Strategy with Sally

Sally Sparks-Cousins

Strategy with Sally (formerly Straight Talk with Sally) Strategy with Sally is the podcast for women in business who are ready to stop winging it and start building a business that actually works — with clear strategy, smart systems, and the confidence to take imperfect action. Hosted by Sally Sparks-Cousins, business strategist, automation nerd, and co-founder of OmniSAM, this show dives into business strategy, personal branding, marketing, social media, mindset, automation, and scalable systems — without the fluff or hustle-for-hustle's-sake. Sally is on a mission to help women build businesses around their zone of genius (aka inner sparkle), reclaim their time, trust their numbers, and create sustainable success while balancing business, family, lifestyle, and mindset. Each week, you'll find: ◉ Practical business strategy you can actually implement ◉ Real conversations about growth, confidence, and leadership ◉ Simple systems and automation insights for small business owners ◉ Thought-provoking lessons on what it really takes to be a business owner and thought leader If you're ready to build a business on your terms, back yourself, and get out of overthinking and into action — you're in the right place. It's time to get sh*t done — strategically. ✨

  1. 7h ago

    #619: Quick Tip: Sparkle Live in Five Challenge Episode 6

    List Growth Made Easy Day 6: Why Your Email List Matters More Than Followers On day six of the List Growth Made Easy challenge, Telly Swartz-Cousins, founder of OmniSAM, introduces herself and explains that OmniSAM helps businesses save time by removing repetitive tasks so leads don't fall through the cracks. She shares why she runs the challenge: social followers and likes are "vanity metrics" that can disappear overnight, as she experienced when she lost her Facebook account for 18 months and her Instagram presence due to a name verification issue, impacting connections and revenue. She emphasizes that an email list is an owned asset that lets you serve and nurture people until they're ready to buy, and recounts stories showing that large followings don't guarantee sales while email lists reflect business health and recurring revenue. She ties the challenge to marketing after course creation, reminding viewers you can't sell a secret. 00:00 Day Six Kickoff 00:21 Meet Telly and OmniSAM 00:52 Why Email Lists Matter 02:26 Owning Your Audience 02:59 Vanity Metrics Stories 03:44 Email List Revenue Link 04:27 Challenge Highlights 04:42 From Course to Marketing Join the Private OmniSAM Community: omnisam.com.au/gsdgroup Facebook Group: gsdfb.omnisam.com.au Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/sallysparkscousins Watch the Live Stream & Subscribe for More Updates: OmniSAM YouTube: youtube.com/@omnisamsoftware Sally Sparks-Cousins YouTube: youtube.com/@sallysparkscousins

  2. 4d ago

    #618: Quick Tip: Sparkle Live in Five Challenge Episode 5

    My Most Embarrassing Business Moment: Zoom Bombers During a Live Training Sally shares her most embarrassing business moment during a live Zoom training with 50–60 attendees while streaming to YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms, when repeated "Zoom bombers" joined and displayed nudity and pornographic screen shares that she and her team struggled to remove. After shutting down and restarting the room only to have the same problem continue, she ultimately ran the session without live streaming. She reflects that Zoom later introduced more security features like passwords, waiting rooms, and better blocking tools, and she learned not to share Zoom links publicly, instead disguising links with Pretty Links. She closes by mentioning she's in a late-night OmniSAM Academy Zoom room working on end-of-year celebration planning and shows an early preview of a Christmas party website with agenda details and fun graphics like fireworks and confetti. 00:00 Embarrassing Moment Prompt 00:14 Zoom Bombing Chaos 01:47 Shutting Down The Stream 02:41 Lessons And Security Tips 03:31 Late Night Academy Update 03:54 Building Christmas Party Site 04:59 Fireworks Confetti Preview 05:22 Wrap Up And Goodbye Join the Private OmniSAM Community: omnisam.com.au/gsdgroup Facebook Group: gsdfb.omnisam.com.au Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/sallysparkscousins Watch the Live Stream & Subscribe for More Updates: OmniSAM YouTube: youtube.com/@omnisamsoftware Sally Sparks-Cousins YouTube: youtube.com/@sallysparkscousins

