Podcasts about money draining mistakes

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI (PROI), a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation and Sell With Authority Podcasts. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.”In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn you can increase revenues online consistently and repeatedly.Stephen and I discuss:Why you need to have a purpose for your podcast [00:38]The concept of a platform to grow your business revenue [00:57]The link between content creation and business development [03:34]How he uses a podcast to help other businesses [05:34]Relating dry sales to 8 kinds of mistakes [10:02]How to identify your target audience when you're a corporate refugee [12:43]Stephen's experience in communities [18:10]Learn more about Stephen atwww.predictiveroi.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/Thank you to Our Sponsor:The Smashing the Plateau Community

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation and Sell With Authority Podcasts. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “”8 Money Draining Mistakes”” and the “”8 Money Making Opportunities.”” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. We are doing something a little different for this episode of Sell With Authority by sharing my full length interview from an episode of the Build a Better Agency Podcast with Drew McLellan. Drew is the owner of McLellan Marketing Group and the owner and leader of the Agency Management Institute. In episode 354 of the Build a Better Agency Podcast, we have an important conversation about finding right-fit clients by going narrow and niching down – and how pivoting that niche can lead to fears of stepping into scarcity, instead of abundance. We talk through how pivoting agency niche can actually help improve sales and build community. What you will learn about in this episode: Why choosing your agency niche doesn't have to be a permanent decision Why sometimes throwing out the playbook and pivoting in a different direction is a better move for your agency, even if it doesn't seem that way at first How to know which types of clients you're already serving the best (this could be your new niche) What is cornerstone content, and why is it so important to establish? The importance of building a community of people wanting to learn from you and others to make more effortless sales You have permission to think differently about your agency and how you want to position it in your industry

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI (PROI), a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation and Sell With Authority Podcasts. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix their mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member, and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state, including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison. He has owned five businesses and is the bestselling author of five books, including “Profitable Podcasting” and “Sell with Authority.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you will learn about in this episode: How to conquer the fear that can set in when presented with opportunity How to break past the temptation to quit before even starting down the path Why the exterior trappings of success are not the true measure Real life lessons around the power of persistence, tenacity, and grit How if you take care of your clients — they will take care of you How to knit all of this together so you never, ever quit Free Resources: Order a free paperback or Kindle copy of “Sell with Authority”: https://predictiveroi.com/free-book Download the “WHO Framework”: https://predictiveroi.com/who Download the “WHAT Framework”: https://predictiveroi.com/what Download the “HOW Framework”: https://predictiveroi.com/how Newly expanded “Resource Library”: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ “How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline” Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/b2bsalesfunnel LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenwoessner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ And — join us for our next open-mic Q&A

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation and Sell With Authority Podcasts. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “”8 Money Draining Mistakes”” and the “”8 Money Making Opportunities.”” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. Hannah Roth is currently Predictive Roi's Mad Scientist and Strategist. Hannah has a background as a wildlife biologist, and she started her own home decor and carpentry business that she ran quite successfully for 6 years, which segued into her current position with PROI. Hannah loves her work family, clients, and the fast paced environment of the agency world. She believes there is nothing quite as rewarding as walking alongside someone while they achieve their business goals. What you will learn about in this episode: Predictive ROI's origin story What the Predictive team does differently for their clients The transformation that comes with confidently stepping into your smarts The importance and benefits of PROI's full transparency approach Stephen's advice for instilling confidence and trust with clients that come from all points of the business spectrum The impact of being within a community that fosters collaboration and inspiration Resources: Newly expanded “Resource Library”: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ “How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline” Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/b2bsalesfunnel LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/predictive-roi/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-roth-387a6b223/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenwoessner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI (PROI), a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation and Sell With Authority Podcasts. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix their mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison. He has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you will learn about in this episode: How to find and identify the right-fit clients How to become the known expert in a niche by solving the right problems, telling the right stories, and fishing in the right ponds Why a simple set of 6 criteria can help you design your compelling HERO offer How to identify the 3 “Measures for Success” that will give you the ability to charge a premium price — as a result — drive profits How to connect the “WHO” and “WHAT” frameworks to build your authority position Free Resources: Order a free paperback or Kindle copy of “Sell with Authority”: https://predictiveroi.com/free-book Download the “WHO Framework”: https://predictiveroi.com/who Download the “WHAT Framework”: https://predictiveroi.com/what Download the “HOW Framework”: https://predictiveroi.com/how Newly expanded “Resource Library”: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ “How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline” Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/b2bsalesfunnel LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenwoessner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI (PROI), a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation and Sell With Authority Podcasts. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix their mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison. He has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you will learn about in this episode: What winning the Kentucky Derby and building a position of authority have in common Why Stephen believes the latest derby win was not an overnight success — and why there's no such thing How Stephen and Erik ended up at the derby in the first place, and what they learned from it The impressive amount of strategy, analysis, and research that go into the probability odds for every single horse in the race Why Stephen decided to place a bet on this year's biggest underdog…that's right, Rich Strike What we as thought leaders can learn from this year's Kentucky Derby winner, Richard Dawson — and why he entered the race in the first place Resources: Photos from Stephen: Book — “Sell with Authority,” by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/books/ Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ “How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline” Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/b2bsalesfunnel Website: https://predictiveroi.com/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenwoessner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI  

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI (PROI), a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation and Sell With Authority Podcasts. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix their mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison. He has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you will learn about in this episode: What makes somebody a thought leader? What thought leadership and baseball have in common — and why Stephen loves both of those things so dang much Why becoming a great thought leader starts with allowing yourself to be bad at it What audiences are looking for when they seek out thought leaders in their industry Why instant gratification is a common trap for thought leaders — and how to avoid it The “10 Truths of Thought Leadership” — what they are and how to apply them How to start adopting the mindset of a thought leader Resources: Book — “Sell with Authority,” by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/books/ Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ “How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline” Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/b2bsalesfunnel Website: https://predictiveroi.com/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenwoessner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI

Stephen is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation -- a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today's top business owners think, act, and achieve. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the "8 Money Draining Mistakes" and the "8 Money Making Opportunities."Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member, taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, "The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization", "Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking", and "Profitable Podcasting."His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine.In this episode of the Rock Your Money, Rock Your Life, Stephen and I discuss how his grandfather created opportunities for his entire family, why we need to always give value and take care of our customers, and why entrepreneurs need to slow down and appreciate the process because it won’t happen overnight.

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today’s top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner’s Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Stephen offers a high-level review of the “Sell With Authority” methodology outlined in the book of the same name he co-authored with Drew McLellan How the research presented in the Edelman Trust Barometer illustrates that an audience trusts industry experts and people like them more than anyone else What four key qualifications serve to make someone a true thought leader, and why each of these qualifications matter when creating your cornerstone content The three steps to take to “plant your flag of authority” within your chosen niche and with build trust and credibility with your target audience How “cobblestone content” can lead people back to your cornerstone content and down your sales funnel How to find the real “golden nuggets” in your cornerstone content that can be sliced and diced into your cobblestone content Stephen provides several real-world examples of slicing and dicing content and the power of cobblestone and cornerstone content in thought leadership Why a weekly Q&A session can be a fantastic way to connect with your audience, and how content can interconnect and cross-promote to expand your reach What other powerful and proven resources, tools and other content Predictive ROI has found useful in reaching out to their audience Why low-pressure and no-pressure email content can turn out a surprising number of high-quality leads Resources: The Edelman Trust Barometer: www.edelman.com/trust/2021-trust-barometer Additional Resources: Free Executive Leadership Summary report from Predictive ROI: https://predictiveroi.com/research Sell With Authority by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://amzn.to/39y7x13 Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ Stephen Woessner’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/

