Terri Stacy:
Welcome back to “The First Day” on ninety three W. I. B. C. { www.WIBC.com } We’re brought to you by B and W plumbing, heating, cooling and drains. The professionals in the big black trucks. Go to Big Black Trucks dot com. They are an Indiana Original. And it’s funny that I should mention that, because Mel McMahon is here, the inventor of Indiana Originals dot com. { www.IndianaOriginals.com } Hello Mel !
Mel McMahon:
Yes, it’s hilarious. It’s not like I’m not with you every Sunday at ten forty five, is it?
Terri Stacy:
No, not at all. Glad to see ya. I think about you because next weekend, next Saturday, it’s “Shop Local”. Shop local mom and pop’s. It’s “Small Business Saturday”.
Mel McMahon:
It sure is. That’s a campaign that was started by American Express just about ten years ago, encouraging you to spend your money locally. But something we do differently at Indiana Originals, is we encourage you to shop small every day.
Terri Stacy:
That’s right.
Mel McMahon:
Not just one Saturday out of the year. We’re simplifying your search for “local” through our website Indiana Originals dot com. { www.IndianaOriginals.com } Hop on there. You can find businesses of all different categories. And what they have in common is that they’re all locally owned and operated. They’re all headquartered here in Indiana and not part of an out of state franchise. So when you shop with our members, you’re making the biggest economic impact possible. Three to five times more money goes right back into our local economy when you shop with an Indiana Original.
Terri Stacy:
Yeah, I’ll tell you what, it’s easy to find it because Mel has made it easy for you at Indiana Originals dot com. { www.IndianaOriginals.com } Whatever you’re looking for. If you’re looking for jewelry, you’re looking for clothes, you’re looking for candles… There’s a great directory there at Indiana Originals dot com. { www.IndianaOriginals.com } That’ll help simplify a little bit.
Mel McMahon:
We have a lot of professional and home services, too. And you know, these companies don’t just grow on their own. Lots of people hire experts. And that’s what we have in our studios today. We have an expert: Christian Tombers of Charlie Tango Productions.
{ www.CharlieTangoProductions.com & www.ThinkSales101.com }
Terri Stacy:
Yay! (applauding)
Mel McMahon:
Thank you so much for joining us today!
Christian Tombers:
Thanks for having me!
Mel McMahon:
For our listeners who aren’t familiar with you, tell us what you do.
Christian Tombers:
Well, I’m a marketing and sales coach, inspirational and motivational speaker. And I work with individual sales people, sales staff, entrepreneurs, start-ups, also with people in career transition who want to learn how to sell or even learn how to sell themselves to an employer to get their job.
Mel McMahon:
I think one of the misconceptions about going into your own business, is that “Oh, I won’t have to do the selling. I’ll find someone else to do that for me.” That’s not the case, is it?
Christian Tombers:
No, not at all, because nothing happens unless there is a sale. Some way, some how, some thing has to be sold. Because I even challenge people where ever they are listening to this right now: look around the room and see if there’s anything you can find, where in the history and life of that object, a sale didn’t happen. I’ll promise you somehow, some way there’s a sale in the history of that.
Mel McMahon:
And you think of sales a little bit differently.
Christian Tombers:
Yeah, because people don’t like to be sold. What I teach is how to get customers to want to buy. People like to buy, so why fight the system? And also, sales not something you do to somebody, it’s something you do for somebody. And if your product or service meets their needs, solves the problem for them, helps them avoid some pain, gain some pleasure or maybe even a combination of both, then you don’t have to sell them. They’re going to want to buy from you. And if they don’t want to buy from you, then you’ve got no business doing business with them anyway. It’s best to smile, shake hands, part friends and before you leave the house, ask for a few referrals.
Terri Stacy:
Part of getting in the door is though, selling yourself, right? I mean that’s a big part of it. They’ve got to like you first. And so you in that whole, you know, that whole moment, you walk through somebody’s door, you’re selling yourself first and foremost maybe?
Christian Tombers:
Absolutely! People do business with people they know, they like and they trust.
Terri Stacy:
Yeah.
