buildOn’s goal is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. In the U.S., buildOn empowers urban youth to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service and to change the world by building schools in some of the economically poorest countries in the world. Internationally, buildOn is constructing schools in Haiti, Nicaragua, Nepal, Senegal, Malawi, and Mali. Our students have contributed over 1.2 million hours of service in the U.S., and have helped build more than 587 schools around the world. buildOn operates afterschool programs in 13 Chicago public high schools where students have contributed over 200,000 hours of service to their community.

Contact Information
Carrie Pena buildOn http://www.buildon.org +1 (224) 420-1825	Nelson Hill Listen Up Espanol http://www.listenupespanol.com/ 207-774-1425 x113

Listen Up Español Recognized as One of Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ In The U.S.

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 21:53:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Español wins Achievers highly regarded 50 Most Engaged Workplaces award. “Employee engagement is not just a buzz word,” said Achievers CEO, Patrick D. Quirk, and they know it. The importance of Listen Up Español’s core values were highlighted by winning this award alongside such prestigious companies as Zappos.com.

Leading Spanish call center and online marketer wins prestigious award.

January 14, 2014- Achievers, the leader in Employee SuccessTM software, today announces its 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ in Canada and the United States. This annual award recognizes top employers that display leadership and innovation in engaging their workplaces.

“The Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ understand that employee engagement is not just a buzz word, but that engaged employees provide businesses with a unique competitive advantage. Companies that focus on employee success have better engagement and alignment with business objectives and company values,” said Achievers CEO, Patrick D. Quirk. “These companies serve as role models for other businesses to engage their own employees and build success.”

Listen Up Español, named one of Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™, is the leading Spanish call center and online marketer and has over 800 agents. The company provides teleservices and online services to reach the U.S. Hispanic market with optimum results. For 3 years they have made the Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Workplaces at a 123% growth rate because their 7 core values are a way of life. Leadership has practiced one core value of “Living Life as an Extreme Sport” continuously. In extreme sports you use a little risk and a lot of creativity to push the boundaries of what’s possible, while keeping things fun and interesting. This makes for an especially engaging workplace.

The Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ Awards panel of judges evaluated each applicant based on the Eight Elements of Employee Engagement™: Communication, Leadership, Culture, Rewards & Recognition, Professional & Personal Growth, Accountability & Performance, Vision & Values and Corporate Social Responsibility.

With core values like “Being True to Ourselves and True to Others,” “United as One,” “Achieving the Impossible,” “Living Life as an Extreme Sport,” “Growing Brain Cells,” “Driving and Embracing Change,” and “Going Beyond Ourselves,” it is only natural that employee engagement is soaring high at Listen Up Español. “We'll always strive to do more, because that's who we are, but being named one of Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ is a great achievement and a sign that we're on the right path. Listen Up Español is all about “Delivering Awesomeness” and we are excited to be acknowledged for the effectiveness of our core values, our innovative programs, and our dedication to employees,” said Craig Handley, CEO of Listen Up Español.

The panel of 14 judges included various academics and thought leaders on employee engagement, and included representation from organizations such as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA), and Human Capital Institute (HCI) and Northern California HR Association.

For the full list of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™, please visit www.achievers.com/engaged. Follow the conversation on Twitter at @Achievers or use #Achievers50.

About Listen Up Español

Listen Up Español is the leading Spanish language call center and online marketer focused solely on the U.S. Hispanic market. The company offers direct response, non-profit and corporate clients a broad range of bilingual call center services specializing in inbound sales, customer service and lead generation. Listen Up Español also offers online Hispanic marketing solutions including SEO, SEM, social advertising, organic marketing, social marketing and conversion rate optimization. For more information about Listen Up Español, please visit www.listenupespanol.com

About Achievers

Achievers delivers the only true cloud-based Employee Success Platform™ that enables remarkable business success. Designed specifically to meet the complex needs of today’s changing, modern workplace, it is the most engaging software specifically designed to engage, align and recognize employees. It is software employees love to use every day in over 110 countries. Achievers is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco. Learn how your company can change the world works at www.achievers.com.