Stephen Woessner shares his business growth strategy called “niching down.” Learn how agency owners can drive revenue by establishing their authority position with insights about: His journey as an agency owner, podcast host, and author Why niching down and becoming the go-to thought leader in your industry is the key to achieving growth and scalability Different ways you can carve out your niche and develop thought leadership Why niching down results in more efficient use of an agency's time and resources Why any agency is fit to begin the process of niching down How he managed to become more helpful to clients by focusing on a specific superpower The most important financial lesson he learned in building an agency Business Growth Strategy: Niching Down Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency that specializes in building thought leadership and authority to drive growth. He is also the host of the “Onward Nation” podcast and a bestselling author of two books. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Stephen joins us to share his journey as an agency owner, podcast host, and author, and he talks about his unique business growth strategy of niching down. If you want to learn how you can focus your sales and communication efforts to generate cash flow, this episode is for you. Planting Your Flag of Authority In Stephen's latest book with Drew McLellan, “Sell With Authority,” he teaches agency owners how to plant the flag of authority and establish themselves as the go-to thought leaders within their respective industries. This business growth strategy enables agency owners to sell with confidence to right-fit clients while carving out their own unique slice of market share. It is not just limited to industries either. Agency owners can brand themselves with a particular specialty or “superpower” as well. Narrowing the focus results in more efficient use of the agency owner's time and resources. This is something that anyone in any industry can implement with relative ease. Anyone Can Carve Out a Niche I understand why agency owners might be hesitant to shake up their business growth strategy in Q1, but niching down works and anyone can do it. Niching down is an easy decision to make, however, the work is difficult and it takes time. That is why agencies should start now. Even if 60% of their revenue comes from accepting any work that comes through the door, you don't have to start turning that away. Catering your brand position to a specific niche is a long-term play, and niching down is the key to building a position of financial strength from which you can navigate the ups and downs of any market. Additional Resources: FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com Twitter: @CraigC2742 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa How to Connect with Stephen Woessner: Sell With Authority by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://amzn.to/39y7x18 Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ Stephen Woessner's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ About Stephen Woessner: Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today's top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization,” “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking,” and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine.

Increasing Sales Through the Trojan Horse Strategy What You Will Learn: Why podcasting is like a Trojan Horse strategy for business 3 steps for planting your Flag of Authority Creative ideas for repurposing your podcast What are the vital metrics we should pay attention to SEO and Email list building strategies How to turn your podcast into YouTube videos, weekly newsletters, and a book How many loyal fans you need Ideas to help treat your podcast guests like VIPs Increasing sales through the Trojan Horse strategy In the spirit of the holiday season…my hope is…you, your family and friends, your team, your clients, and all of the people in your community — were able to tap the breaks…to pause…to reflect…and yes, that even during this time of pandemic…and give thanks. Through all of this — all of the challenges that 2020 represents — and I hear you — it’s a long list — there are some silver linings for your business. You may feel like you are being forced to pivot to survive — and through that — you find a completely new service offering for your clients. Or — you may have needed to restructure your team from full-time employees to having some amazing freelancers ready to rock whatever project you send their way. Or — maybe through all of the chaos — you have identified topics and lessons your audience needs in order to grow and be better at what they do every day. And you know — deep in your soul — you are just the person to deliver that level of awesomeness. So as you work hard to close out 2020 and dare to dream about what 2021 might look like — I’m sharing a different twist on a solocast with you to help. I was recently interviewed by Billy Samoa Saleebey for his podcast entitled, “For the Love of Podcast”. And Billy asked a series of excellent questions that can serve as some foundational elements as you work through your plan for 2021. So as you hear Billy ask me the question…my hope is…you will take notes of what he asked…and then ask yourself the same questions. If you do that — it will help you build a solid plan for 2021. Also — Billy asked me to map out more detail behind how the Trojan Horse strategy works — you’ll find some real behind the curtain stuff here — as well as how to plant your flag of authority, slice and dice your content into smaller cobblestones, and build out your sales funnels. The power of the Trojan Horse strategy Thought leadership is a powerful way to connect with your ideal client prospects — through the Trojan Horse strategy. And — a podcast is the ideal vehicle for this strategy. It gives you the chance to plant your flag of authority and invite ideal potential clients to speak on your show — creating a non-transactional relationship with them that can be nurtured over time — without “selling” to them in the traditional sense. When used the right way — the Trojan Horse strategy allows you to organically build a relationship of trust and mutual respect with your Dream 25 — your 25 right-fit clients. Much like the ancient Greeks used the original Trojan Horse to sneak into Troy without alerting the guards — the Trojan Horse of Sales allows you to get past the “sales wall” and build powerful inroads with prospects. Getting ready for 2021 With 2020 drawing to a close — plus the news of the development of successful vaccines against the global pandemic — 2021 is looking to be much brighter. And — the businesses that will come roaring out of our current crisis are the ones who are well prepared — and ready to take bold action. Now is the time to create a rock solid plan for the coming year. The Trojan Horse strategy can help you connect with your ideal clients — but it’s only the foot in the door. That’s why slicing and dicing your content — so that you can plant your flag of authority and demonstrate that you’re always ready to be helpful for your clients — is so crucial. As you plan for 2021 — I hope you find my conversation with Billy Samoa Saleebey helpful! About Stephen Woessner Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today’s top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner’s Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. Additional Resources: Free Executive Leadership Summary report from Predictive ROI: https://predictiveroi.com/research Sell With Authority by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://amzn.to/39y7x13 Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ Stephen Woessner’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today's top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. Craig Cody is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Tax Coach™, business owner, and the host of The Progressive Dentist Podcast. Prior to his current work, Craig spent seventeen years with the NYPD, where he retired as a Lieutenant in September 2000. Craig is an expert in helping his clients legally reduce their tax liabilities and keep more of their money. Through his podcast, Craig helps dentists grow their practices through smart financial decisions and through financial education of the kind that isn't offered in dental school. What You Will Learn: How the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan has changed recently, and what you need to know about the program What further changes Craig anticipates the government making to the PPP loan and forgiveness requirements How the government has created new options for partnership business that could result in those businesses getting still more money How to reach out to Craig if you have any other questions or need clarification on these new changes Why additional money for business partners may not have any cap, starting at around $40,000 for the first partner and going up Why Craig sees the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) as “cheap insurance” to help protect against whatever may happen in the near future What changes Craig believes might happen to the EIDL, and why it is taking a while for small businesses to get approved for EIDL How the use of the EIDL funds can potentially increase your business tax liability due to the use of EIDL funds cutting into your tax deductions How many of Craig's clients are operating under business-as-usual with relatively minor changes, with the exception of restaurants which are still struggling How to access Craig's free course “The Five Simple Ways to Save Thousands on Taxes and How Business Owners Can Start Today” How to contact Stephen Woessner: Sell With Authority Book: //amzn.to/39y7x13 Website: //predictiveroi.com/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ //www.linkedin.com/company/predictive-roi/ Facebook: //www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI/ Twitter: @stephenwoessner How to contact Craig Cody: Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com Twitter: @CraigC2742 LinkedIn: //www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today's top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Chris and Stephen serve as each other's accountability partner and have weekly accountability calls to go over wins, opportunities, and goals What Stephen will be sharing when he speaks at Chris's Business Scaling Secrets LIVE event April 1-3, 2020 in Newport, Rhode Island Why spending time together with other associates of varying experience levels is an invaluable opportunity and resource Why the three key ingredients for becoming the authority in your market are focusing on a niche, having a unique point of view, and putting systems in place Why the big, national players are coming to or already in your local market, and why planting your flag is the key to competing Why staking out a niche doesn't reduce your opportunities but instead helps you focus on and better serve a market and actually creates new opportunities Why establishing and focusing on your niche helps you resist bigger competition who aren't as focused Why the first question you should ask yourself when creating content for your niche is “do I like to write, or do I like to talk?” Why it is important to not worry about being great right out of the gate, and why getting started is the first necessary step to getting better How to get a free handbook from Stephen for identifying your ideal buyer/seller and “finding your avatar” Resources: Website: https://predictiveroi.com/ Free Handbook: www.SmartRealEstateCoach.com/avatar Business Scaling Secrets LIVE Website: http://bizscaling.com/ Onward Nation Podcast: https://predictiveroi.com/onward-nation-podcast/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI/ Twitter: @stephenwoessner Additional resources: Website: www.SmartRealEstateCoachPodcast.com/webinar Website: www.SmartRealEstateCoachPodcast.com/termsbook Website: www.SmartRealEstateCoachPodcast.com/ebook Website: www.SmartRealEstateCoach.com/QLS/