Christian Tombers:
So, if they don’t know, like or trust you, your product could be the best product the world, it could be the best price in the world. They still may not want to become your customer.
Terri Stacy:
Sales is not for everybody. Who makes it? What are the qualifications of a good sales person?
Christian Tombers:
Somebody who can build a good relationship and knows their product inside and out and can match their product and service to the needs of the potential customer.
Mel McMahon:
It’s that simple.
Terri Staci:
I know. But we make it so complicated. I get stopped in my tracks because I was thinking because I’ve always said that I couldn’t, I could never sell anything.
Mel McMahon:
Oh, “Buyer”.
Terri Stacy:
Are you looking at me? “Buyer”, maybe that would make me a good sales person, just because I know I’m not, like I don’t have that…
Mel McMahon:
Your integrity your authenticity…
Terri Stacy:
Maybe.
Mel McMahon:
…that’s what makes you a good sales person right? You’re not gonna get somebody something they don’t need. It’s so subtle. It’s not you.
Terri Stacy:
Well, that’s true. And then I would end up buying whatever you’ve got in your room and then I’ll leave.
Mel McMahon:
(Laughing)
Terri Stacy:
(Laughing)
Mel McMahon:
But with all the self-help books out there, or if, you know, the YouTube videos you can watch, I mean, what do you experience with small business owners? What are people missing that they get from you?
Terri Stacy:
Oh, good question.
Christian Tombers:
Well, they have learned from other sales training classes and courses that “you have to get the sale no matter what”. And that’s just not right, because that causes pressure and customers don’t like that. So, what they need to learn is, that really it’s an educational process. If the customer knows exactly what your product or service will do for them, and it’s a match, then they’re gonna buy from you. So it’s not a matter shoving it down their throat no matter what, because that just results in bad publicity. Now, with the internet nowadays, bad news travels a hundred times faster…
Mel McMahon:
Uh hmmm…
Christian Tombers:
…not the good news. You don’t want that to happen to your business. That could tarnish your name, your reputation and your brand.
Mel McMahon:
How did you get into this?
Christian Tombers:
Well actually, my career originally started off in Detroit Michigan as an automotive engineer. And back in the seventies, the automotive industry was going downhill. There was just simply no cheese at the end of that tunnel. And by pure circumstance, I got involved in sales and wound up being very good at it. And every company I worked for, I wound up working my way into a position of sales manager and sales trainer because of a different attitude that I have about selling. It caused me to get better numbers than everybody else. So, what I do is I help sales people not only get more sales but more sales with the same number of appointments that they already have. It’s very common that a sales manager, when asked: “Well how do I make more money?”, will reply: “Well, it’s a numbers game. Just run more appointments.” Well, that burns you out and your effectiveness goes down, too. So, what I teach people is how to make better use of the appointments that you already have. So you can get more sales with less appointments or more sales with the same number of appointments. In the industry this is called: “Your Closing Average”.
Mel McMahon:
Well, and for an entrepreneur, that’s vital, right? Because you’re not even, you’re not just wearing the sales hat. You’re wearing the office manager hat, the content creation hat. You have so many different roles, that you have. You don’t always have the time to pick up the phone more or go sit with someone for coffee for an hour.
Christian Tombers:
Right. Yeah, sales is the conclusion of the marketing. Marketing is getting the customer to know who you are, what product you have to offer and how to find you. And sales is getting them to own that product or service.
Terri Stacy:
Where did that… Now, when I look at your business card, there’s a glider. Where does the glider come in?
Christian Tombers:
Well, it’s one of my hobbies. I’m a Commercial Glider Pilot. A lot of people say: “That’s really cool, but who in the world hires glider pilots?”
Mel McMahon:
(Laughing)
Terri Stacy:
(Laughing)
Christian Tombers:
I’ve actually made money flying gliders. I flew three airshows and got paid. When I lived in Michigan, I worked for a glider school. My job was to give the demonstration rides…
Mel McMahon:
Oh…
Christian Tombers:
…so that people could go for nice flight. Of course the owner of the school wanted me to give good rides so that they’d sign up for lessons. So, what I do with my marketing and sales: “I take your marketing and sales to new heights!”.
