Understanding people isn’t a soft skill — it’s a sales skill.

In this episode of The Rural Sales Show, St John Craner sits down with Melina Palmer, an applied behavioral economist who has made it her mission to bring real-world behavioral science into everyday business and sales conversations.

Together, they explore Melina’s unexpected journey into behavioral economics and the powerful lessons it holds for anyone in sales, leadership, or customer-facing roles. From decision-making shortcuts to pricing psychology, Melina reveals why people do what they do — and how small tweaks in language and approach can shift the entire outcome of a conversation.

This is a masterclass in understanding human behavior, delivered in plain English, with practical applications for anyone selling in rural markets.

You’ll learn:

- Why behavioral economics matters more than ever in sales

- The key heuristics and biases that shape customer decisions

- How language influences trust, clarity, and conversion

- Simple pricing strategies grounded in behavioral science

- How to ask better questions to create better conversations

- Why being thoughtful and intentional changes buying behavior

- How understanding human psychology leads to stronger relationships and improved outcomes

Melina and St John unpack the hidden forces behind everyday decisions, the science of influence, and how small behavioral cues can lead to big improvements in your sales results — whether you’re talking to farmers, teams, or customers.

🎧 Listen now to discover how behavioral economics can help you sell smarter, communicate clearer, and build stronger relationships in business and life.

📌 Resources:

- Melina’s ⁠The Brainy Business⁠: https://thebrainybusiness.com/

- Learn more about her books: ⁠https://thebrainybusiness.com/books/⁠

- What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You: ⁠https://thebrainybusiness.com/what-your-customer-wants/⁠

- What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You: ⁠https://thebrainybusiness.com/what-your-employees-need/⁠

- The Truth About Pricing: ⁠https://thebrainybusiness.com/the-truth-about-pricing/⁠

- Connect with Melina on ⁠LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melina-palmer-36ab8712/

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Grab your copy from Amazon⁠ here: https://www.amazon.com.au/365-Days-Rural-Sales-Mastery/dp/B0F1489HH4/

(or join our Facebook Group below to get a free online copy).

Want to make more rural sales? Get your FREE copy of my first book “How To Succeed In Rural Sales” ⁠Ebook: www.ruralsalessuccess1.com/ebook

Connect with or Follow me on LinkedIn: nz.linkedin.com/in/stjohncraner

Subscribe to my weekly rural sales email (which goes out to 3500+ rural sales professionals worldwide) here: bit.ly/3voaPS7

To join our private Facebook Group where we share a ton of free rural sales and lead generation tools almost daily join here: www.facebook.com/groups/285326399207141/

For details on our training programmes you can check out what we do for sales teams with our Rural Sales Success™ programme here (www.ruralsalessuccess1.com/programme-invitation) or for managers with our Rural Sales Manager Mastery™ programme here (www.ruralsalessuccess1.com/programme-invitation)

For more on us, what we do and who we work with: www.ruralsalessuccess.com / www.agrarian.co.nz