Since the advent of the commercial internet, Stephen Woessner has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. These are the things that literally cause a website to leak serious money every day. Stephen teaches companies and organizations how to fix them and how to fix them immediately. Stephen also teaches how to apply what he calls the 8 Money Making Opportunities. These are the things that really matter because they increase financial return on investment in the digital world by 200 to 500 percent or more in 12-months or less. And all of this can be done without needing technical skills. Stephen is the host of the Onward Nation podcast, CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing authority, speaker, educator, and bestselling author of two books, The Small Business Owners Handbook to Search Engine Optimization and Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking. Clients include Cisco, Advisors Excel, Agency Management Institute, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and others. Linda Fassig-Knauer, US Channels, Cisco Systems, said Stephen really engaged the audience at our SMB Advisory Council. His presentation hit the mark. His digital marketing insights have been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and The Washington Post. Stephen's practical and tactical training sessions and keynote presentations teach the valuable principle of predicting and then measuring financial return on investment (ROI) before any action is taken. He has also developed a mathematical, patent-pending process that can be used to predict the increase in online sales a business can achieve based on his methods. What You Will Learn: Stephen's journey into entrepreneurship How Predictive ROI has differentiates itself from other digital marketing agencies Why Stephen is considering inorganic growth right now The indicators that deal-driven growth is the right option for your business The lessons Stephen has taken away from his past deals What to know if you plan on taking money from professional investors How Stephen launched his podcast and turned it into a business How to connect with Stephen Woessner: Website: www.predictiveroi.com Podcast: Onward Nation Twitter: @stephenwoessner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/

Since the advent of the commercial internet, Stephen Woessner has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. These are the things that literally cause a website to leak serious money every day. Stephen teaches companies and organizations how to fix them and how to fix them immediately.Stephen also teaches how to apply what he calls the 8 Money Making Opportunities. These are the things that really matter because they increase financial return on investment in the digital world by 200 to 500 percent or more in 12-months or less. And all of this can be done without needing technical skills.Stephen is the host of the Onward Nation podcast, CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing authority, speaker, educator, and bestselling author of two books, The Small Business Owners Handbook to Search Engine Optimization and Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking.Clients include Cisco, Advisors Excel, Agency Management Institute, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and others. Linda Fassig-Knauer, US Channels, Cisco Systems, said Stephen really engaged the audience at our SMB Advisory Council. His presentation hit the mark.His digital marketing insights have been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and The Washington Post.Stephen’s practical and tactical training sessions and keynote presentations teach the valuable principle of predicting and then measuring financial return on investment (ROI) before any action is taken. He has also developed a mathematical, patent-pending process that can be used to predict the increase in online sales a business can achieve based on his methods.What You Will Learn:Stephen’s journey into entrepreneurshipHow Predictive ROI has differentiates itself from other digital marketing agenciesWhy Stephen is considering inorganic growth right nowThe indicators that deal-driven growth is the right option for your businessThe lessons Stephen has taken away from his past dealsWhat to know if you plan on taking money from professional investorsHow Stephen launched his podcast and turned it into a businessHow to connect with Stephen Woessner:Website: www.predictiveroi.comPodcast: Onward NationTwitter: @stephenwoessnerFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/PredictiveROI/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today's top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Chris and Stephen's accountability partnership and weekly accountability calls help them remain focused on their wins and their goals for the week Why Stephen's Onward Nation podcast is a powerful resource for business owners and leaders to help them become more effective and successful Why being the authority in your market can help you do more deals, edge out competitors, and make new business connections Why tailoring your business and language to the ideal client or customer you want can also help you repel the kind of client you don't want Why the number of real estate deals done on terms is increasing from just 2-3% in the 1990s to 10% after the 2008 market crash Why somewhere between 50-80% of real estate buyers do not qualify for traditional bank financing, including many small business owners How the QLS live event has consistently and dramatically increased in size year-over-year How to be entered into a raffle for a gift from Chris Prefontaine by leaving a rating and review of the Smart Real Estate Coach podcast Additional resources from Stephen Woessner: Website: www.predictiveROI.com Profitable Podcasting by Stephen Woessner: https://amzn.to/2GePXDf Onward Nation podcast: https://predictiveroi.com/onward-nation-podcast/ Additional resources from Chris Prefontaine: Send a screenshot of your rating and review of the Smart Real Estate Coach podcast to this email address to be entered into a raffle for a free gift: podcast@smartrealestatecoach.com Website: www.smartrealestatecoach.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/smartrealestatecoach Profits Matter Mastermind website: www.profitsmattermm.com

Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today's top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization”, “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking”, and “Profitable Podcasting.” His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. What you'll learn about in this episode: What you'll be able to learn at Chris's two-day QLS business strategy event, and how to register to attend the event How to attend the upcoming annual Business Scaling Secrets exclusive event with Chris and other high-profile speakers Why the key to scaling your business is found in being the expert of your industry in your local market Why people seek out a specialist for their needs, and why it is important to be clear in your intentions and beliefs Why you must be aware of why you chose the business you are in and build your point of view around what differentiates you How to use the lessons you have learned to define your perspective and guide your business decisions Why it is important to be certain you are surrounding yourself with the “right” people in your inner circle Why it takes time, practice, and learning from your mistakes to develop mastery in your business Why improvement comes from taking action, critiquing your action, adjusting for what you've learned, and taking action again (A-C-A-A) How great athletes became great because of coaching and practice, and why they didn't start out as legends of their sport Additional resources: Chris's 2019 QLS Live Event: http://qlslive.com/ Chris's 2019 Business Scaling Event: www.smartrealestatecoach.com/business-scaling/ Becoming a Category of One by Joe Calloway: https://amzn.to/2SBkBij SmartRealEstateCoachPodcast.com/webinar SmartRealEstateCoachPodcast.com/termsbook SmartRealEstateCoachPodcast.com/ebook SmartRealEstateCoachPodcast.com/QLS

Stephen is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today’s top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world.   Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes.   Stephen is the author of three books, including the #1 best seller, “Profitable Podcasting”. and his digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine.

The Moneywise Guys Friday, August 24th www.MoneywiseGuys.com  

Stephen Woessner- Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today’s top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 113 countries around the world.   Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes.   Stephen is the author of three books, including the #1 best seller, “Profitable Podcasting”. and his digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine.Listen to another #12minconvo

It’s no secret that podcasts are great educational tools, but did you know that they can also be a great way to build your business? Stephen Woessner joins the show today to explain how. The founder and CEO of digital marketing agency Predictive ROI and the host of Onward Nation—a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today’s top business owners think, act, and achieve—Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.”  In this episode, he discusses the money making opportunities present in podcasting. Listen in to learn the benefits of creating a podcast, strategies for monetization, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2BsmFQ1 

