Babette Ten Haken

JULY 23, 2020

If you are not invested in your own professional story, why continue to urge others to invest in your story? There just may be a disconnect of belief between what you say you do and who you really are. You see it, I see it, we all see it. Taglines and keywords in LinkedIn profiles and professional resumes. Positioning professionals one way this week.

Ideal Customer Profile 114

Ideal Customer Profile Call-back Engineering Campaigns 114

Babette Ten Haken

JULY 21, 2020

Are you a passive or active team member? Sought-after because you add value and are not afraid to explore what is new, different and changing. Or, are you avoided? Not exactly everyone’s first choice for team member. Because you prefer to be a spectator on teams. How would you rate your tenure on workplace teams? Would your self-assessment differ from, or be aligned with, how the rest of your team perceives your level of participation?

Energy 88

Energy Face-to-face Education Exact 88

Babette Ten Haken

JULY 16, 2020

Today, let’s ideate together. Take a deep breath. Relax. Let’s innovate. What happens to your revenue stream when employees stop fixing what people buy? Because clients are not sold what they really need. When internal teams actively drive revenue? Instead of serving as order-takers buried in departments traditionally perceived as cost-centers.

Hiring 157

Hiring Retention Smart Company Compensation 157

Babette Ten Haken

JULY 9, 2020

It just could be that client retention folks are the best salespeople in your company. You know. Professionals involved in the post-sale care and feeding of newly-acquired customers. And the pros responsible for designing (and reworking) and implementing and maintaining what new and current clients ordered. Also, the people who directly answer client questions throughout that customer’s life cycle.

Retention 114

Retention Company Commission Churn 114

Babette Ten Haken

JUNE 30, 2020

Why rely on a hit or miss storytelling strategy to acquire and retain clients? Stories which, at least your clients know, are generic stories. Serving nothing more substantial than an inside-out marketing and sales purpose, via a pre-packaged library. So you do not have to think about a thing! Just select the next story and tell it to as many clients as you can.

Engineering 136

Engineering Face-to-face Retention Strategy 136

Babette Ten Haken

JUNE 23, 2020

Do you credibly walk your story talk through every phase of each project? Not only to create a compelling business case or project narrative. End of story. But also, to build strategic relationships throughout the breadth and depth of your own and your clients’ organizations? The never-ending story. Similarly, do you spiel the sales blah-blah-blah long enough to close a contract?

Networking 141

Networking Call-back Intent Coaching 141

Babette Ten Haken

JUNE 16, 2020

When my long-time best friend, Annie, and I get on the phone together, we can talk for hours. I mean hours. About anything and everything, all-inclusive. Our families describe our epic conversations as marathons. My bestie and I do not leave out any details in our family sagas. And, our signature phrase, when we come up for air in between chapters of our storytelling swap, is: “But wait… there’s more!!

Face-to-face 96

Face-to-face Coaching Quota Follow-up 96

Babette Ten Haken

MAY 21, 2020

There’s nothing novel about virtual post-sale client abandonment. Upon consideration, you realize your company’s been doing this for years. In fact, virtual abandonment is a key component of “business as usual.”. What is novel about this post-sale scenario, to you, is that now you have to sell virtually. That’s all that’s changed. And your new perspective makes all the difference for what’s next: for you and your client relationships.

Revelation 141

Revelation Face-to-face Retention Distribution 141

Babette Ten Haken

MAY 19, 2020

Do you see yourself as a trusted client retention specialist or simply a generalist? In fact, do you even perceive yourself as having any type of role retaining clients? Because, here’s news. Regardless of whether you actively acquire clients, or not, you impact client retention. And, these days, the impact you make on a client’s business has strategic implications on business viability.

Retention 134

Retention Webinar Metrics Hiring Face-to-face 134

Babette Ten Haken

MAY 12, 2020

Just how essential are You (really) to colleagues and clients? Because colleagues and clients ask themselves that same question as they move forward towards What’s Next. Do colleagues and clients prioritize you as their trusted go-to resource? And an innovator rather than an order-taker? Just how essential you are to the colleagues and clients you serve evolves over time.

Lead Rank 92

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Resources Call-back 92

Babette Ten Haken

MAY 7, 2020

Quite an adventure, isn’t it, sailing through the pandemic storm, together? Each week brings a new requirement on how to combine emotion, engagement, courage, and critical thinking skills. So we get to where we need to go, together. One millimeter at a time. Each week feels different, has its own theme, doesn’t it? As I coach clients and companies through being prepared for “what’s next?

Pivotal 93

Pivotal Retention Strategy Churn 93

Babette Ten Haken

MAY 5, 2020

Do you propose tactical fixes for your clients’ biggest strategic issues? Or, is your own need to close a contract overshadowing the real issues clients struggle with? Because you both need to put food on the table, maintain cash flow and prevent employee and client churn. While this dialectic existed pre-pandemic, well, the current and future business scenario puts this scenario on steroids.