Terri Stacy:
Oh, I like it !
Mel McMahon:
I love it !
Terri Stacy:
That’s where “Charlie Tango” comes in, those words. Those are pilot words aren’t they?
Christian Tombers:
Well, it’s part of the Aviation Phonetic Alphabet.
Terri Stacy:
Aviation?
Christian Tombers:
Right. “C”, is Charlie and “T”, is Tango. My initials Christian Tombers is: “CT”. Therefor, “Charlie Tango …Productions”.
Mel McMahon:
Oh…, there we go.
Terri Stacy:
It’s all coming together. It’s good. Well, you know, it’s a company. You’ve got to figure out what to name it.
Mel McMahon:
It’s a story…
Terri Stacy:
You got to have a good story to name your company and you did it. It’s good.
Christian Tombers:
It creates an anchor to my business card. People see my business card and they realize: “Oh yeah, that’s that Glider Pilot sales trainer.
Mel McMahon:
(Laughing)
Terri Stacy:
(Laughing)
Mel McMahon:
It is something a little different, it sure is.
Terri Stacy:
That also brings up a good point on when you, when you are, if you’re just forming your company. You know, you got to come up with those kind of good, I mean, a good name of your company. What are some tips on those that are just starting to get ready to open up their new business?
Christian Tombers:
Well, number one is: just keep it simple. If you keep it simple and people understand what you have to offer and make it easy for people to get involved with your product or service. And, like what I do, I give all my clients a money back guarantee.
Terri Stacy:
Oh…
Christian Tombers:
If they feel after taking one of my classes or courses, whether it’s a large course, a workshop or even working with me one-on-one, if they feel they didn’t get their money’s worth, there’s no hard feelings. I’ll give them a refund. And I don’t do a refund “no questions asked”. I do want to ask a few questions, so I can learn from that myself, to improve myself and my own business…
Terri Stacy:
Hmm…
Christian Tombers:
…Find out what it was that was missing that caused them to feel that they didn’t get their money’s worth. And if companies are straight forward and honest with their clients and customers and don’t play games, they’re actually going to get more business just by referrals. People appreciate honesty and straightforwardness. And in my career and in a lot of different positions, I’ve actually walked away from sales were the customer was actually ready to buy. But I felt in my own heart, that it wasn’t going to work for them or they’re going to have issues and problems in the future. And I referred them to somebody else, could even be a competitor from whom they wanted to buy. But I still got a sale, not from them, but from a referral from them, because now they felt comfortable enough to refer their friends, neighbors and relatives to me.
Terri Stacy:
Hmm… Very good. Very good.
Mel McMahon:
It shouldn’t be as revolutionary thinking, but it really is. To a lot of people, you know in my sales training, because you know, within Indiana Originals, you know, I’m selling every day, right? It’s the concept. It’s the passion. It’s the mission. It’s, you know, getting businesses to get on board and knowing what you’re doing and being able to repeat the successes. It’s so important.
Mel McMahon:
Christian, if somebody wants to get a hold of you, if they want to take one of your classes, how do they do that?
Christian Tombers:
Well, the best way is to go to my website. The website is Think Sales One Oh One, the numbers “one” “zero” “one” dot com. ThinkSales101.com. { www.ThinkSales101.com } And there they can see a list of all the courses and classes that I have coming up, They can also contact me by telephone. And I’ve got a really easy one. It’s: area code three one seven five sales, S. A. L. E. S., five. Five sales five. It is more than one sale: five sales five. { 317-5-SALES-5 = 317 -572-5375 }
Terri Stacy:
Very good !
Mel McMahon:
Clever. You can also find him at Indiana Originals dot com, Terri.
Terri Stacy:
Okay Mel. We’ll see you in a couple weeks. I hope everybody does really well this “Small Business Saturday”, that’s coming up. You know we’re cheering for all of you. And shop local. That’s for sure. Today’s top stories are coming up next, right here on ninety three W. I. B. C. and W. I. B. C. dot com. { www.WIBC.com }