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Media Contact:

Nelson Hill

Nelson@listenupespanol.com

207-774-1425x113

$170,000 Gift Works to Keep Kids at Juarez High School off the Streets This Christmas

Fri, 27 Dec 2013 16:50:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Espanol, leading Spanish call center and onlie marketer, continues partnership with buildOn by donating $170,000 to support afterschool service programs throughout the year where over 94% of the students identify as Hispanic. In addition, Listen Up espanol will fund the construction of a buildOn school in Haiti this Spring.

Non-profit, buildOn announces that Spanish marketing firm, Listen Up Español, has contributed $170,000 to support afterschool service programs at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago.

Chicago, IL (December 20, 2013)

Non-profit, buildOn announces that Spanish marketing firm, Listen Up Español, has contributed $170,000 to support afterschool service programs at Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago.

buildOn’s Afterschool School Service Program at Jaurez High School empowers approximately more than 150 underserved and uninvolved students each week to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service - working with senior citizens, the homeless, and younger children locally. Additionally, through this partnership, buildOn organizes three school-wide service days for the entire student body and collaborates with teachers to integrate service learning into classroom curriculum.

The gift from Listen Up Español will fund an entire year of programming at Juarez High School, helping keep students engaged in school and off the streets.

In addition to funding the buildOn afterschool program at Juarez High School, Listen Up Español has funded the construction of a buildOn school in Nicaragua and one in Haiti.

Listen Up Español Joins National #GivingTuesday

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:46:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Leading Spanish Call Center And Online Marketer Encourages Employees to Spend With A Purpose

PORTLAND, ME-(December 3, 2013)- Listen Up Español has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind initiative that will harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners.

Listen Up Español will join forces with charities, families, businesses, and individuals to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday inspires people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities and Listen Up Espanol is on board. “Our core value of “Going Beyond Ourselves” aligns with the purpose of #GivingTuesday which provided an opportunity for both of our U.S. and Mexico employees to participate.” said Tony Ricciardi, President of Listen Up Español.

Listen Up Español, the leading Spanish language call center and online marketer has over 800 native-speaking call agents. The company provides teleservices and online services to reach the U.S. Hispanic market with optimum results.

Locally, Listen Up Español partnered with the Preble Street Soup kitchen. The mission of Preble Street is to provide accessible barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty and to advocate solutions to those problems. Everyday more than 1,100 meals are served to homeless and low-income adults, children, and families. In Mexico, employees have set up a donate a toy table and will be giving to a local charity in Hermosillo, MX.

Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season, thought leaders in philanthropy, social media, and grassroots organizing joined together to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. By bringing together a group of founding partners-including United Nations Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, Mashable, Blackbaud, charity:water, GlobalGiving, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Kiva, Darden Restaurant Group, Groupon, Unilever, and Venture Three Capital- nationwide discussions occur to make #GivingTuesday a success. Now each week, new organizations join the movement and are providing creative ways people can embrace #GivingTuesday and Listen Up Español is no different.

About #GivingTuesday

The second annual #GivingTuesday will take place on December 3, 2013. It inspires personal philanthropy and encourages bigger, better, and smarter charitable giving across multiple media platforms during the Holiday Season.

About Listen Up Español

Listen Up Español is the leading Spanish call center and dominant online marketer focused solely on the U.S. Hispanic market. The company offers direct response, non-profit and corporate clients a broad range of bilingual call center services specializing in inbound sales, customer service and lead generation. Listen Up Espanol also offers online Hispanic marketing solutions including SEO, SEM, social advertising, organic marketing, social marketing and conversion rate optimization.

About Preble Street

Preble Street is people working together to turn hunger and homelessness into opportunity and hope through programs that operate 24/7/365 to meet the needs of over 500 people each day. From a nutritious meal to crisis intervention, from clean clothes to health care, from showers to a permanent home, Preble Street programs to only meet urgent needs but also create solutions to homelessness and hunger.