Churn 117

Churn Engineering Proposal Coaching 117

Babette Ten Haken

APRIL 30, 2020

Developing virtual client retention strategies always is mission-critical. Especially in moving “yesterday’s” business and client acquisition models forward. Where? Towards what’s next: tomorrow and future-forward. After all, there’s nothing like a global pandemic to catalyze that overdue alignment of Third Industrial Revolution business and hiring models with the dynamic, interconnected software and hardware systems of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Retention 101

Retention Ideal Customer Profile Strategy Hiring 101

Babette Ten Haken

APRIL 21, 2020

These days, all of us either are participants or spectators in far too many virtual business meetings and presentations. What is the quality of the employee and customer experiences you create? Oh, and, I hate to tell you. Virtual meetings are here to stay because they are cost-effective. However, there are two assumptions you make that derail the impact of your virtual business presentations.

Scale 96

Scale Analytics Conference Coaching 96

Babette Ten Haken

APRIL 9, 2020

When is the last time you updated business stories? You know, the ones you tell to acquire and (I hope) retain clients? And the stories you tell to engage and retain employees? Are you still using the same business stories, investor pitches, technical use cases or business cases? From Yesterday, which may literally be yesterday? The stories which you depend upon to show and tell and compel and sell and explain your solution?

Face-to-face 99

Face-to-face Energy Competition Motivation 99

Babette Ten Haken

APRIL 2, 2020

Consider that how we show up virtually impacts client experiences: today, tomorrow and moving forward. Think about it. These days, with no other option but to meet up virtually, both the concept and context of the word “meeting” are in transition. Because showing up virtually translates into more than just attending a traditional, agenda-driven meeting.

Meeting 86

Meeting Groups Coaching Strategy 86

Babette Ten Haken

MARCH 31, 2020

Virtual meetings create a tremendous opportunity for everyone to co-create virtual stories. Together. Stories which support one another and the clients we serve. What are your stories? What are your experiences? Consider that we now experience a continuous, epic story which is everyone’s common denominator: across job titles, pay grades, levels of education, generations and professional disciplines.

Meeting 93

Meeting Face-to-face Education Tools 93

Babette Ten Haken

MARCH 17, 2020

Simple, extraordinary storytelling is generating right now. Well, here we all are. Together. Dealing with an unprecedented health scenario which impacts absolutely every aspect of our lives. These, indeed, are extraordinary times. In fact, these times will permeate the stories we tell for the rest of our lives. What are the stories you currently, perhaps inadvertently, are part of?

Face-to-face 88

Face-to-face Retention ACT Education 88

Babette Ten Haken

MARCH 12, 2020

Do you tell stories people really need to hear? About the stuff they really need to know. If you answer “Yes” to this question, the stories you tell always remain the same. And, clients and employees trust you to have their backs over the long haul. Or, are you telling stories you think people want to hear? So they do not quit their jobs. Or, they retain their account with you, re-hire you, renew your service contract?

Retention 108

Retention Hiring Face-to-face Resources 108

Babette Ten Haken

MARCH 10, 2020

Are you a confident remote storyteller? Regardless of your professional discipline, our messaging, information and stories need to become robust. No matter where, and when, we have opportunities to communicate with each other. Now, remote virtual communication is hardly a novel concept in today’s digitally-connected workplace. However, plenty of businesses remain ill-equipped to have anything other than in-person, face-to-face conversations.

Cancellation 99

Cancellation Face-to-face Conference Conversion 99

Babette Ten Haken

MARCH 3, 2020

Would you describe yourself as professionally change-reluctant or completely change-averse? Think about it. Each day, you and I wrestle with moving one millimeter beyond our current professional comfort levels. So, we get to where we need to go. Together. One tiny millimeter at a time. This is One Millimeter Mindset. When I speak at conferences and chapter meetings, I send out a client-intake form to board members and conference organizers as I customize each presentation.

Conference 90

Conference Churn Guarantee Lead Rank 90

Babette Ten Haken

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Today, let’s work on how your dependence on discipline-specific terminology creates storytelling barriers. We all do it: you, me, your colleagues, even your clients. We love to use our professional jargon. After all, we spent years learning it. And now, all those big fancy words and acronyms – the hallmarks of our respective professions – just roll off our tongues.

SME 86

SME Margin Engineering Education 86

Babette Ten Haken

FEBRUARY 25, 2020

Today we’re talking about the importance of having storytelling patience when conducting customer discovery interviews. Customer discovery is a methodology used for building startups, new corporate ventures / intrapreneurial activities, design and engineering projects, and sales. Actually, in my storytelling for STEM professionals and left-brain thinkers playbook, you and I are never quite finished with customer discovery.

Customer 77

Customer Lead Rank Engineering Retention 77

Babette Ten Haken

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Addressing unmet client needs is the key to designing the products, services, programs and systems which best serve customers. Over the long-haul. When client retention is the objective. Yet the strategic business stories you tell often do not address those long-term, stated or unstated client needs. Why do you continue to play it safe and comfortable?

Proposal 96

Proposal Engineering Retention Promotion 96

Babette Ten Haken

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Do you tell relatable stories? Or, does your storytelling make your products, services and programs sound too good to be true? Then again, do you tell stories of epic disasters which, in reality, are outside the norm for the majority of decision makers listening to you. Either way, when the stories you tell are not relatable stories, decision makers tune out and turn off.