In today's episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Stephen Woessner—founder and CEO of Predictive ROI. He is also the host of the Onward  Nation podcast in which he has interviewed an impressive list of over 500 guests, including Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Jay Baer… just to name a few. Stephen, who has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneurial, and The Washington Post, is a digital marketing authority, entrepreneur, speaker, and educator—he teaches companies and organizations the 8 Money Draining Mistakes and how to fix them, increasing the financial return on investment in the digital world by 200 to 500% or more in 12 months or less. He is also a bestselling author of three books: The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking The third and most recent book was still in production when this episode was recorded. Stephen describes it as, the deepest most comprehensive book on the planet with respect to podcasting, and how to build your business using it. Profitable Podcasting: Grow Your Business, Expand Your Platform, and Build a Nation of True Fans. Profitable Podcasting is an in-depth curriculum that lays out the precise formula for creating, launching, marketing and monetizing podcasts in any industry. Stephen, who loves teaching others, believes that full transparency is the best approach. Listen in as Stephen shares why he wrote the book in lieu of teaching the program as a paid course. Plus, he shares how he developed the 8 Money Draining Mistakes, which are: No baselines or S.M.A.R.T goals Lack of distinction High bounce rate SEO done poorly Not knowing your customer Poor customer experience Too much institutions speak Ambiguous calls to action Also, find out which three past podcasts guests would he like to have over for dinner and what would he would ask them. Stephen is not only a big deal, he is the real deal—and not only is he transparent, but he runs his business with integrity as well. There is a lot to be learned from Stephen Woessner! Listen in now. TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Learn more about Stephen by going to his website at PredictiveROI.com. Scott: Read the book, Act Now!: How I Turn Ideas into Million-Dollar Products by Kevin Harrington. Stephen: Read the book, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

Since the advent of the commercial internet, Stephen Woessner has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. These are the things that literally cause a website to leak serious money…every day. Stephen teaches companies and organizations how to fix them…and how to fix them immediately. Stephen also teaches how to apply what he calls the 8 Money Making Opportunities. These are the things that really matter because they increase financial return on investment in the digital world by 200 to 500 percent or more in 12-months or less. And all of this can be done without needing technical skills. Stephen is host of the Onward Nation podcast, CEO of Predictive ROI, and a digital marketing authority, speaker, educator, and bestselling author two books, The Small Business Owner’s Handbook to Search Engine Optimization and Increase Online Sales through Viral Social Networking. onwardnation.com The Inventors Launchpad – Roadmap to Success Series is presented by Inventors Launchpad in beautiful Tampa Bay, FL and hosted by Carmine Denisco. Carmine is an accomplished Author, Entrepreneur, Inventor and Co-founder/Managing Partner of Inventors Launchpad. Along with his business partner Rick Valderrama has changed the face of the invention industry and look forward to helping inventors from all over the world move their ideas forward. For more information please visit www.inventorslaunchpad.com

How To make money online is what the world is searching for. But what should you do if our have a website that is leaking money bigtime. Well my guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview is a man who since starting his career has worked tirelessly to lift the hood of internet and find out what is going on behind the scenes. Since the advent of the commercial internet, he has collected research, reviewed and plotted thousands of websites across thousands of business to see what they are doing well, and what they are doing badly. He now has tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. These are the things that literally cause a website to leak serious money…every day. And now he teaches companies and organizations how to fix them…and how to fix them immediately. And it appears that the world is full of leaky websites that are doing a fraction of what they should be doing in regards to monetixing, lead generation or simply connecting with customers and keeping them as customers. These are the things that really matter because they increase financial return on investment in the digital world by 200 to 500 percent or more in 12-months or less. And all of this can be done without needing technical skills. He  is host of the Onward Nation podcast, CEO of Predictive ROI, and a digital marketing authority, speaker, educator, and bestselling author two books, The Small Business Owner's Handbook to Search Engine Optimization and Increase Online Sales through Viral Social Networking. So what made the young man with such entrepreneurial spirit enter in the US Air force for four years, as a Senior Airman? And are all his websites fully leak proof, or like every mechanic in the world, is he driving around in something falling to pieces? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Stephen Woessner  

Since the advent of the commercial internet, Stephen Woessner has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. These are the things that literally cause a website to leak serious money…every day. Stephen teaches companies and organizations how to fix them…and how to fix them immediately.

Stephen is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today's top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 108 countries around the world. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the 8 Money Draining Mistakes and the 8 Money Making Opportunities. Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes. Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, The Small Business Owners Handbook to Search Engine Optimization, Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking, and Profitable Podcasting. His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine. In the interview, we discuss the importance of building a culture and brand with your customers and clients. They have more options than ever, so how are you going to set yourself apart? Stephen has an amazing journey through the world of entrepreneurship and loves helping others. We also focus on the the most common money draining mistake and the #1 money making opportunity for any business.

So many companies out there are making the same mistakes, time and time again, which is leading to money flying out the window or at least not coming back to you in the way it should. The goals you set, how you stand out in the market, the depth of understanding you have of your customers and competitors... These are just a few areas that can make a huge impact on your success or lack of. Our guest, Stephen Woessner is CEO of Predictive ROI and the host of the brilliant Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, The Small Business Owner’s Handbook to Search Engine Optimization and Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking. His digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Inc. Magazine and more. And for listening in, Stephen has a special thank you gift, 12 Secrets of Success of Today's Top Business Owners, available at http://onwardnation.com/12download. Also, for his highly acclaimed show, Onward Nation, visit http://onwardnation.com. Or to learn about his digital marketing agency, Predive ROI, visit http://predictiveroi.com/.    

JP Moery welcomes to Association Labs, guest Stephen Woessner, CEO of Predictive ROI and host of Onward Nation podcast. A nationally recognized digital marketing authority, Woessner offers his “8 Money Draining Mistakes” that can cause an organization’s web site to “leak serious money.” He also discusses “8 Money Making Opportunities” that can enable organizations to boost revenue via their digital space. This podcast features fantastic content and is a must-listen for association and business leaders.      