Listen Up Español Wins in Best in Biz Awards 2013

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 17:46:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Español makes a monumental comeback after one of its hardest years in history. The leading Spanish language call center and dominant online marketer battled adversity with dedication and innovation and wins this year’s Best in Biz Award for Company of the Year. Best in Biz Awards are the only independent business awards program judged by members of the press and industry analysts.

Listen Up Español Wins in Best in Biz Awards 2013

Co-Founders of Listen Up Español rock their world by accepting the award for Company of the Year

Portland, ME –(Nov 21, 2013) – Listen Up Español has been named a silver winner in Company of the Year category in Best in Biz Awards, the only independent business awards program judged by members of the press and industry analysts.

Listen Up Espanol made a remarkable comeback from one of the hardest years in its history by counting on its people to execute on processes, refining operational techniques and working with clients on media spends. Everyone in the organization embraced the core values “United as One” and “Embrace and Drive Change” that perpetuated success for the company.

“Being named Company of the Year for 2013 by a panel of top industry analysts and journalists is one of our greatest achievements this year,” says Tony Ricciardi, Co-Founder and President of Listen Up Espanol. “Listen Up Espanol is all about “Delivering Awesomeness” and we are excited to be acknowledged for our innovation and dedication in marketing to the U.S. Hispanic.”

The third annual Best in Biz Awards program was the most competitive in its history and the most distinguished judging panel yet assembled. Public and private companies varying in size and industry from North America made submissions for this award. Categories included Company of the Year, Best Place to Work, Most Innovative Product of the Year and more.

“The Best in Biz award acknowledges Listen Up Espanol’s leading position in the Spanish telemarketing industry,” says Craig Handley, Co-Founder and CEO of Listen Up Espanol. “We have made a commitment to Spanish marketing as demonstrated through our expansion into online marketing to the U.S. Hispanic consumer.”

Winners of Best in Biz Awards 2013 were determined by an independent panel of 51 judges from top-tier news, business and technology publications, as well as broadcast outlets and analyst firms, such as Bloomberg Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, Computerworld, Crain’s New York Business, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Financial Times, Fortune, Hartford Courant, Inc. Magazine, Reuters, San Francisco Chronicle, Small Business Digest and USA Today.

About Listen Up Español

About Best in Biz Awards

Best in Biz Awards recognizes top companies, teams, executives and products for their business success as judged by established members of the press and industry analysts. Best in Biz Awards honors are conferred in three separate programs annually: North America, EMEA, and International. Entries are currently being accepted in the third annual Best in Biz Awards 2013 EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) program, until the final entry deadline on January 24, 2014. Any organization from any industry operating in EMEA may enter any of the more than 50 company, department or team, executive and product categories. For more information about the entry process and categories in the EMEA program, please visit: http://emea.bestinbizawards.com. For a full list of gold, silver and bronze winners in Best in Biz Awards 2013, visit: http://www.bestinbizawards.com/2013-winners.

MEDIA CONTACT: Nelson Hill
(207)774-1425 Ext.113
Nelson@listenupespanol.com

Listen Up Español Sets the Bar for Spanish-Language Teleservices

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 20:03:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Espanol delivers another year of success to their clients. The leading Spanish-language call center continues to show its expertise in handling a variety of campaigns in the U.S. Hispanic Market.

Listen Up Español Sets the Bar for Spanish-Language Teleservices Representing Top IMS Ranked Campaigns

Premier Spanish Language Call Center Delivers Year of Success with Top Performing Campaigns

PORTLAND, ME—(September 23, 2013)—Listen Up Español announces another year of success as the premier Spanish-language Direct Response call center, handling 30 of the top Long Form Infomercial Monitoring Service (IMS) ranked campaigns, 15 of the top Short Form IMS and five top Non-Profit ranked campaigns.

