She Sells He Sells

Hosted by Krista and Brian Demcher

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233

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Nov 2026

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About the show

Most people think selling is something you do at work, but Krista and Brian Demcher have spent nearly three decades proving otherwise - in corporate sales rooms, entrepreneurial ventures, and over 25 years of marriage and raising a family, which is honestly where the real persuasion happens. Every week on this sales and communication podcast, they bring one bold idea worth buying and walk you through the story behind it, the case for it, and the pushback against it - so by the end, you don't just know where you stand, you understand exactly how you got there. Think of it as a persuasion and storytelling masterclass disguised as a really good conversation. Because a good idea is only as good as your ability to sell it! Sales skills are life skills...and this show is where you learn them. New episodes every Monday.

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November 2, 2026Episode 23131 min

231. Country Music Is the Greatest Genre: A Storytelling Lesson From 48 Hours In Nashville

Country music is the greatest genre of music, period. Brian is selling it hard, and Krista is not buying... at least not the twang. A week after Krista's keynote in Nashville, the two of them are back at the mic talking about their quick weekend date and a night at The Listening Room, where the songwriters behind some of the biggest songs in country music sit on a stool with a guitar and tell you how those songs actually came to be. One started with an Instagram meme, one started with showing up way overdressed to Trisha Yearwood's house, and one of the most famous country songs of all time was written on an ironing board in about 30 minutes. Krista and Brian connect it all back to storytelling and why the small, ordinary moments in your life (not the climb-Everest ones) are the stories that make people remember you, whether you're on a stage, writing an email, or posting on social. If you've ever felt like you don't have a story worth telling, or you're stuck on what to say in your marketing - this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:00] Brian's sell (and Krista's very fast answer) [2:45] A weekend date in Nashville [4:50] Inside The Listening Room [8:30] Why Krista loves the stories but not the sound [9:50] A song about a dad, a hospital bed and a razor [13:45] The hardest word to rhyme with mascara [17:20] You don't need a mega story [20:00] The random object people remember from Krista's keynote [23:00] The song written on an ironing board [28:00] The verdict KEY QUOTE "Creating an association with yourself and a story is very, very powerful. And the more random and niche it is, the better." - Krista Demcher MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The Listening Room Cafe, Nashville Rebecca Lynn Howard, songwriter and singer ("Lipstick," "Girls Night In") Trisha Yearwood, "Girls Night In" Bobby Pinson, songwriter Tony Arata, songwriter of "The Dance" Garth Brooks, "The Dance" Taylor Swift Broadway, Nashville Connect with us 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

October 26, 2026Episode 23025 min

230. Selling Is Selfless: How to Sell Without Being Pushy (A Sales Mindset Shift for Entrepreneurs)

Selling is selfless. And if you've been holding back on selling because you don't want to be "that person," Krista has some news for you (with love): that's actually the selfish part. This sales mindset episode is a replay from February 2025. Krista recorded it after one wild week when she heard "I don't want to be gross and sell" six or seven times in 48 hours, from consulting clients, coaching clients and a room full of people she spoke to. She knew it couldn't wait. Krista goes back to the year her first business made essentially zero sales because she was too scared to be "that girl," and to the freak accident that ended that chapter overnight. Then she makes the case for why the pushy, slimy salesperson you're working so hard not to be isn't even successful anymore, and what actually works in his place. If you're an entrepreneur, a salesperson, or anyone who has ever undercharged, stayed quiet, or waited for clients to find you because selling felt awkward - this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:00] Why this episode is coming back [1:00] 48 hours, seven times, one sentence: "I don't want to be gross and sell" [3:30] A year of zero sales and the privileged mindset behind it [4:30] The Story: a flight of stairs that changed everything [6:30] Why the sleazy salesperson doesn't work anymore [10:20] The flip: who you're really serving when you hold back [14:00] Your business is not an expensive hobby [17:10] Four questions to ask yourself [19:50] Sell boldly, sell proudly, sell selflessly KEY QUOTE "It's not humility to hold back on selling. It is making it all about you." - Krista Demcher MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Originally aired as Episode 156 (February 2025) How buyers now research before a sales conversation with ChatGPT and Claude Work with Krista: kristademcher.com Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