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.   Good Morning Onward Nation...I’m Stephen Woessner. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, I 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 -- the simple mistakes -- that can cause of business to leak serious money every single day. Cash being sucked right out of the company. I devoted last week’s solocast...episode 127...to taking you on a deep dive into the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. But say you studied last week’s solocast -- and have taken corrective action and you have plugged all of the holes in the bottom of the boat. All of the leaks -- the money draining mistakes have been solved. Awesome! The next step is to master and apply what I call the 8 Money Making Opportunities. These 8 opportunities are like a big outboard motor that you put onto the backend of the boat you just fixed -- and then you can zoom across the lake. These 8 opportunities are where ROI in your online marketing gets turbocharged. So in today’s solocast, I am going to take you on a deep dive into the 8 Money Making Opportunities. But why take you on that journey? On the Predictive ROI side of our business, I see it all the time: many business leaders feel overwhelmed by digital marketing or the strategies being applied by the people within their company. Business owners have told me that they often worry they’re not keeping up with the latest advances but fear looking foolish if they ask for help. After 20-years of academic research and private sector experience at Predictive ROI, we’ve developed proven and reliable ways to increase website traffic, leads, and sales. I am going to share the best of what we have with you right now. And if you go to predictiveroi.com/3download you can get access to a private VIP video training series that I created -- it walks alongside of this solocast and provides and even deeper step-by-step process to follow. Each video is 100 percent free training -- I am standing at the whiteboard -- sketching out the recipes so you can put that into practice in your business straightaway. So let’s dig into 8 Money Making Opportunities. Money Making Opportunity #1: HARMONIZE OFFER WITH NEED. The first money maker is adapted from what SUCCESS Magazine publisher Darren Hardy calls “the white knight strategy”. Essentially, you take your X-Y-Z statement (for more on the X-Y-Z exercise, see Money Draining Mistake #2 in last week’s solocast) and then blend it with what you know about your client avatar (again, see Money Draining Mistake #5 for more on the client avatar strategy), and create a statement that shows prospects you have the solution to all their pain points. That makes an empathetic connection with your clients and prospects. Serve up your offer in a way that will inspire an emotional response from your client. For example, many of our clients have been burned by so-called experts, so we include a money back guarantee in our statement. This gives people a sense of relief at the low risk involved in their decision to engage our team. Use your new white knight statement in presentations, articles, proposals, books, training videos, or wherever you make an introduction to your company’s value. Money Making Opportunity #2: BUILD YOUR LIST. The most valuable asset of any business is the client list. To build your list you’ve got to develop a screaming cool offer, such as a free pdf, video series, or exclusive audio insights podcast. The value you create must be massive. Don’t hold back. Share your expertise and keep it focused in the area of your XYZ statement. Then, feature this offer throughout your site for maximum distribution. One of the best tools for maximizing distribution is WP Popup Magic. It's very simple to use. If your value exchange is truly valuable enough, 6 to 13 percent of the visitors to your site will give you their email address just to access what you’re offering. Money Making Opportunity #3: NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS AND INCREASE SALES. Once you have someone’s email, you can guide them into what John Jantsch, in his book "Duct Tape Marketing," calls “the know, like, and trust funnel.” Email marketing is the most effective way to build trust relationships with prospects. By giving, giving, giving to your list through content distribution, you create well-prepared prospects. Then when you offer something really awesome, like a discounted training program for a very limited time, you get immediate and intense conversions for huge revenue. Make your list members feel like they’re in on an exclusive conversation, like they’re sitting around a campfire among only a select few. When you send these Campfire Effect Emails™, you’ll be amazed at the response. Be sure to base your content on your client avatar’s pain points and your white knight statement. Money Making Opportunity #4: NO-FRICTION LEAD GENERATION. The form that visitors use to enter their email addresses needs to be in an environment that encourages trust. What is your form next to on your homepage? Ads? Your blog roll? Put that lead generating form next to a value exchange, such as an offer for a free download or video. You can even put your credentials adjacent to the form to help instill a sense of security in your qualifications as prospects hand over their contact information. Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, my guest for episode 41 of Onward Nation, taught me a very valuable lesson about friction and lead generation. Flint is the director of MECLABS and Marketing Experiments -- the leading researchers in online marketing for the past 15 years. During our interview...he explained that in your optin forms -- every field you include beyond just email -- will reduce your conversion rate by 50 percent. Every field, Onward Nation. Money Making Opportunity #5: CREATE ANTICIPATION. You need to continuously seed and open loops to your sales message within your email funnel, blog posts, webinars, and presentations. Within value based emails, be sure you’re not trying to sell anything. Just offer a tip—for example, one of 47 tips you have for increasing the value of your home. Deliver awesomeness one small piece at a time while mentioning that there are 47 tips total. That opens a loop in their minds, and they’ll be more inclined to read your email next time to learn the next tip. You can also tease your upcoming events, planting a seed that you’ll expand on in a later email dedicated to promoting the event. Money Making Opportunity #6: SOCIAL MEDIA DONE RIGHT. When visitors come to your website from Facebook, Twitter, or other social network, your conversion rate increases dramatically. In fact, social media visitors are 780 percent more likely to buy from you because they’re already social followers. This remarkable finding was part of my thesis at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. I later took the data set, methodology, and result outcomes and had them published in the Journal of E-business...a peer reviewed academic journal. And then I included it in my second book, "Increase Online Sales through Viral Social Networking." But why 780%? Because your connections -- your social media followers -- are further along in the know, like, and trust funnel than someone who finds you through a Google search. We’ve found that if you post twice a day, morning and afternoon, you’ll get and retain the most followers. Use our six to one ratio for posts: six professional or life posts for every one product or sales post. So create six posts related to events you’ve attended, awards you’ve received, blogs you’ve written, or vacations you’ve taken with your family. Let people get to know you. Then write one post that invites followers to buy now, download an offer, or attend a webinar. Our studies show that this strategy will increase site traffic by 23 percent. Money Making Opportunity #7: MULTIPLY CONVERSION RATE BY 200 TO 800%. We strongly encourage our clients to use Adroll.com, the leaders in ad retargeting, or re-marketing as it’s oftentimes called. Retargeting your site visitors means that after someone has visited your site but not converted, they’ll see your ads as they click around to other sites. These retargeted ads increase your conversion rates by 600 to 800 percent because they build on the familiarity prospects already have with your website. But here is the most often made mistake when marketers create a retargeting campaign. Don’t use retargeting to sell. Instead, use retargeting to give! Promote the screaming cool value exchange that leads to an optin. You will experience a much higher conversion rate and your list will grow so you can develop a relationship over time. Money Making Opportunity #8: AND FINALLY…CONDUCT A/B TESTING TO FURTHER INCREASE CONVERSION RATE. Before you make any major change to your site code, conduct A/B testing to see which changes produce positive results in your conversion rate. Online programs like? Visual Website Optimizer help you create a test in a few minutes. We have increased conversion rate by 200 percent through one A/B test. Remember to make one improvement at a time and see how your results change. By incorporating the 8 Money Making Opportunities, you’ll increase leads, conversions, and revenue. A consistent, test-as-you-go method will allow you to see the power of various strategies and start seeing results right away. None of these strategies require specific expertise—you can do this. So with that... I want to say again, thank you for taking the time to be here with me today. It is an honor to have you here -- thank you for tuning in -- your time is sacred and I am delighted you chose this episode to be what you listen to, study, and take with you on your morning run, or maybe Onward Nation has become part of your daily commute, or in some other way has become part of your morning routine. However our daily podcast fits into your daily routine -- I want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing some of your invaluable 86,400 seconds you have in your day with me and the strategies we learn and share each day from today’s top business owners. And please continue to let me know what you think of Onward Nation...good or bad...I always want your feedback. My direct email address is stephen@onwardnation.com -- and yes -- that is my actual Inbox. No fancy filters or filing system and I read and reply to every single email. So please let me know how you think we are doing. I look forward to hearing from you. I will be back tomorrow with my interview with Monica Wofford -- another one of today’s top business owners. Until then, onward with gusto! You can also find us here: ----- OnwardNation.com -----

