
Stories With Traction
The Stories With Traction Podcast was created to empower leaders to elevate their businesses through the art of strategic storytelling. By engaging clients and inspiring team members, leaders can significantly impact the world around them. Each episode offers insights into storytelling, marketing, sales, company culture, and leadership, providing practical tools to drive growth and influence positive change. Tune in to transform your approach and lead with purpose.
Latest episodes

Aug 11, 2023 • 1h 4min
The Storytelling System
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?...and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals!You can find the course HERE.PODCAST SUMMARY: In this episode, Claire Davis and Matt Zaun talk about how they created a storytelling system and positioned it to boost sales and enhance their marketing efforts.CLAIRE DAVIS BIO: Claire is a branding consultant that helps people write their stories. The Stories With Traction podcast wouldn’t exist if it weren't for her. Claire has been one of the most influential individuals when it comes to marketing, crafting messages, and getting stories to connect with an audience.For more info, check out Claire HERE.MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE.

Aug 4, 2023 • 37min
Always Fall Forward
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?...and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals!You can find the course HERE.PODCAST SUMMARY: In this episode, Jacob Brown and Matt Zaun talk about how to turn failure into fuel for growth.JACOB BROWN BIO: Jacob is a former NFL athlete turned entrepreneur, transformational speaker, and writer.For more info, check out Jacob here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobaaronbrown/https://failforwardbrown.com/MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE.

Jul 31, 2023 • 29min
How is Your Motivation Impacting Culture?
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?...and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals!You can find the course HERE.PODCAST SUMMARY: In this episode, Lori Halverson and Matt Zaun talk about the motivational level of leaders and how this can impact their company culture. In addition, they dive into the importance of keeping everyone accountable regardless of generation.LORI HALVERSON BIO: Lori is the President of The Halverson Group and a Vistage Chair, where she helps business leaders build and live their legacy.For more info, check out Lori HERE.MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE.

Jul 28, 2023 • 38min
How to Build a Legacy
SHOW NOTES:PODCAST EPISODES MENTIONED:Stories of LeadershipHow to Get Involved in Politics SUMMARY: In this episode, Terence Farrell and Matt Zaun discuss ways leaders can get more involved in their communities and why it’s important.TERENCE FARRELL BIO: Terence served as a Chester County Commissioner for 12 years, and before that, he was the Recorder of Deeds for 8 years. Today, he is the President of For Real Solutions, a consulting firm that brings value to its clients through leveraging Terence’s knowledge, experience, network, and creativity. Two of the major focuses for his business are on reducing healthcare costs for various organizations and mitigating loss in pension funds that occur because of fraud or other illegal activities.For more info, check out Terence HERE MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE

Jul 21, 2023 • 23min
Scalable Systems for Significant Growth
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals.You can find the course HERE.SHOW NOTES:SUMMARY: In this episode, Mike Kramer and Matt Zaun talk about how business leaders can implement simple strategies that will lead to significant growth.MIKE KRAMER BIO: Mike is the founder of ManageHub, which provides mid-market and smaller organizations leadership and coaching services. He utilizes Baldrige-based management for results.For more info, check out Mike HERE.MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE.

Jul 14, 2023 • 30min
How to Change Your Community
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a Storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals.You can find the course HERE.SHOW NOTES:SUMMARY: In this episode, Chanel Cook and Matt Zaun talk about how business leaders can give back through nonprofit work.CHANEL COOK BIO: Chanel is the Public Affairs Officer at the Erie VA Medical Center. In addition, she is an Adjunct Instructor at Mercyhurst University, where she specializes in Organizational Leadership.For more info, check out Chanel HERE.MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE.

Jul 7, 2023 • 34min
Unify Sales and Marketing
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals!You can find the course HERE.SHOW NOTES:PODCAST SUMMARY: In this episode, Erik Wolf and Matt Zaun talk about the disconnect between C-suite, sales, and marketing and what can be done to change that.ERIK WOLF BIO: Erik is the founder and CEO of estound, which is an award-winning fractional marketing department for mid-size companies.For more info, check out Erik here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikwolf/https://estound.com/https://getunifiedmarketing.com/MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun here:https://www.storieswithtraction.com/

Jun 30, 2023 • 38min
How to Get Involved in Politics
SHOW NOTES:PODCAST EPISODE MENTIONED: Stories of Leadership. SUMMARY: In this episode, Terence Farrell and Matt Zaun talk about how you can get involved politically.TERENCE FARRELL BIO: Terence served as a Chester County Commissioner for 12 years, and before that, he was the Recorder of Deeds for 8 years. Today, he is the President of For Real Solutions, a consulting firm that brings value to its clients through leveraging Terence’s knowledge, experience, network, and creativity. Two of the major focuses for his business are on reducing healthcare costs for various organizations and mitigating loss in pension funds that occur because of fraud or other illegal activities.For more info, check out Terence HERE.MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE.

Jun 23, 2023 • 29min
The Power of Collaboration
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?...and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals!You can find the course HERE.SHOW NOTES:SUMMARY: In this episode, Linda Goldstein and Matt Zaun talk about Linda’s time as Mayor of Clayton, MO, and what she learned about getting things done through collaboration.LINDA GOLDSTEIN BIO: Linda is the Founder and CEO of Linda Goldstein Consulting; she is the former Mayor of Clayton, Missouri, and she is a coach and trusted advisor to CEOs, business leaders, and key executives.For more info, check out Linda here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindalgoldstein/https://lindagoldsteinconsulting.com/MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE.

Jun 20, 2023 • 11min
The Origin Story
Wanna…Boost your Sales?Enhance your Marketing?...and create a vibrant company culture?All of that is possible through the power of Strategic Storytelling!Check out the Stories With Traction course, where you’ll learn how to set up a storybank and utilize it to achieve your goals!You can find the course HERE.SHOW NOTES:PODCAST EPISODE SUMMARY: This solo episode focuses on Matt Zaun's Origin Story. Learn where it all started, and think about your origin story.MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling. Matt’s past engagements have catalyzed radical sales increases for over 300 organizations that range from financial institutions to the health and wellness industry.Matt shares his expertise in persuasion with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs, who he coaches on the art of influence and how to leverage this for profits and impact.For more info, check out Matt Zaun HERE. If you have a question, please feel free to email: matt@mattzaun.com or connect on LinkedIn and send a message.