Relationals 77

Relationals Decision Maker Exact Customer 77

Babette Ten Haken

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

Clean, succinct stories are easy to tell and comfortable to hear. First, your story’s details are clean, instead of murky and hard to understand. (Yes, that is the definition of “clean” intended in this headline!). Next, your details fall into place nicely and logically along the story line. Then, you have enough details to engage the listener, so they cannot wait to hear what happens next.

Decision Maker 95

Decision Maker Case Study Study Groups 95

Babette Ten Haken

JANUARY 30, 2020

Are you throwing storytelling spaghetti at employees and clients? Hoping they glean whatever message they can? Not only from the story you tell, but also as a result of how you deliver that story to them? In terms of your own storytelling acumen, regardless of your job title, pay grade, level of education, generation or professional discipline. Do you rely on canned content, which you may not have developed yourself, for strategic business and technical communications?

Ideal Customer Profile 102

Ideal Customer Profile SME Retention Intent 102

Babette Ten Haken

JANUARY 28, 2020

How much strategic business sense do your stories make? As I worked with one of my clients yesterday, he complained that decision makers were not taking action after his presentations. He just could not understand why. My question to him: “Do you tell connect the dot stories?” He looked back at me, puzzled. If you want decision makers to make a decision, then tell stories which make solid strategic business sense.

Decision Maker 111

Decision Maker Analytics Coaching Meeting 111

Babette Ten Haken

JANUARY 21, 2020

Idealized storytelling creates perfect story scenarios in which products, services, programs are placed. Not surprisingly, these stories always seem to have fairy-tale outcomes, where everyone lives happily ever after. Mostly, due to the outcomes created by our products, services and programs. Then, the next step in your business development process is that you ask decision makers for their business.

Decision Maker 92

Decision Maker Segment Groups Relationals 92

Babette Ten Haken

JANUARY 2, 2020

When your Authentic You is not part of the professional stories you tell, your stories are less-than-believable. As a result, the folks listening to your stories are left with no conclusion and one question: SO WHAT? Because instead of authenticity, you tell: Products and services, features and benefits stories. You tell traditional-sounding, buying-and-selling or STEM-based explanatory stories.

Retention 81

Retention Objections Course Benefit 81

Babette Ten Haken

DECEMBER 16, 2019

We Stories create the most compelling client stories. The next time you are client-facing, pay attention to how many times you say the word “I.” Or even use the term “we,” but really refer to your internal team of “we”, instead of your client or client’s team of “we.” When our clients cannot discover themselves in the stories we tell, they remain unengaged.

Ideal Customer Profile 85

Ideal Customer Profile SME Face-to-face Engineering 85

Babette Ten Haken

DECEMBER 11, 2019

Do you tell uncomfortable business stories to your clients and colleagues? Or, do you prefer comfortable stories, where clients always hear how your products and services will live up to their expectations? And everyone always lives happily ever-after? Also, when you tell these preferable, comfortable, and predictable, stories, what are you thinking to yourself?

Ideal Customer Profile 85

Ideal Customer Profile Retention SME Face-to-face 85

Babette Ten Haken

DECEMBER 9, 2019

Developing storytelling confidence moves you one millimeter forward, beyond remaining professionally comfortable. Embracing not only the risk, but also the opportunity, of connecting your stories to other people’s stories. And growing your professional credibility, as you grow your storytelling acumen. Storytelling seems to be an extremely popular skill set these days.

Ideal Customer Profile 77

Ideal Customer Profile SME Trends Tools 77

Babette Ten Haken

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

These three professional development review blog posts focus on the value of storytelling for your professional development trajectory. Leveraging storytelling as a key component of your professional development showcases a commitment. Between you, as a Professional of Worth, and the colleagues and clients you serve. Either the stories you share are memorable, because of they engage.

Quota 89

Quota Strategy Tools Meeting 89

Babette Ten Haken

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

An invitational business story welcomes clients. You invite them to become part of your organization’s world. And, the focus is way beyond the short-term gain of closing a contract. How impactful and inviting is the business story you tell, today? First, invitational stories generate a sense of community. Next, these stories change client perception.

Ideal Customer Profile 58

Ideal Customer Profile Retention Education Benefit 58

Babette Ten Haken

NOVEMBER 11, 2019

Yesterday’s business backstory gets you to where you are today. However, does this history showcase how you get clients to where they need to go: tomorrow and in the future? Today’s businesses represent the intersection of people, processes and interconnected software-machine interfaces. That Internet of Things environment may not be the bedrock upon which you established your business, a while ago.

Ideal Customer Profile 77

Ideal Customer Profile SME Software Software 77

Babette Ten Haken

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Do you have storytelling confidence? You know, telling stories consistently, time after time. And, telling the stories in which you are professionally invested. When you take those actions, you move away from describing someone else’s stories, as a third-party narrative. Think about it. Which type of stories do you currently tell to potential clients and strategic partners?

Ideal Customer Profile 68

Ideal Customer Profile SME Trends Promotion 68