These campaigns have all been ranked in the Top 5 of their various product categories; including Health & Fitness, Beauty and Kitchen & Housewares. Listen Up Español facilitates telemarketing services in Spanish for clients such as DermaWand, Tristar Products, InStyler, Emson, and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Listen Up Español offers direct response, non-profit and corporate clients a broad range of Spanish teleservices from inbound and outbound sales, customer service, and lead generation to Spanish campaign planning, scripting and production services. With a focus on measurement, training and a sales psychology, Listen Up Español has the experience to turn customer interaction into revenue.

“Top direct response marketers have learned that the most effective way to create a successful campaign in English is to make sure it’s in Spanish too,” said Tom Sheppard, Vice President of Business Development for Listen Up Español. “We are proud of our successes and look forward to helping marketers continue to maximize the awesome potential of this critical market segment.”

For more information on how Listen Up Español continues to “Deliver Awesomeness”, please visit http://www.ListenUpEspanol.com.

About Listen Up Español

Listen Up Español is the leading Spanish language call center for the U.S. Hispanic market. Headquartered in Portland, Maine and operating in Hermosillo, Mexico, the company employs over 800 native Spanish-speaking agents and provides companies with teleservices to reach the U.S. Hispanic market with optimum results. For more information about Listen Up Español, please visit www(dot)listenupespanol(dot)com.

About IMS

IMS is wholly owned by Media Analytics, LLC. The company is the leading provider of direct response "infomercial-related" research, monitoring, and analytical reports.

Listen Up Español Continues Growth with New Hires and Promotions

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 20:29:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Espanol is growing exponentially. The leading Spanish-language call center for the U.S. Hispanic market meets the demands of a diverse client base head on:

“We look forward to working with our existing team members in their new roles and new hires after years on the front lines of customer engagement and telecommunications,” said Tony Ricciardi, president and co-founder of Listen Up Español. “

The Listen Up Espanol management team prides themselves on aligning their core values with execution. In this case, “embracing and driving change” and “united as one” are two core values that meet the objectives of the expansion. Employees can identify with the values and be clear in their own execution strategies while experiencing the rewards of a clear corporate vision. This is a win-win.

Tony Ricciardi Named Chair of ERA

Fri, 23 Aug 2013 19:16:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Tony Ricciardi Named Chair of Electronic Retailing Association’s U.S. Hispanic Council

President & Co-Founder of Listen Up Español Leads U.S. Hispanic council encouraging participation from ERA Members

PORTLAND, ME—(August 12, 2013)—The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) announced Tony Ricciardi, President and Co-Founder of Listen Up Español, as Chair of the U.S. Hispanic Council.

The ERA U.S. Hispanic Council serves as the voice of U.S. Hispanic direct response marketers and service providers. This council supports the expansion of knowledge surrounding U.S. Hispanic direct response advertising. The council functions as a peer forum or networking body for interaction, idea exchange and education.

“I am thrilled to accept the Chair position for the ERA U.S. Hispanic Council,” said Ricciardi. “The ERA’s continued dedication to the development of this council highlights their recognition of the importance of the U.S. Hispanic market and developing marketing strategies to be inclusive of this growing demographic.”

Ricciardi will serve as the ERA U.S. Hispanic Council’s leader during committee and council gatherings. His knowledge of the U.S. Hispanic market will help influence the future direction of the council and guide those looking to connect with the U.S. Hispanic consumer.

As President and Co-Founder of Listen Up Español, Ricciardi is instrumental in the company’s growth and its commitment to helping reputable corporations, small businesses and direct response companies reach the influential U.S. Hispanic market. Having spoken on “Engaging U.S. Hispanic Consumers for Market Domination,” and written for multiple outlets on “Philanthropy and the U.S. Hispanic Market,” Ricciardi has quickly cemented his reputation as a thought leader in regards to the U.S. Hispanic demographic.

