Tommy Schaff, CMCT

Cialdini Method Certified Trainer^®

Tommy Schaff is one of the newest Cialdini Method Certified Trainers^®, which means he finally found the science behind what he’s been doing instinctively for 35 years. After decades in Fortune 500 sales, private equity, and consulting, Schaff realized that people buy for emotional reasons — and stay because of trust. His career has been about turning that trust into results, without ever losing the human touch.

As founder of Major League Influence, Schaff blends humor, behavioral science, and practical tools to solve the biggest communication problem in business: people trying so hard to sound impressive that they forget to sound human.

He’s trained thousands of financial advisors, insurance agents, and leaders to stop pitching and start connecting. Several have earned over a million dollars in new commissions within two months — not by selling harder, but by connecting deeper.
Schaff created the STORIES™ Method, a framework for turning complex conversations into clear commitments, built around Cialdini’s Principles of Influence. His approach replaces pressure with presence and manipulation with meaning — the antidote to jargon, scripts, and over-rehearsed sales talk.

Because people act on what they feel, not just what they hear, Schaff helps professionals lead with empathy and close with evidence. Every day you sound scripted, someone more human earns your client’s trust — and that’s a game worth changing. He helps professionals apply the science of ethical influence without losing their authenticity or humor. Small psychological shifts.Big human outcomes. More trust. More connection. More yeses that mean yes.
(And maybe even have a laugh while they do.) 😉

Accomplishments

• Served Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins as Chief Strategy Officer of *Business Breakthroughs International, speaking after Tony on three continents during Business Mastery.
• Great American Speak-Off Semifinalist, recognized for blending humor, clarity, and connection in ways that make people both think and laugh.
• Creator of the STORIES™ Method, which integrates Cialdini’s Principles of Influence into every phase of client communication — turning complex conversations into clear commitments.
• Developer of the Ideal Client Multiplier Machine, used by hundreds of top financial advisors to build niches and expand referral bases exponentially.
• Founder of Major League Influence, a national training organization focused on ethical influence and high-trust selling. Trusted by firms including GAF, Northwestern Mutual, PayPal, and Granite Creek Capital.
• Co-author (in progress) of May I Have Your Attention Please? with Hall-of-Fame cartoonist and marketing legend Stu Heinecke.
• Author of the forthcoming Followed and architect of Blueprint to a Billion 2.0, a modernized licensing and growth system with U.S. Patent No. 8,255,306 on Identification of businesses with potential to achieve superior revenue growth and financial performance (issued August 28, 2012).
• Former Limited Partner and Board Member of Go the Distance, owners of the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa — they built it, and Major League Baseball came.
• A passionate collector of baseball memorabilia, Schaff may have the largest baseball bobblehead collection in the world — with 7,139 figures, roughly 2.5 times the Guinness World Record holder.
• Works selectively with professionals ready to apply behavioral science deeply — not just discuss it.

Mission

My mission is to put the PERSON back in salesPERSON — one conversation, one laugh, and one real connection at a time. Because the moment you sound human, people start to listen, trust, and say yes for the right reasons.