October 19, 2026Episode 22931 min

229. More Time Makes You Less Productive: The 2-Hour Secret to Get More Done

More time makes you less productive. Krista is selling that idea in this replay from the She Sells He Sells archive, and if you've ever stared at a wide-open calendar and somehow gotten nothing done, you already know she's onto something. Years ago, with one daughter in kindergarten and the other in a two-hour preschool program, Krista grew her business in the tiny window between drop-off and pickup. She got as much done in those two hours as she sometimes does now in a full school day, and she explains exactly why. Krista also walks through how she structures her week today, the perfect week exercise a friend shared with her personal brand intensive, and the one boundary she won't break unless Coca-Cola calls. If you are an entrepreneur heading into a season with more time on your hands, or you just left a structured corporate job and aren't sure how to build your own calendar, this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:00] The idea worth buying [3:45] Why more time often means less productivity [7:00] Entrepreneurship without boundaries is chaos [8:40] The two-hour preschool window [13:45] Onstage days vs. backstage days [18:50] Why no one complains about a firm boundary [19:45] How to build your perfect week KEY QUOTE "If you don't protect your time, no one else is going to protect it for you." Krista Demcher MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The perfect week exercise from Michelle Langhauser The big rocks method The Pomodoro method Onstage and backstage days (Krista's calendar system) Krista's personal brand intensive Episode 185, where this conversation originally aired Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

October 12, 2026Episode 22820 min

228. You Made It, You Just Missed It

On her 48th birthday, Krista opens with her annual dedication to her cousin Kate, then tells the story of a week that showed her she'd been speeding past her own impact. It took a lunchtime conversation with an old friend, a drive home on I-95, and an email she never expected to get. If you're an entrepreneur who's always looking ahead to the next thing, or anyone who brushes off compliments with a joke, this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:00] A birthday dedication to Kate [3:15] The Sell: you made it, you just missed it [4:30] Rereading last year's birthday email [6:30] What an old friend said at lunch [10:40] The joke we all make instead of saying thank you [13:30] Why the finish line keeps moving [15:30] The email that proved the whole point KEY QUOTE "My validation doesn't need to come from external sources, yet people are holding up a mirror for what they see. And I'm not taking enough time to look in my own mirror." – Krista Demcher MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Baltimore Real Producers You Are Your Brand keynote and the Sell Yourself Challenge Episode 81: Krista's tribute to her cousin Kate Krista's weekly Friday email Connect with us 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

October 5, 2026Episode 2271 hr 4 min

227. Confidence Is a Skill You Learn, Not Earn With Lisa Hansen

Confidence is a skill you learn, not earn. Lisa Hansen came ready to defend that idea, and she brought a story that makes it hard to argue with. Lisa was the second grader everyone thought couldn't talk. She grew up to become a mechanical engineer on Boeing's Dreamliner, a pastry chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America, and the owner of the bakery she had dreamed about since she was little. Every box on her dream board was checked, and she still couldn't figure out why she felt so unsuccessful. In this conversation, Lisa explains why doing the reps over and over isn't what builds confidence, what actually does, and why she would never tell a nervous client to just go do the scary thing. Krista shares her own burnout story from her direct sales days, and the two of them finally take on fake it til you make it (Brian, you're going to love this one). If you are a female founder who looks successful on paper but still doesn't fully trust yourself to make the next big decision, this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:00] Lisa Hansen and the idea worth buying [1:23] Why doing the reps isn't the same as building confidence [6:06] Was Lisa always confident? "Absolutely not." [9:35] Engineer, pastry chef, and a dream board fully checked off [11:00] Meeting your goals versus meeting your needs [23:34] The call to start a conference ("I think you have the wrong girl") [29:32] Krista's full-body-rash story [38:10] When showing up on video every day isn't working [45:17] Fake it til you make it, plus Krista's red lipstick [54:43] Inside the Thriving Women's Conference KEY QUOTE "We don't thrive by changing who we are. We thrive by knowing who we are." Lisa Hansen MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Thriving Women's Conference, October 21 to 22, 2026, at The Maxwell in Raleigh, NC: https://thelisahansen.com/thriving-womens-conference-2026/ UNSTOPPABLE Coaching with Lisa Hansen (apply through @TheLisaHansen) Lisa's six driving needs framework Our fake it til you make it debate episodes The Red Lipstick Effect, Krista's keynote Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos (Brian's go-to counterexample) Connect with Lisa: thelisahansen.com Instagram: @TheLisaHansen Instagram: @ThrivingWomensConference Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