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. Good Morning Onward Nation...I’m Stephen Woessner. In today’s solocast I am going to take you on an even deeper dive of the 8 Money Draining Mistakes than we have ever taken before. In previous solocasts I have singled out a mistake or two -- and gone pretty deep with the recipe on how to fix the mistake -- but today I am going to address all 8 mistakes. On the Predictive ROI side of our business I see it all the time: Businesses that miss opportunities and waste money online. Over the past 20 years of conducting academic research and working with clients in the private sector, we have collected tens of thousands of data points that show there are 8 areas where most companies misunderstand online consumer behavior. These money draining mistakes cost you visitors, leads, conversions, and massive return on your online investment -- but rest assured, Onward Nation -- they are fixable. So let’s dive into what I mean by the 8 Money Draining Mistakes -- and why they are fixable for any business. I also created a free 3-part video training series that walks alongside of today’s episode that you can download at predictiveroi.com/3download. Mistake #1. NO BASELINES OR S.M.A.R.T. GOALS. Do you use Google analytics? If not, start now. It’s a dashboard that’s easy to understand, and best of all, it’s free. You’ll discover how many visitors are finding your site, how they’re finding it, and what they’re doing once they get there. From those statistics, create a baseline for metrics like unique visitors and lead generation. Next, establish S.M.A.R.T. predictives. In Living Your Best Year Ever, Darren Hardy recommends setting goals that are S.M.A.R.T.— specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive. Apply these qualifiers to your goals for measurements like lead generation and site traffic. Mistake #2. LACK OF DISTINCTION. What are you uniquely qualified to provide, and who are you providing it for? We walk all of our clients through an “XYZ exercise” to help them flesh out their value to potential clients. If you can’t clearly articulate why someone should visit your site and buy from you, how can you expect them to take any action? Fill in the blanks of this XYZ statement: We do ____(x)_____ for _______(y)______ so they can ______(z)_____. Here’s a simple example for a bakery: “We bake quality, gluten-free treats for cookie lovers in University Park so they can enjoy sweets without getting sick.” Now, post this statement on the left side of your homepage above the fold. (Only about 10 percent of visitors will scroll below that fold on any content page.) Visitors to your site will self-select, saying, “Yes, that’s me, and you have just what I’m looking for!” Mistake #3. HIGH BOUNCE RATE. When a visitor arrives at your site and immediately leaves without making a single click, that’s a bounce. The typical business website has a bounce rate between 50 and 60 percent. Your goal should be 30 percent or less. A high bounce rate is the most expensive money drainer. Why? Let’s say you have the standard conversion rate of 2 to 4 percent, and your bounce rate is 50 to 60 percent. If you lowered your bounce rate to 30 percent and still converted 2 to 4 percent of your now 70 percent of visitors, you’d increase your revenue by 42 percent! Getting your XYZ statement right will help reduce bounce rate. So will reducing visual clutter on your homepage to only three main elements. The Harvard Business Review recently published a story that said more choice results in less action by consumers. So when you want them to act, be sure you have a clear call to action. Whether the next step is to sign up for a newsletter, register for a webinar, or buy now, make it easy to take. Think of the opt-in or buying process like leading someone down a garden path in the dark. You’ve got to point out each stepping stone as you go. One of the free videos I prepared for you focuses specifically on bounce rate and the recipe for reducing it. You can access the video series at: predictiveroi.com/3download. Mistake #4. SEO DONE POORLY. Good SEO requires expanding your site’s meaningful content with these principles in mind: Select predictive keywords that relate to your site’s themes and have proven performance on search engines. You can create a free account on SEObook.com and use their Keyword Selector Tool for keyword guidance. Look for a variety of niche keywords with 1 million or fewer competitors. Then include keywords in your page titles, which are the links to your site in Google search results, in your meta keywords, and in your 23-words or less meta description (that sentence or two that runs under your page title on a Google results list). Limit each page’s content to a single, meaningful topic and keep it between 500 to 1,000 words. Fewer than 500 words will prevent you from including enough keyword mentions, and more than 1,000 will lose visitors’ attention. Mistake #5. NOT KNOWING YOUR CUSTOMER. We’ve created two client avatars we call Sally and Harry. They’re ambitious business owners who are active learners. However, sometimes they feel like they don’t know what they’re doing — especially in the area of digital marketing. They’ve been burned in the past by self-proclaimed experts, and they yearn to trust someone who will deliver on promises. Knowing this professional and emotional information about my clients has helped me serve them better and tailor my site content to meet their needs. To create your own client avatar, think of your best clients and then imagine their fears, worries, and needs. Mistake #6. POOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. Use your new client avatar to evaluate your website. Is it easy to navigate for someone unfamiliar with your product, service, or industry? What is your visitor hoping to do the first time they visit? What about returning visitors? Insert easy-to-follow instructions, buttons, and other cues to guide visitors. Mistake #7. TOO MUCH INSTITUTION SPEAK. People want to do business with people. Avoid institutional language or industry jargon. Rather than impress your visitors, you’ll alienate them. Aim to make an emotional connection with your prospects, and let them know you’re human. Mistake #8. AMBIGUOUS CALLS TO ACTION. Have you been to a website and wanted to buy something but you can’t figure out how to give them money? It’s ridiculous. Customers shouldn’t have to wonder what the next step is or have to spend time searching for how to take it. We’ve found time and again that by eliminating these 8 Money Drainers from your site, you’ll see improved analytics data and significant increases in revenue. So with that... I want to say again, thank you for taking the time to be here with me today. It is an honor to have you here -- thank you for tuning in -- your time is sacred and I am delighted you chose this episode to be what you listen to, study, and take with you on your morning run, or maybe Onward Nation has become part of your daily commute, or in some other way has become part of your morning routine. However our daily podcast fits into your daily routine -- I want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing some of your invaluable 86,400 seconds you have in your day with me and the strategies we learn and share each day from today’s top business owners. And please continue to let me know what you think of Onward Nation...good or bad...I always want your feedback. My direct email address is stephen@onwardnation.com -- and yes -- that is my actual Inbox. No fancy filters or filing system and I read and reply to every single email. So please let me know how you think we are doing. I look forward to hearing from you. I will be back tomorrow with my interview with Rick Enrico -- another one of today’s top business owners. The discussion with Rick is amazing -- and how they have built their company -- SlideGenius to 65 employees serving over 700 clients. Until then, onward with gusto! You can also find us here: ----- OnwardNation.com -----