Once a corporate sales and management team member with MCI Telecommunications, Ricciardi quickly became a driving force in multiple direct response and online ventures including the expansion of Listen Up Español. He focuses on new business development and strategic alliances and helps merchants, service providers and affiliates boost sales and revenues, both online and offline.

About Listen Up Español

Listen Up Español is the leading bilingual call center for the U.S. Hispanic market. Headquartered in Portland, Maine and operating in Hermosillo, Mexico, the company employs over 800 native Spanish-speaking agents and provides companies with teleservices to reach the U.S. Hispanic market with optimum results.

Listen Up Español offers direct response, non-profit and corporate clients a broad range of call center services from inbound and outbound sales, customer service, and lead generation to Spanish campaign planning, scripting and advertising production services. With a focus on measurement, training and a sales psychology, Listen Up Español has the experience to turn customer interaction into revenue. For more information about Listen Up Español, please visit http://www.listenupespanol.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Mari Escamilla

(310) 341-7352

Mari@marketingmavenpr.com

Listen Up Español Creates Internal Loyalty With External Charity

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 17:02:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Listen Up Español (LUE) is a leading Spanish-language call center focused solely the U.S. Hispanic market, based in Portland, Maine, with more than 800 Spanish-speaking agents also operating out of an office in Hermosillo, Mexico. During the past year, the company has been in the midst of a chari- table campaign to build a new school in Nicaragua — and has created a powerful.... continue reading →

Interview With Craig Handley & Tony Ricciardi Of Listen Up Español

Tue, 07 May 2013 17:12:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

What does it take to be an Entrepreneur? Join us as Craig and Tony share their Entrepreneurial mindset and an inside glance at their journey of becoming successful Entrepreneurs.

Craig is a networking monster with an unstoppable combination of hard work, ingenuity, and creativity that has sparked the vision and growth that drives the success of both companies he leads: Listen Up Español and its sister enterprise, Revenue Enhancement Consultants.

Tony is an entrepreneur and visionary who embraces the challenges of multi-cultural marketing in North America. His two favorite company core values are “growing brain cells” and “going beyond ourselves”.

Account Executive

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:49:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

POSITION SUMMARY

Work with the growing Hispanic demographic in a global industry. A fast paced and casual work environment will provide a wealth of opportunity for the right candidate. The ideal candidate will be passionate and outgoing, professional and well organized. The right candidate will enjoy traveling; have flexibility in work hours and drive to build great relationships. Ability to multi-task, prioritize and communicate clearly a must. If you excel in a team environment with little supervision and enjoy a multi-faceted role, we want to see your resume. If you want to become an integral team member with an industry leader, this might be the opportunity for you. Work with a fun and growing company in the heart of downtown Portland where the possibilities are endless.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide an unforgettable client experience resulting in all clients being reference-able.
Maintain and grow call volume and clients across all accounts.
Analyze daily campaign performance including client metrics, media performance, etc.
Serve as a client advocate and communication liaison between operations and clients.
Provide feedback and solutions that generate results for client and company.
Work with all appropriate parties (internal and external) to ensure successful campaign launches.
Provide research and product information to facilitate training and New Campaign Launches.
Analyze all aspects of DR campaigns, scripts, creatives, offer types, price points, CTA alignment and verbiage to provide the best option for optimal results.
Know all aspects of a campaign and reporting on a global level to management.

EDUCATION

Bachelors Degree in business, international business, Spanish, or area of study that best positions you for success in this role.

EXPERIENCE AND KEY QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Minimum of 5 years experience in a professional environment.
Minimum of 2 years experience in sales, account management or account executive role.
Ability to travel internationally required.
Must be able to pay close attention to detail at all times.
Ability to successfully manage multiple projects and clients at the same time.
Spanish speaking desired and preferred, but not required.
Call center experience, desired and preferred, but not required.
Direct response experience, desired and preferred, but not required.
Ability to work under pressure and provide results on or before deadlines.
Ability to work independently and as a team.
Availability to work outside of "normal business hours" including nights and weekends.
Access to internet connection at home.
Excellent time management, ability to prioritize and multi-task.
Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite, Email and Internet.
Innovative problem solving ability including math proficiency.
Excellent communication skills both written and verbal are a must.
Creativity a plus.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Salary commensurate with experience.

