In this solo podcast episode, Sally Koering Zimney, a virtual speaker coach for purpose‑driven entrepreneurs, explains why a signature talk is a foundational tool for any business. She first addresses the common doubt that speaking isn’t for everyone, then outlines three ways a signature talk can be leveraged: (1) revenue generation – paid speaking gigs that target a deep, smaller audience; (2) lead generation – unpaid or low‑fee talks that provide wide visibility and funnel new prospects; and (3) impact generation – a hybrid approach that blends revenue and lead goals, adapting to seasonal business needs (cash‑flow focus vs brand‑awareness focus). Sally emphasizes that speaking can grow audience, raise money, and expand impact. She concludes by promoting two concrete pathways for listeners: a series of masterclasses revealing her five “behind‑the‑scenes” secrets for building a signature talk, and the SignatureTalk Studio program for hands‑on development. The episode is instructional, enthusiastic, and aimed at entrepreneurs who want to integrate speaking into their growth strategy.
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Well, hey everybody! On the show today, we are talking about the way in which a signature talk fits into your overall business and why you need one. Hey movers, it's Sally Koering Zimney with Be Moved. Let's go create some talks that will move this world. We're going to talk with amazing speakers, share tips, tricks, resources, and we are going to be moved So that our audience can be moved. This moved me. What is moving you? Hi friends, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Sally Zimney. I'm your virtual speaker coach and I help purpose-driven entrepreneurs and changemakers like you leverage speaking in your business so you can step on stage, real or virtual, with more courage and clarity and finally leave self-doubt and obscurity in the dust because you've got something to say and the world needs your voice. So let's do this. But one of the big questions people often ask is, do I really need speaking in my business? Like, how? I don't know, speaking is not really my thing. I'm more of a writer. You know, I leave that to other people because I'm just, I'm not really a speaker. But at the same time, how many times have you been sitting in the audience watching somebody speak and thought, I could do that. Man, would I like that platform. Man, would I like to be in front of that many eyes and ears. Man, could that totally change my business. It can. It's big. One speech can change everything. Your signature talk— wow, that was hard to say for some reason— your signature talk can be that one talk and it can change everything because it's such a foundational tool in your business. So I want to talk with you today the ways in which it can be a part of your business and change your business. You ready? Let's do it. And if you're new here, be sure you hit the— I always do that. If you're new here, be sure you hit the subscribe button so that you never miss a video or what's happening here on the show, on the podcast, on YouTube, wherever you're finding me, make sure you subscribe and say hello in the comments 'cause I love to meet new people. Okay, so the question that we are— look at me in a little circle, isn't that fun? Ah! Making my head a little bit bigger. So the question we are asking ourselves right now is, How do you want to leverage speaking this year? Okay, it's October 2020 and you're looking ahead already. It's Q4. We're looking ahead to 2021, aren't you? I am. And speaking is absolutely a part of my business. So I want to talk with you about the two main ways that people use speaking to help elevate their business. So the first is revenue generation. Now this is kind of a no duh, right? Because typically you get paid for speaking opportunities and speaking gigs. The focus as we create our talks with a focus on revenue development is you're really focusing on the funnel into that opportunity. So it's really all about what happens before, because once you get the gig, check, you've got the money. Yay! Now our audience around revenue generation tends to be deeper rather than wider. So for instance, you might get paid a lot of money to do a half-day or day-long workshop with 30 people. That's not about impacting a wide audience, but it is about impacting deeply with a smaller audience. But if it helps with your revenue generation goal, then awesome. And the focus when we are thinking about using speaking in our business for revenue generation, the focus is more on money rather than visibility. Both are important, but when revenue generation is your focus, These are some of the things that you want to be thinking about. Now, if lead generation is your focus, you're really thinking about what happens after the speech more than about what happens before, because maybe you're not getting paid for this gig, but you have visibility and access to thousands of people. That might be worth it for you if lead generation is your goal. And our audience with lead generation tends to be a lot wider rather than deeper. Both are important, both are valuable. They're just different focuses and different goals. And of course, visibility is the focus rather than how much money you're getting paid for it. Now, ideally you're doing a little bit of both, and I call that impact generation because sometimes your lead generation opportunities lead to revenue generation, or sometimes revenue generation— let's see, Sometimes revenue generation helps you with, oops, wrong way. Revenue generation helps you with lead generation. So you want to have a little bit of both. And there may be different seasons in your business. So for a while you're like, man, I could just really use some help with the cash flow, so I'm gonna focus on revenue generation and not worry so much about lead generation and visibility. I'm gonna focus on high-paying opportunities. On the other hand, you may be in a season of your business where it's like, I've gotta get the word out. I'm not gonna worry so much about these opportunities paying me, but I'm gonna make sure that they are part of my marketing plans and strategies because it's all about lead generation. Now, whichever way you end up leaning on this, whether it's lead generation or revenue generation or a mix of both, your strategies and your overall business are gonna help you determine what you need to be doing. But clearly speaking can play a role in growing your audience, in raising more money, in growing your impact. Speaking is an essential part of growing our businesses and growing our impact. Now, if you want to know more about how you can bring speaking to life in your business and develop that signature talk that you can lean on, I've got two opportunities for you that I want to make sure you check out. The first is starting on October 21st. I'm doing 4 different masterclass experiences that will share with you my 5 behind-the-scenes secrets for how I've helped hundreds of people create wow-worthy signature talks. And I would love to see you there. You can click on that link below and find a date that works for you, and I'll see you in the masterclass. Or if you know you are ready, I am ready, I'm ready to make a signature talk and I want to work with you, Sally, to do it, I would love that, then you can go to this link right here, bemoove.com/jointhestudio, and join us in the SignatureTalk Studio. It's open right now. Now's your chance. I would love to see you there. That's it for me. I will see you next week over on the show, either in the podcast or on YouTube. Talk soon. This moved me. What is moving you? OMG, what are we talking about?
