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Melina Palmer

Founder & CEO
The Brainy Business

When organizations need to understand why people really decide, act, and buy, they call Melina Palmer.

Melina is a behavioral scientist and applied behavioral economics expert who has spent her career uncovering the psychology behind decision-making. As founder and CEO of The Brainy Business, she's helped leaders at companies like Walmart, Google, Procter & Gamble, and Mars use the science of human behavior to build stronger marketing, sales, and customer strategies.

Melina is a 3x bestselling author of The Truth About Pricing (2024), What Your Employees Need and Can't Tell You (2022), and What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You (2021). She hosts The Brainy Business podcast, with over 1.5 million downloads across 170+ countries, where she translates behavioral science into actionable strategy for businesses and the people who run them.

She co-created the Certificate in Applied Behavioral Economics at Texas A&M University's Human Behavior Lab, where she continues to teach a global audience of professionals. Her work bridges rigorous research and real-world application, equipping leaders with tools they can put to use the moment they leave the room.

Buying decisions are shaped by far more than logic and price. Melina's keynotes give audiences a new lens for understanding what's really driving their customers' choices, the hidden psychology happening beneath conscious awareness, and practical tools for using that insight to build trust, reduce friction, and grow revenue.

Her insights have been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc., Business Insider, and Psychology Today, and she has spoken at events including SXSW and TEDxPortland.

2026 Sessions

Keynote: You're Not the Hero, Make it Easy for Clients to Say Yes

Most organizations unintentionally create confusion in the sales process by trying to be everything to everyone. You've probably heard that your customer is the hero...but what role does your brand play? When your messaging, sales conversations, and customer experience don't embody a clear role, you are making it harder to do business with you, elongating the sales process and losing business. <br><br>
In this engaging keynote, behavioral economist Melina Palmer shares a practical framework for identifying whether your organization should show up as a mentor, sidekick, or sword in the customer journey, and why trying to play multiple roles at once creates friction. Through real-world examples and behavioral science principles, attendees will learn how clearer positioning and more consistent communication can reduce hesitation, improve trust, and help families make confident decisions faster. <br><br>

Key Takeaways <br>
- Why customers should always be the hero, and the costly mistakes organizations make when they forget it <br>
- How to identify the right role your organization should play in the customer journey <br>
- Practical ways to reduce friction and build trust through more consistent messaging and sales conversations

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<p>Sponsored By:<br><img src=https://naccme.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/SMASH+2026/Rilla+logo+(1).png alt="Upload Image" width="200" /></p>

Keynote Speaker

Tuesday, October 06 3:45–4:45 PM
Room Valencia Ballroom
Faculty

Melina Palmer

Founder & CEO
The Brainy Business

When organizations need to understand why people really decide, act, and buy, they call Melina Palmer.

Melina is a behavioral scientist and applied behavioral economics expert who has spent her career uncovering the psychology behind decision-making. As founder and CEO of The Brainy Business, she's helped leaders at companies like Walmart, Google, Procter & Gamble, and Mars use the science of human behavior to build stronger marketing, sales, and customer strategies.

Melina is a 3x bestselling author of The Truth About Pricing (2024), What Your Employees Need and Can't Tell You (2022), and What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You (2021). She hosts The Brainy Business podcast, with over 1.5 million downloads across 170+ countries, where she translates behavioral science into actionable strategy for businesses and the people who run them.

She co-created the Certificate in Applied Behavioral Economics at Texas A&M University's Human Behavior Lab, where she continues to teach a global audience of professionals. Her work bridges rigorous research and real-world application, equipping leaders with tools they can put to use the moment they leave the room.

Buying decisions are shaped by far more than logic and price. Melina's keynotes give audiences a new lens for understanding what's really driving their customers' choices, the hidden psychology happening beneath conscious awareness, and practical tools for using that insight to build trust, reduce friction, and grow revenue.

Her insights have been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc., Business Insider, and Psychology Today, and she has spoken at events including SXSW and TEDxPortland.
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