  3. 6d ago

    #616: Quick Tip: Sparkle Live in Five Challenge Episode 4

    On day four of the Sparkle Live in Five Challenge, Sally invites viewers to register at sparkleliveinfive.com (or sparklelivechallenge.com), go live daily all month, and tag her so she and her podcast manager can review videos, award prizes, and potentially invite participants onto the Strategy with Sally podcast; she also notes you can practice inside a private Facebook group. She shares the deeper reason she started her business: after losing her son Dylan in 2004 while working a secure government job, she realized life is too short not to do what she loves, leading her to start DJ Dedicated Photography in his honor, later expand into design, study graphic design and education, and teach. After major health setbacks, she built a successful network marketing team from bed, then invested in online courses, created her first course on going live, and eventually committed to entrepreneurship full time, continuing for her clients and her goal of inspiring 33 million people. 00:00 Challenge Welcome 00:13 How to Join 00:50 Podcast Visibility Perk 01:46 Today's Prompt 02:05 Side Hustle Roots 02:43 Loss and Purpose 04:19 Study and Teaching 06:10 Hospital Pivot 07:11 Network Marketing Breakthrough 09:30 Entrepreneur Realization 10:04 First Course Leap 12:34 Why I Keep Going 14:23 Shout Outs and Winners 15:32 Commit and Connect 15:52 Final Sign Off   Join the Private OmniSAM Community: omnisam.com.au/gsdgroup Facebook Group: gsdfb.omnisam.com.au Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/sallysparkscousins Watch the Live Stream & Subscribe for More Updates: OmniSAM YouTube: youtube.com/@omnisamsoftware Sally Sparks-Cousins YouTube: youtube.com/@sallysparkscousins

  4. Oct 12

    #615: Quick Tip: Sparkle Live in Five Challenge Episode 3

    Day three of the Sparkle Live in 5 Challenge prompts viewers to answer "What do you sell?" by sharing their offer confidently, simply, and without overexplaining, emphasizing that you "can't sell a secret." Sally encourages practicing on live video, listening back for clarity, and repurposing the content, and invites first-time viewers to comment "live" to join the daily-prompt challenge. She shares her own three-tier offer: OmniSAM software (a CRM plus websites, funnels, stores, bookings, and more), a done-with-you Academy that includes the software and training in sales, marketing, and automation with access to experts and open Zoom support, and a Studio done-for-you service for clients who want speed. She also promotes a free List Growth Made Easy training series in the GSD community. 00:00 Today's Prompt What You Sell 00:43 Explain It Simply 01:13 How Live in 5 Works 02:27 My Three Offers Overview 02:40 Offer One Software CRM 03:13 Offer Two Academy Done With You 03:53 Offer Three Studio Done For You 04:19 Who Each Offer Fits 04:49 Expert Support Inside Academy 05:34 How Clients Upgrade Downgrade 05:59 Tomorrow's Free List Growth Training 06:35 Wrap Up Keep Going Live Join the Private OmniSAM Community: omnisam.com.au/gsdgroup Facebook Group: gsdfb.omnisam.com.au Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/sallysparkscousins Watch the Live Stream & Subscribe for More Updates: OmniSAM YouTube: youtube.com/@omnisamsoftware Sally Sparks-Cousins YouTube: youtube.com/@sallysparkscousins