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.   Good Morning Onward Nation – I am so excited for today’s solocast! I’m excited because we are going to continue the momentum we have been building over the last several solocasts where we have begun to uncover what I call the Money Draining Mistakes. These are the mistakes that we all make – yes, everyone one of us from time to time – have made these mistakes in our business – and the net result is that cash has been literally sucked right out of our companies. Very expensive. And yes, I know that sounds a bit overly dramatic but when I share today’s Money Draining Mistake with you – by the end of this episode – my hope for you is that you will see why I consider this one – this mistake – to be one of the most expensive.   It is a silent killer for most businesses. But before we jump into this one – I want to go back to the two biggest challenges that are preventing you from moving your business onward to that next level because those challenges – those barriers to your success have nothing to do the business climate, the economy, the skill level of your employees, the location of your business, your pricing strategy, your current customer base, the size of your marketing budget, the quality of your products, your distribution channels, or the myriad of other reasons we are given today by the media and government as to why businesses fail at such a staggering rate in this country. The obstacles in your way have nothing to do with any of those things.   Your two biggest obstacles are the Fear of Poverty and the Fear of Criticism. I am not going to dissect both of these Fears here – instead, I encourage you to go back and re-listen to episode 65 to understand both fears more deeply – but what I will say is that the Fear of Criticism will directly impact your ability to stay plugged in to this episode and push forward to really want to master the recipe that I share with you during our time together this morning. I guarantee you...if you are like most business owners…as soon as I say the words “Bounce Rate” as part of today’s recipe – you will begin to tune out and lose interest. Or, as I share “data points”...as I discuss things like the “psychology of your customer”, or need to create “clear calls-to-action.” It will be real easy for you to say something like, “I have someone on my team who does that, Stephen...I don’t have to know it.” Why do I think you will say or at least think that? Because you – me – we are all afraid of the unknown. We are uncertain – we are afraid we might fail to understand the concept – the lesson. And so the best way for us to defend against that fear – to protect ourselves – is for us to say, “Oh Stephen, I don’t need to know that because someone on my team gets it...they have it down. I’m all set.” Do they? Do they really? And if you don’t understand it – how can you possibly hope to measure their success in it? Discounting the potential knowledge without really understanding the value of the knowledge is sort of like when we were all back in high school and it came time for Algebra or Biology class – or insert the name of your scary class here – and we tried to convince ourselves that we would never need to have access to that knowledge in our lifetime. Somehow we felt prepared to make that decision at 16 or 17 years old. And yet, if you were to sit down with someone like Mark Cuban, one of the acclaimed investors from Shark Tank and ask him what he wishes he would have done a better job of learning along the way…he readily admits…that he would have done a better job studying those things that he quickly discounted – that he told himself he would never need – and now he wishes he had mastered those skills early on…things like Algebra, Biology, and so forth. So this episode – episode 89 – you need to know that I am likely going to push you...to push your Fear of Criticism. But in full transparency – I think that is part of my job to help you grow – to help you become more certain – to help you reach that next level. And as my drill instructor said to me once – well, he actually shouted it to me one morning – I think he just wanted to be sure I heard him and never forgot the message – he stood over top of me as I was doing sit ups during PT one morning in basic training…it was June of 1990 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas...5:00 in the morning and it was already about 90 degrees – how was that even possible – and as I was doing each repetition – St. Hodge looked down at me and yelled, “Airman Woessner, you are required to perform 25 repetitions of this exercise. HOWEVER...you are encouraged to do more.” He set the standard of excellent for me that morning. The standard was not the bare minimum of doing what was required – knowing what you had to know – or doing the least possible with as little effort as necessary. No, the standard was more – a lot more – and undefined – my standard – my bar was to do the most repetitions that I could possibly do – my personal best – to pursue excellence – and I never forgot the message – and now I pass it on to you. So to get that next level – you need to learn things you didn’t think you needed to learn – to master skills that someone on your team may also know – and to execute and implement with a standard of excellence – not the bare minimum. You Onward Nation are not average. You Onward Nation have a different standard. You Onward Nation are moving your business to that next level. And you do that by pushing past the Fear of Criticism – the fear of failure – the fear of not thinking you are worthy or smart enough.   Because you are smart enough – you can absolute master this...and this...Onward Nation...is Money Draining Mistake #3...High Bounce Rate. Are you ready to move onward with gusto? Let’s start this off with a scenario that happens every day within a typical business… Someone visits the website’s home page, a product page, or perhaps a blog post the business owner wrote. The person quickly scans the page from top to bottom, left to right, and after a second or two, they decide they hate it. They puke in a bucket and then immediately leave. And they continuing searching...except they continue searching SOMEPLACE ELSE. That person “bounced” because he or she was not motivated enough to make one single click within the site. Bounce rate is one of the most powerful metrics we have because it gives us insight into whether or not our customers believe we are delivering the value they want and need. Most un-optimized websites have a bounce rate between 50 to 60 percent (this represents huge opportunity for you if you apply steps 1-2-3 below). In other words, after all of the hard work you put toward building traffic through trade shows, advertising, public relations, email campaigns, content development, social media, and search engine optimization, between 50 and 60 percent of the people you attract will immediately leave without making one single click. And that is why I called this mistake the silent killer way back in my introduction to this episode. Let’s do a quick test. Pause this episode, open your Google Analytics dashboard, and check your bounce rate. If it 30 percent or less, give yourself a pat on the back because that is the target you should strive to reach. But if your bounce rate is above 50 percent, then the rest of this article will provide you with three steps you can apply to drive down bounce rate while converting more of your traffic into leads and sales. Let’s first calculate the dollar value that bounce rate is currently costing you. Say your website attracted 12,539 unique visitors during the past 12-months. And let’s say your website bounce rate is currently right in the middle of the 50 to 60 percent range (54.88 percent to be exact). That means 6,881 site visitors immediately bounced from your website during those 12-months (12,539 x .5488 = 6,881). The remaining 5,659 were the suspects you could attempt to convert into a lead or sale through some form of call-to-action, such as a phone call, visit to your store, etc. Now, let’s say your call-to-action process has been fine-tuned over the years so 4.77 percent of your suspects are converted into leads (between 2 to 4 percent is the global standard). This means 270 leads, phone calls, store visits, etc. were generated during the 12-months (5,659 suspects x .0477 conversion rate = 270). And lastly, let’s assume you have a history of converting 50 percent of your leads, such as inquiries, phone calls, store visits, etc. into sales, and each sale has an average value of $500. The revenue generated via your website should have been approximately $67,500 (270 x .5000 = 135 sales x $500 value = $67,500). Now, let’s lower bounce rate to the target level of 30 percent. I first learned about the 30 percent target from my friend and mentor, Avinash Kaushik, digital marketing evangelist for Google and co-founder of Market Motive. You can learn more about Avinash in episode 40 of Onward Nation. Now only 3,761 of the visitors bounce during the same 12-month time period (12,539 x .3000 = 3,761). You now have 8,778 suspects instead of 5,659. Big difference. Let’s also assume you maintained your 4.77 percent conversion rate into leads and your average order remained at $500. Your 8,778 suspects would convert into 418 leads, and those leads would convert into 209 sales, which would result in $104,500 in revenue (418 x .0477 = 418 x .5000 = 209 x $500 = $104,500). This represents a 54.81 percent increase in sales. Awesome. And the only thing that changed was bounce rate. Here’s the good news...any business owner can apply three simple steps to reduce bounce rate. At the bottom of this today’s Show Notes you will find a mini-class I recorded to provide some additional bounce rate insights. Free video training resource – I hope you find it valuable. So what is the first step?   We – and our business – must be distinctive. Now, distinction is not just about being different. Distinction creates loyal customers who continue coming back to you over and over again. If you want to learn more about distinction – go back to episode 1 and listen to the words of wisdom from Scott McKain, the leading authority on the topic of distinction and its importance in your business. And one of the very best recipes for how to create distinction is one that I learned from Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS Magazine. Darren calls it the X-Y-Z Exercise and there are 3 simple steps.   Step 1: Complete the X-Y-Z Exercise Just answer three questions and blend the answers into a clear and concise statement. Caution: the questions are simple but they are not easy to answer. It will likely take you and your team about 60 to 90-minutes to complete this exercise with excellence. We do X (X equals the products and services your business provides to customers) For Y (Y equals the profile of your typical customer) So that they can Z (Z equals the result outcomes your customers receive from your products or services) Then place your X-Y-Z statement on your website above the fold – meaning – so the visitors to your website do not need to scroll in order to read it. Why above the fold? So your visitors will see it right away and they will know they are in the right place. When that happens, bounce rate goes down.   Step 2: Eliminate Visual Clutter The January-February 2013 issue of the Harvard Business Review reported the results of a study on consumer choice, which confirmed that providing more options did not increase choice. In fact, more options actually decreased choice. So instead of having 15 options on your website, i.e. photos, copy blocks, or calls-to-action, just have three easy-to-understand options and eliminate all the rest. Your customers see a multitude of options as visual clutter and that encourages bounce.   Step 3: Create Clear Calls-to-Action Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, director of Marketing Experiments once said to me, “Clarity always trumps persuasion.” So are you being clear with customers regarding the steps they need to take along the decision-making path? Have a clear and concise path to purchase. That’s all you need. Okay, Onward Nation – that was Money Draining Mistake #3…High Bounce Rate. Now, if you if you are hearing those voices in your head – if you are having thoughts that are even remotely similar to what I described at the beginning of this episode – don’t run -- let those thoughts be your litmus test – they are telling you that you are heading in the right direction. Push forward – don’t stop – don’t let your fear hold you back from breaking through to that next level. And remember, you are the average of the people you spend the most time with…and look who Stacey Alcorn from episode #3 is spending the most time with. She refers to herself as “A billionaire in the making.” And in order for that vision for her life to become a reality – she knows that she needs to spend as much time as possible with other billionaires. Well, I will let you in on a secret she told me during our interview – Stacey didn’t have those connections several years ago. But she DECIDED that was going to change and then she took action to make it happen. I hope that makes sense.     Okay, Onward Nation – I hope this solocast was valuable to you. Please drop me a line and let me know what you thought. You can share your comments at the bottom of the show notes for this episode – or – you can email me anytime at Stephen @ onwardnation.com and yes – that is my actual email address – comes directly to me – no fancy filter, routing, or sorting…comes right to my Inbox. Feel free to use it anytime. Let me know…thumbs up or thumbs down? Drop me a line. I will be back tomorrow with another amazing interview with one of today’s top business owners. Until then…onward with gusto!   Stephen     You can find us at: -----OnwardNation.com------

