Humans are not rational. Lets stop pretending they are.
Dan Monheit is an entrepreneur, business leader, and expert in behavioural science who built one of Australia’s most successful customer experience agencies from the ground up.
In 2005, he co-founded Hardhat, a CX and creative agency that redefined marketing through the lens of behavioural science. Over nearly two decades, Dan led the agency’s growth, securing over $100 million in revenue and working with some of Australia’s most iconic brands, including AMP, DocuSign, Kogan.com, Australia Post, and Mattel.
In 2024, Hardhat was acquired by Thinkerbell, one of the world’s leading independent creative agencies, marking a new chapter in Dan’s career. Now, as Chief CX Thinker at Thinkerbell, he continues to push the boundaries of customer experience, blending behavioural insights with world-class creativity to drive real business impact.
Beyond the boardroom, Dan is a sought-after keynote speaker, having taken the stage at SXSW in Austin and global industry events. He has collaborated with Google and Meta on thought leadership content, hosts the popular Bad Decisions podcast, and is a best-selling author, exploring the psychology behind how people think, act, and buy.
Talking Points
Terrible Advice for Excellent Business Leaders
So much of what we’re taught about business and marketing makes complete sense, provided our audiences are perfectly rational human beings. Unfortunately, that's rarely the case. In truth, humans are a surprisingly irrational species, subconsciously driven by emotions and blindsided by cognitive biases. Yet brands often base their strategies on the opposite assumption and then wonder why their approach falls short.Terrible Advice for Excellent Business Leaders
In this action-packed presentation, Hardhat CEO and Behavioural Science Expert Dan Monheit uses core concepts from Behavioural Science to explain why following logical, well-intentioned advice can lead to catastrophic outcomes for brands. Drawing on research from Nobel Laureates, Monheit will provide a short introduction to Behavioural Science before debunking a range of terrible traditional marketing advice with the help of peer-reviewed research studies, real world examples and actionable takeaways.
Cheat Codes for Challenger Brands
When it comes to growth, Challenger Brands can’t afford to run the category playbook. Even if they have the same money to spend as their market-leading rivals, it's no secret that they'll make nowhere near the return.Cheat Codes for Challenger Brands
Challenger Brands need to carve their own path with ideas that work over, under and around the category conventions. Monheit will provide Challenger Brands with the cheat codes to achieve this. In this presentation, he will explore how Challenger Brands use creativity to achieve reach, cut through, growth and most importantly, disproportionate return on their investment.
Behavioural Science for Sales Teams: How to Close More Deals by Understanding Human Psychology
Who it’s for: Sales teams, sales leaders, business development professionalsBehavioural Science for Sales Teams: How to Close More Deals by Understanding Human Psychology
Sales isn’t just about having the best product or service—it’s about how people make decisions. This high-energy session applies core behavioural science principles to the sales process, revealing how cognitive biases shape buyer behaviour and how sales teams can use them to close more deals.
Attendees will learn:
• Why prospects say no (even when they want to say yes)
• How to use framing and anchoring to increase conversions
• The power of social proof, scarcity, and loss aversion in decision-making
• Simple behavioural science hacks that drive action
This session is packed with real-world examples, peer-reviewed studies, and practical strategies that sales professionals can apply immediately.
The Psychology of Pricing: How to Make People Feel Good About Spending More
Who it’s for: Marketers, product managers, eCommerce brands, pricing strategistsThe Psychology of Pricing: How to Make People Feel Good About Spending More
Most pricing decisions are made with spreadsheets, but the real magic happens in the brain. This session unpacks how behavioural science shapes how people perceive price and value, helping brands sell more, increase margins, and create loyal customers.
Attendees will learn:
• How anchoring, relativity, and choice architecture influence pricing perception
• Why people love expensive things (even when cheaper alternatives exist)
• How small changes to pricing and packaging can drive huge revenue shifts
• Real-world case studies of brands using behavioural science to their advantage
This is essential learning for any brand looking to optimize pricing strategies and increase profitability.
Video
Dan Monheit | Saxton Speakers
Audio
Knowing what our customers want and what motivates them has been an integral part of building out strategies to delight our customers. Being customer obsessed has meant we need to always hav ... keep reading Ruslan Kogan
Dan's Behavioural Science evangelism is both compelling and contagious. He is a great storyteller, which helps bring theories to life. I've really enjoyed co-presenting with him on a number of topics, and find his deep knowledge inspiring.
Dan is my go-to guy on all things behaviour change and if there's something he doesn't know (although I'm yet to encounter this) it probably isn't worth knowing. He takes often complex theories and ideas and applies a practical and accessible lens to them, which makes him a Marketer's best friend. An incredibly engaging speaker, he leaves everyone in the room feeling inspired and motivated. Everyone needs a bit of Dan in their life.
I've spent the last 18 months learning from Dan while working at Tigerair. In that time, Dan has helped us to go beyond what our customers are doing to understanding why they make the decisions that they do. This has brought a whole new, and more effective, approach to overcoming our business challenges. I have not come across a personality like Dan that is able to successfully educate and influence across all levels of the business through his sheer authenticity, enthusiasm and positivity. Importantly, Dan makes the connection between his work and commercial outcomes and I look forward to working with him far into the future.
Dan was really engaging and the audience really enjoyed his session.