Listen Up Espanol offers a full benefit package including:

Paid Vacation Time
Paid Sick Time
Paid Personal Time
Bereavement Time
Paid Parking
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
401(k)

Cover letter required. Email and online resumes ONLY accepted!

Pam Tenney

207-774-1424 x106

pam@rec4me.com

Listen Up Español Makes the 2012 Inc. 5000 List for Third Consecutive Year

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:06:00 GMT

Listen Up Español: News, Events, Resources

Inc. 5000 Ranks Leading Spanish-Language Call Center 2120 on America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies List

Portland, ME—(Febrero 11, 2013)—Listen Up Español, El call center líder de habla hispana para el Mercado Hispano en E.U. es reconocido por Inc. Magazine en el rankin 5000 como la empresa privada en América número 2120 con mayor crecimiento.

La lista Inc. 5000 es una categoría exclusiva de las compañías privadas en América con mayor crecimiento. La tasa de crecimiento de Listen Up Español de 3 años del 123% jugó un significante factor en ayudar a adquirir el lugar 2,120 de 5000. El perfil de la compañía puede ser visto en http://www.inc.com/profile/listen-up-espanol. Con oficinas principales en Portland, Maine y un call center en Hermosillo, Sonora, México, Listen Up Español califica en el 5to lugar como la compañía privada de mayor crecimiento en America en la lista de Inc. Magazine de las 100 mejores compañías en Maine.

El Co-fundador y presidente de la compañía, Craig Handley dijo, “Nos sentimos honrados y entusiasmados por ver a Listen Up Español clasificada por Inc. Magazine como una de las Compañías en América de Mayor Crecimiento, deseo seguir creciendo y teniendo éxito en el 2013. Nuestro equipo está ansioso por seguir brindando los mejores servicios posibles para apoyar a nuestros clientes estelares.”

Listen Up Español se especializa en Respuesta Directa, Servicio a Clientes Corporativos y en Recaudación de Fondos sin fines de lucro para el mercado Hispano en E.U. Su consistente cultura laboral y dedicación a comunicaciones exitosas son factores que contribuyen a su crecimiento año tras año. Con ganancias de más de $12.5 millones en el 2011, Listen Up Español y su dedicado equipo se encuentran en la vía rápida a un notable crecimiento.

Cada año desde 1982, Inc. 500|5000 es clasificado de acuerdo al porcentaje de ingresos de tasa de crecimiento. Las compañías deben tener base en E.U., deben ser privadas, independientes y confines de lucro para calificar en la lista. Otras compañías notables que han recibido este prestigioso reconocimiento incluyen a AdRoll, Nasty Gal, Livestream, ING Solutions y otras marcas reconocidas.

Para saber mas sobre Listen Up Español y los servicios que brinda, visite www.ListenUpEspanol.com

Sobre Listen Up Español

Listen Up Español es el call center bilingüe líder para el mercado hispano en E.U., con oficinas centrales en Portland, Maine y operando en Hermosillo, Sonora, México, la compañía cuenta con mas de 800 empleados que hablan español de nacimiento y brinda tele servicios a las compañías para llegar al mercado Hispano en E.U. con resultados óptimos.

Listen Up Español ofrece respuesta directa, clientes corporativos y sin fines de lucro una amplia gama de servicios desde de ventas de entrada y salida, servicio al cliente y generación de leads hasta planeación de campañas en Español, creación de scripts y servicios de publicidad. Con un enfoque en medición, entrenamiento y sicología de ventas, Listen Up Español tiene la experiencia para convertir la interacción con los clientes en ganancias. Para saber mas sobre Listen Up Español y los servicios que brinda, visite www.ListenUpEspanol.com