  5. Oct 9

    #614: How to Manage Proposals, Contracts, Invoices & Payments in One Place

    Contracts, Proposals, and Invoices in One Place: Automate Payments in OmniSAM Sally Sparks-Cousins demonstrates how to manage proposals/estimates, invoices, and contracts end-to-end inside OmniSAM so accepted proposals or signed contracts can automatically generate invoices and take payment. She begins by having viewers map their customer journey (proposal/estimate, contract signing, invoicing, payment method, onboarding) to create visibility on who has viewed, accepted, or paid. Sally walks through OmniSAM's Payments area: branding and configuration in Settings (logo sizing, business details, custom values like ABN, terms text, labels), defaults (due dates, expiry, partial payments, late fees, tips), products, reminders, and customizing email templates and internal notifications. She then creates and sends an invoice and an estimate that converts to an invoice upon acceptance, and shows building contracts/documents with fillable fields, signing order, content library sections, product blocks that trigger invoices or auto-payments, attachments, templates, and shareable public documents. 00:00 All In One Billing Setup 04:10 Meet Sally Sparks 04:40 Map Customer Journey 07:29 OmniSAM Payments Tour 08:36 Branding Invoice Settings 10:21 Custom Fields Tax IDs 12:05 Terms Layout Preview 15:51 Payment Defaults Options 18:19 Reminders Email Templates 23:05 Tools Overview Templates 24:36 Create Send Invoice 28:38 Paying an Invoice 29:19 Estimates to Invoices 31:39 Contract Builder Basics 35:29 Products and Auto Payments 38:07 Signing Order and Templates 41:47 Send and Sign Workflow 46:19 Public Document Links 50:25 Wrap Up and Takeaways   Join the Private OmniSAM Community: omnisam.com.au/gsdgroup Facebook Group: gsdfb.omnisam.com.au Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/sallysparkscousins Watch the Live Stream & Subscribe for More Updates: OmniSAM YouTube: youtube.com/@omnisamsoftware Sally Sparks-Cousins YouTube: youtube.com/@sallysparkscousins

  6. Sep 17

    #611: How to Write Blog Posts That Attract, Connect, Rank, and Convert — With Help from ChatGPT

    *]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-69d5b709-e004-8322-a9df-edf20e813ecc-9" data-turn-id-container= "request-69d5b709-e004-8322-a9df-edf20e813ecc-9" data-testid= "conversation-turn-84" data-turn="assistant"> Copywriting Framework: What to Say and When (Attention, Trust, Conversion) Sally leads an interactive copywriting session that provides a practical template and activities to fix content that isn't turning into clients by adding structure rather than simply trying to write "better copy." She explains that most marketing lacks a connected journey, causing audiences to watch and engage without taking the next step. She introduces a weekly three-part framework: Attention — stop the scroll with relevance and specific pain; Trust — build belief by explaining what's really happening, why it happens, and how your approach differs; and Conversion — use a clear, confident call to action that directs people to the next step. Participants review their last six posts, write attention hooks, create a trust post from one hook, then draft a conversion message tied to one offer, such as booking a call or downloading a lead magnet. Sally shares examples throughout the session, emphasizes that every post should have one clear job, and encourages participants to share their three drafts in the GSD group for feedback. 00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:34 Why Posts Don't Convert 02:23 The Three-Part Framework 04:26 Audit Your Last Six Posts 10:58 Attention Hooks That Work 16:43 Trust Content That Builds Belief 23:25 Conversion Posts and Clear CTAs 27:13 Map Your Three-Post Sequence 30:35 Template Walkthrough and Timing 35:23 Real Examples and Homework 44:34 Wrap Up and Next Steps FULL EPISODE VIDEO LINK: https://youtube.com/live/xJMaHdftJik?feature=share Join the Private OmniSAM Community: omnisam.com.au/gsdgroup Facebook Group: gsdfb.omnisam.com.au Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/sallysparkscousins Watch the Live Stream & Subscribe for More Updates: OmniSAM YouTube: youtube.com/@omnisamsoftware Sally Sparks-Cousins YouTube: youtube.com/@sallysparkscousins

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Strategy with Sally (formerly Straight Talk with Sally) Strategy with Sally is the podcast for women in business who are ready to stop winging it and start building a business that actually works — with clear strategy, smart systems, and the confidence to take imperfect action. Hosted by Sally Sparks-Cousins, business strategist, automation nerd, and co-founder of OmniSAM, this show dives into business strategy, personal branding, marketing, social media, mindset, automation, and scalable systems — without the fluff or hustle-for-hustle's-sake. Sally is on a mission to help women build businesses around their zone of genius (aka inner sparkle), reclaim their time, trust their numbers, and create sustainable success while balancing business, family, lifestyle, and mindset. Each week, you'll find: ◉ Practical business strategy you can actually implement ◉ Real conversations about growth, confidence, and leadership ◉ Simple systems and automation insights for small business owners ◉ Thought-provoking lessons on what it really takes to be a business owner and thought leader If you're ready to build a business on your terms, back yourself, and get out of overthinking and into action — you're in the right place. It's time to get sh*t done — strategically. ✨