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Published: Oct. 7, 2015, 8 a.m.

Stephen is the CEO of Predictive ROI and host of the Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, speaker, trainer, and his digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and other media. \xa0

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Good Morning, Onward Nation\u2026I\u2019m Stephen Woessner.

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Since the advent of the commercial Internet\u2026I have collected tens of thousands of data points that have given me the ability to identify what I call the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. These are the things that literally cause a business website \u2013 like yours \u2013 to leak serious money every day.

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You may remember that I mentioned the Money Draining Mistakes during episode #68\u2026but we didn\u2019t have time to dig deep.

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So for today\u2019s solocast, I decided to loop back around and dedicate today\u2019s episode toward how to fix one of the most expensive mistakes.

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It\u2019s Money Draining Mistake #5\u2026and I call it \u201cNot Knowing Your Customer.\u201d

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I am excited to share this strategy and recipe with you because every time I sit down to prepare for a solocast\u2026I think about you\u2026and what I hope will be the result outcomes for you as a result of you listening and applying what you learn.

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Why do I do this?

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Because we all have the same 86,400 seconds in a day and I take it very seriously that you chose to share some of your invaluable time with me today. As a result\u2026I put in the time \u2013 the hard work to ensure that I deliver significant value.

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It needs to be a fair trade of your time for the business value I deliver. I consider your time investment to be sacred.

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So here it is \u2013 for this episode \u2013 we are going to dig deep into why most companies do not know their customers \u2013 how they miss the single WORD that could completely alter the customer relationship \u2013 and I am going to give you a specific step-by-step strategy or recipe for understanding exactly how to connect with your customers on a different and more valuable level than what you may be doing currently.

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My hope for you is that you will take this recipe \u2013 apply it \u2013 and see predictable, measurable, and repeatable increases in sales inside your business as a result.

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This episode represents such a significant opportunity for you and your business because only about 5% of the business owners listening right now will take action on the steps I share. You may nod your head in agreement \u2013 maybe even take some notes \u2013 or share this episode with a colleague.

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But ultimately, your inaction will signify your acceptance of operating your business \u2013 and maybe even your life \u2013 at the level of the status quo. Onward Nation \u2013 please don\u2019t let this be you!

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Don\u2019t fall into the trap of procrastination. My hope for you is that you will take the notes \u2013 have the discussions with your team \u2013 and then put the steps into action \u2013 swiftly.

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This strategy has the potential of being a game-changer for you. \xa0

\nLet\u2019s begin.\n

First\u2026I will ask you a question.

\nWhat\u2019s the number one reason people buy anything?\n

I will give you a hint. It has nothing to do with the features, advantages, or benefits of the product or service.

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In fact \u2013 it has everything to do with just one, four-letter word.

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And that word is \u201cHOPE.\u201d

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The only reason we buy anything is because we HOPE that tomorrow will somehow be better than today as a result of buying the product or service we are considering. That\u2019s it \u2013 HOPE.

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So in order for you to fix this Money Draining Mistake you need to understand how to make an emotional and empathetic connection with your prospects and customers.

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You do this by becoming a HOPE Dealer to your customers.

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Let\u2019s take this a little bit deeper with another question.

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What percent of people make a purchase decision based solely on emotional reasons?

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Would you guess 20%? 30%? 50%?

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The answer is 100%.

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Yes, 100%. We like to think that we are such rational creatures and we only make decisions based on objective data and thoughtful analysis. But the reality is that all of our decisions \u2013 yes, 100% of them \u2013 are made for purely emotional reasons.

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I explain why within the solocast.

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This is an incontrovertible fact. Therefore, you need to understand your prospects and customers from an emotional perspective.

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You need to understand their challenges.

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You need to understand their pain points.

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And as one of my mentors, Darren Hardy likes to say, you need to metaphorically \u201cLay in their bed at night\u201d to understand what is causing them pain.

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So during this solocast, I share eight specific questions you and your team need to ask each other and then go out and ask your prospects and customers the same questions.

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Once you have collected that data \u2013 you will have all you need in order to create your customer or client \u201cAvatar.\u201d

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CAUTION!

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Your avatar is one person. Not an email list of 20,000 people. One person and you give him or her a name, a personality, you hang a photo of her on your conference room wall, and every time you write an email campaign, shoot a video, etc. you speak directly to your avatar.

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For example...when I am not interviewing today\u2019s top business owners for Onward Nation episodes, I am the CEO of Predictive ROI\u2026a digital marketing agency that specializes on delivering guaranteed sales and financial return on investment for our clients, or our work is free.

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So at Predictive ROI\u2026our client avatars are \u201cHarry\u201d and \u201cSally\u201d (we chose those names because \u201cWhen Harry Met Sally\u201d is one of my favorite movies of all time).

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And this is Sally:

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• Sally and her team are ambitious and want to learn new things
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• She knows there is more opportunity and growth \u201cout there\u201d and is frustrated she does not know how to capitalized on it, faster
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• She reads lots of books but doesn\u2019t know a good idea from a bad one
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• She is uncertain and afraid to fail
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• She has been fooled before and does not know who to believe
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• Everything sounds too good to be true
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• And Sally has said to me\u2026\u201cStephen...I want to trust you...that you can do what you say you can do...show me the evidence quickly that it is working and that you are delivering on your promises\u201d.
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During more than one prospect client presentation, \u201cSally\u201d has said to me \u2013 \u201cMy goodness, that is me.\u201d I smile when it happens because I know we just made a powerful connection.

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You can too if you answer the eight questions in this episode and apply what you learned.

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In closing\u2026remember this reality\u2026you are the average of the people you spend the most time with.

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So you need to spend your time with people you have a common future with \u2013 not a common past.

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And by consistently listening to Onward Nation \u2013 you are spending time with today\u2019s top business owners\u2026the people who are crushing it and already at the next level\u2026the people whose recipes and strategies can help you grow your business, make your network more robust, and become more influential.

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All so you can reach your goals and move your business onward to that next level.

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I hope that makes sense.

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Okay, Onward Nation \u2013 my hope is this solocast was valuable to you.

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Please drop me a line and let me know what you thought.

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Keep the feedback coming.

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You can reach me directly at stephen at OnwardNation.com and let me know -- thumbs up or thumbs down?

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Onward with gusto!

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-- Stephen \xa0

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You can also find us here: ------ OnwardNation.com ------