In this solo podcast episode, Sally Koening Zimney delivers a passionate, urgent pitch for her upcoming Speaking Story course, which closes enrollment 36 hours after the episode’s release (Sept 17‑18, 2019). She openly admits her discomfort with self‑promotion, recounts how a Jenna Kutcher interview helped her reframe selling as an act of belief, and argues that charging for coaching creates “skin in the game,” leading to deeper commitment and better results. Sally contrasts the abundance of free content she’s offered over four years with the limits of free‑only development, asserting that paid investment accelerates story mastery. She cites concrete ROI examples—a multimillion‑dollar deal and viral social‑media videos—illustrating how a powerful story can generate massive financial returns, audience attention, and emotional connection. The episode repeatedly emphasizes the cost of inaction, frames the $497 price as an investment versus a loss, and ends with a clear call‑to‑action to enroll at speakingstory.com before the deadline.
Chapters
Hello, my movers. I hope everybody's having a great, great day. It is Tuesday of our power week, the Power Story Week. My Speaking Story course closes enrollment. If you are hearing this on the day that it comes out, September 17th, it closes on the 18th. So time is running short. We are in the final push for Speaking Story, the fall 2019 class. So you've maybe got 36 hours before enrollment closes. And truth be told, I just need to tell you all, I really hate promoting things. I really, I hate promoting stuff, but I have been promoting my butt off for this because I believe in it so, so much. I literally, we're going to talk about this today. We're going to get real today because If you are speaking, then you are promoting things. So let's talk about this a little bit. Now, I have spent the last 4 years on this podcast creating what I really hope and believe is super valuable, thoughtful, inspirational content that will help you create a talk that will move this world for free, because that is how I work. Oh my goodness, people. I really like to create content and then I just kind of put it out there and hope people will find it valuable. I have given away so much content over the last 4 years. It's kind of mind-boggling. And marketing people that I work with are just like, what are you doing, Sally? Stop just giving it away for free. And I'm not gonna stop giving it away for free. There's always gonna be free content available, but I have been really challenged recently on this. And if you are somebody who's out there speaking and speaking is a part of your business, I think this is going to resonate with you because the truth is that I'm probably not serving you the best and as well as I can when it's all for free. And here's why. When people invest in their development, they get better. I have seen this and know it to be true as a coach again and again and again. The more I charge, the more engagement and commitment in the partnership because there is skin in the game. The same is true for our story development. If we want to get better, if we are serious about getting better, we have to put some skin in the game. And right now when I say that, oh my gosh, the Midwestern Minnesotan in me is like, oh, Sally, It's uncomfortable, right? Because I don't want to make other people uncomfortable. And I'm much more comfortable saying, "Hey, I made this thing and I hope you like it and it's valuable and thanks, bye-bye." Like, what happens after that? I don't know, but great. But my friend Tiffany from There She Grows sent me this Jenna Kutcher podcast as I was starting to promote this course. And You guys probably have heard Jenna Kutcher's podcast called Goal Digger, and it's awesome. And it, it connected with me because she is a Minnesotan like me, and she was talking about the discomfort in selling. But I listened to this podcast and she really inspired me to sell from my belief, to sell because I believe in this, and to let go of that fear. Because I really do believe in the power of story. And if you have to sell stuff, you've gotta go listen to that episode. It is totally worth listening to. And it has helped me in this season of selling because I worry, ugh, is this annoying? Am I pushing people away? This is hard stuff. I'm not gonna lie. It is, It's hard to talk about. It's hard to do, but I believe in the power and the value of story. It is hard to put marketing messages into a value. It's hard to put a value on that, but here's the deal. I, I've helped people tell a story that landed a multimillion dollar deal. I've helped people tell a story that went viral on YouTube and Facebook. I've helped people stand in their own vulnerable story. And watched it move people, impact people, create the emotion and feeling that ushers in change. And we just, we can't put a price tag on any of that. So when people look at the price of Speaking Story and go, hmm, $497, that's a lot. I agree. I agree. It is. I have sat where you are sitting and thought, ooh, that, "it will hurt the checking account. I'm going to feel that." That might be true, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I want you to feel it because that will mean you will commit to it and invest in it and do the work of creating a more powerful story. Because I think the cost of not doing it is bigger. You are going to feel that too. So let's just be real about that. The feeling of confidence and clarity in your message, connection to your audience, that is worth hours and hours of worrying, of failed attempts, of guessing games in your story, of living in the land of the, what I've been calling the so-so story. I, nobody wants to live in that land anymore. And most of our stories live in the land of the so-so story, and it's just falling flat. No thanks. Your story, your message, your business, your idea, if you want it to connect, to stick, to grow, then it needs a powerful story and you are worth the investment. This Minnesota gal is getting over herself and I am here to push you. The ROI of a powerful story could be a million dollars. It could be a viral video, but most valuable of all, the ROI of a powerful story is the attention and connection with your audience. Let's do this. Come with me. Let's speak your story. You can join me at speakingstory.com. I would love to see you there. We've got 24 hours-ish until enrollment closes. So if you are listening to this and if you are feeling as jazzed as I am feeling, I want you to get your butts over there. Let's do this. Your message, your story deserves it. All right, my friends, that's it for me. I'm gonna see you tomorrow. Final push. This time I'm not done. I'm not done challenging you to bring your story out into the world and to push you to do it bigger and better. Mm-hmm. Check you later, Gators. Bye.