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.   Good Morning, Onward Nation…I’m Stephen Woessner. Since the advent of the commercial Internet…I 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 – like yours – to leak serious money every day. You may remember that I mentioned the Money Draining Mistakes during episode #68…but we didn’t have time to dig deep. So for today’s solocast, I decided to loop back around and dedicate today’s episode toward how to fix one of the most expensive mistakes. It’s Money Draining Mistake #5…and I call it “Not Knowing Your Customer.” I am excited to share this strategy and recipe with you because every time I sit down to prepare for a solocast…I think about you…and what I hope will be the result outcomes for you as a result of you listening and applying what you learn. Why do I do this? 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…I put in the time – the hard work to ensure that I deliver significant value. It needs to be a fair trade of your time for the business value I deliver. I consider your time investment to be sacred. So here it is – for this episode – we are going to dig deep into why most companies do not know their customers – how they miss the single WORD that could completely alter the customer relationship – 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. My hope for you is that you will take this recipe – apply it – and see predictable, measurable, and repeatable increases in sales inside your business as a result. 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 – maybe even take some notes – or share this episode with a colleague. But ultimately, your inaction will signify your acceptance of operating your business – and maybe even your life – at the level of the status quo. Onward Nation – please don’t let this be you! Don’t fall into the trap of procrastination. My hope for you is that you will take the notes – have the discussions with your team – and then put the steps into action – swiftly. This strategy has the potential of being a game-changer for you.   Let’s begin. First…I will ask you a question. What’s the number one reason people buy anything? I will give you a hint. It has nothing to do with the features, advantages, or benefits of the product or service. In fact – it has everything to do with just one, four-letter word. And that word is “HOPE.” 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’s it – HOPE. 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. You do this by becoming a HOPE Dealer to your customers. Let’s take this a little bit deeper with another question. What percent of people make a purchase decision based solely on emotional reasons? Would you guess 20%? 30%? 50%? The answer is 100%. 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 – yes, 100% of them – are made for purely emotional reasons. I explain why within the solocast. This is an incontrovertible fact. Therefore, you need to understand your prospects and customers from an emotional perspective. You need to understand their challenges. You need to understand their pain points. And as one of my mentors, Darren Hardy likes to say, you need to metaphorically “Lay in their bed at night” to understand what is causing them pain. 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. Once you have collected that data – you will have all you need in order to create your customer or client “Avatar.” CAUTION! 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. For example...when I am not interviewing today’s top business owners for Onward Nation episodes, I am the CEO of Predictive ROI…a digital marketing agency that specializes on delivering guaranteed sales and financial return on investment for our clients, or our work is free. So at Predictive ROI…our client avatars are “Harry” and “Sally” (we chose those names because “When Harry Met Sally” is one of my favorite movies of all time). And this is Sally: Sally and her team are ambitious and want to learn new things She knows there is more opportunity and growth “out there” and is frustrated she does not know how to capitalized on it, faster She reads lots of books but doesn’t know a good idea from a bad one She is uncertain and afraid to fail She has been fooled before and does not know who to believe Everything sounds too good to be true And Sally has said to me…“Stephen...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”. During more than one prospect client presentation, “Sally” has said to me – “My goodness, that is me.” I smile when it happens because I know we just made a powerful connection. You can too if you answer the eight questions in this episode and apply what you learned. In closing…remember this reality…you are the average of the people you spend the most time with. So you need to spend your time with people you have a common future with – not a common past. And by consistently listening to Onward Nation – you are spending time with today’s top business owners…the people who are crushing it and already at the next level…the people whose recipes and strategies can help you grow your business, make your network more robust, and become more influential. All so you can reach your goals and move your business onward to that next level. I hope that makes sense. Okay, Onward Nation – my hope is this solocast was valuable to you. Please drop me a line and let me know what you thought. Keep the feedback coming. You can reach me directly at stephen at OnwardNation.com and let me know -- thumbs up or thumbs down? Onward with gusto! -- Stephen     You can also find us here: ------ OnwardNation.com ------

Good Morning, Onward Nation…Stephen Woessner here. I am going to continue the solocast momentum that was started last week in episode 65 with today’s episode – episode 68. I am pleased to report that last week’s solocast went well – despite making me uncomfortable and really pushing my comfort zone – smiling – so I am going move onward with gusto and record a new solocast once a week so I can really dig deep into a topic or a business issue. I will then share strategies and ideas that we have tested and applied in our companies so you have the same opportunity to apply those recipes into your business. As I prepare for each of these solocasts…I think about you…and what I hope will be the result outcome for you as a result of listening. So here it is – for this episode – my hope for you is that this episode will help bring into focus the 6 Vital Metrics controlling your growth. More specifically…here’s what we will cover during this episode. 1) We are going to define some terminology like Vital Priorities, Vital Functions, and Vital Metrics. 2) I will show you how to identify the 5 or 6 Vital Metrics you need to pay attention to in order to ensure that your sales and marketing strategies are turning your business into what I like to call a “Sales Generating Machine”. 3) And lastly…I want you to give me a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on this episode by reaching out to me at stephen at onwardnation.com. So let’s get started. The first term we need to define it Vital Priorities. What are they and why are they relevant? Let’s think of Vital Priorities as your big goals over the next 12-months – and if we didn’t accomplish anything else – the year would have still been a major success. But if you didn’t accomplish these goals, then the rest of the year would not have mattered. That is the incredible importance of Vital Priorities. Then there are Vital Functions and those are the skills – the processes – the talents you possess that make you the best inside your company at certain tasks and projects. We aren’t going to spend time delving into Vital Functions during this solocast but I will likely dedicate a future show specifically to taking Vital Functions deep. Then there are the Vital Metrics and this is how you should quantify and measure your success – your progress toward accomplishing your Vital Priorities. I should also cite the source and give credit where credit it due. The terminology of Vital Priorities, Vital Functions, and Vital Metrics is not my own. It is a process – a strategy – that I learned from one of my influential mentors, Darren Hardy, Publisher of SUCCESS Magazine. Darren and I have spent a lot of one-on-one time together – some of it painful – because learning those lesson that need to be learned can sometimes be a painful experience. Darren has been an incredible mentor. Before I share the Vital Priorities with you – let me proactively answer a question that tends to cloud the minds of business owners. Oftentimes a business owner will say to me, “Stephen, this sounds great but I have people on my team who do this digital marketing stuff. Why do I need to care about this? I don’t want to learn it.” You don’t need to be the one who pulls the levers or turns the knobs, but if you don’t pay attention to the scorecard, no one else will. I asked Avinash Kaushik, digital marketing evangelist for Google the same question, and his answer was, “It's because if you care about it — and you understand it — then you will be rich. But if you just dump it on someone else's lap, then you will be poor. That should be incentive enough." Well, said Avinash. Here are the three Vital Priorities: 1) Acquisition: you need to pay attention to the amount of traffic flow to your digital existence – your website – and the sources of that traffic to ensure the sources are high quality and consist of the right audience. If your site is attracting the wrong traffic from the wrong sources, your lead generation and revenue generation efforts will suffer. 2) Engagement: yes, Facebook Likes, Twitter followers, comments, shares, etc. are all valuable metrics that indicate engagement with your content and online community. But for the “engagement” Vital Priority, what you should be looking for is a reduction in bounce rate, increase in time on site, or other metrics that indicate the behavior of your audience is indicating that you are creating well-prepared prospects. 3) Transaction: this is the ultimate litmus test of success – did you sell something? Were you able to convert site traffic into leads and then those leads into buyers? Did the average conversion value increase, did the number of days to convert someone from a lead into a sale decrease, and did total company revenue increase? If not, then the strategy / recipe needs to be revisited with your team and likely revised. Along with the three Vital Priorities, there are also 6 Vital Metrics. And they are: 1) Change (increase / decrease) in unique website visitors 2) Change (increase / decrease) in conversion rate of unique website visitors into email optins for Flitz 3) Change (increase / decrease) in conversion rate of email optins into buyers 4) Change (increase / decrease) in overall conversion rate of site visits into buyers 5) Change (increase / decrease) in average order value 6) Increase in total company revenue And during the solocast…I also explain the S.M.A.R.T. framework to goal setting and how the lack of baselines and S.M.A.R.T. goals creates one of the most expensive Money Draining Mistakes for an organization. In closing…remember this reality…you are the average of the people you spend the most time with. So you need to spend your time with people you have a common future with – not a common past. And by consistently listening to Onward Nation – you are spending time with today’s top business owners…the people who are crushing it and already at the next level…the people whose recipes and strategies can help you grow your business, make your network more robust, and become more influential. All so you can reach your goals and move your business onward to that next level. I hope that makes sense. Okay, Onward Nation – my hope is this solocast was valuable to you. Please drop me a line and let me know what you thought. Keep the feedback coming. You can reach me directly at stephen at OnwardNation.com and let me know -- thumbs up or thumbs down? Onward with gusto! -- Stephen