September 28, 2026Episode 22635 min

226. You Have to Sell Yourself First: A Conversation with Empowering Women in Real Estate

You have to sell yourself first, and that's true whether you're selling jewelry, a house, or your own business. Krista joined Karen on Empowering Women in Real Estate the Podcast for a conversation about personal branding, authentic marketing on social media, and how to sell yourself even if you've always said "I'm just not a salesperson." It starts with three months of zero dollars in sales, a lot of complaining on the couch, and one sentence from Brian that Krista did not want to hear (mostly because he was right). From there she makes the case that nothing sells itself. That goes for a necklace, a listing and a business, and it will stay true until people believe in the person selling it. In a feed full of AI influencers and agents trying to look like Selling Sunset, being fully yourself is the only thing no one can copy. If you've ever said "I'm just not a salesperson," this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:00] How a Stella & Dot necklace connected Krista and Karen [3:30] Three months of zero sales and the feedback that changed everything [7:00] AI influencers and why authenticity matters more now than ever [11:45] What sales actually is (and why you have to believe it) [15:00] The resilience resume [18:30] Style, stance and story: the three S's of being your brand [28:45] The parting thought Krista will never stop saying KEY QUOTE "I have found the more I am uniquely myself, the happier my business gets, the better my client experiences are because people know what they're getting when they hire me." — Krista Demcher MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Empowering Women in Real Estate the Podcast and Conference Stella & Dot The ACORN Method and StorySelling Krista's Personal Brand Quiz (style, stance or story: which one is yours?) The great fork vs. spoon coffee debate Selling Sunset Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

September 21, 2026Episode 22535 min

225. Hot Girls Have Hobbies: Why Midlife Women Need Something Just for Them

Is Krista calling herself a hot girl? Yes she is, and yes, she means both kinds of hot: the conventional kind and the midlife, hot-flash-on-a-random-Tuesday kind. About a year ago, a podcast host asked Krista a simple question, "What do you do for fun?" and she had nothing. That moment sent her on a quest that took her back to a ballet studio she walked away from at 17 and onto a tennis court where she is proudly, firmly in the beginner group. In this episode, Krista shares the five things every good hobby should do for you (credit to @lifewithjacey), the one rule she follows about which hobbies stay off the internet, and her answers to every excuse we tell ourselves about why now isn't the time. If you are a woman in midlife, a mom who has put herself last for a long time, or someone who couldn't answer "what do you do for fun," this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:23] The Sell: hot girls have hobbies, and the two kinds of hot [1:40] The podcast question Krista couldn't answer [5:20] The Story: going back to ballet after decades away [10:30] Why she chose something she knew she'd be terrible at [12:12] The Solution: the five buckets a hobby should fill [24:00] The hobby that checks every box [25:00] Why one of your hobbies should never be posted [26:00] The objections, and the one Krista pushes back on hardest [29:30] What a Dancing with the Stars pro taught her about who's really watching [31:20] The Stakes: what happens when the kids leave [33:14] The Success: how to find your hobby this week KEY QUOTE "There is nothing selfish about taking care of the person that takes care of everyone else." (Krista Demcher) MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE @lifewithjacey on Instagram The Daily Creative by Blythe Harris and Mallory May Bobbi Brown Julianne Hough The Joy of Just Trying Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

September 14, 2026Episode 22443 min

224. The Fall Sales Speed Round: Football, Horror Movies, and Daylight Saving Time

Three ideas, sixty seconds each - no prep, no mercy. That's the premise of this fall edition of the Sales Speed Round - Krista and Brian's format for practicing persuasion techniques on the fly using their signature 5S framework (Sell, Story, Solution, Stakes, Success). It's the same format from their popular Fourth of July episode, back with three fall topics pulled from a jar. Brian starts with football is the best team sport there is, making the case for teamwork and interdependence before Krista hits him with the safety objection - concussions, CTE, broken bones. He counters with physics, player-safety coaching, and a Tom Brady line about doing hard things. It's also the real conversation about whether to let your kids play football that led them to say yes with their own son. Next, Krista argues scary movies add fear to a world that already has enough, building her case on When Harry Met Sally, Shawshank Redemption, and Tommy Boy, and why she doesn't like horror movies when there's already so much darkness to choose from. Brian isn't buying it, and they get into a real debate about escapism and true crime. Last, Brian makes the case for why daylight saving time should end, tracing it back to its agricultural roots and tying it to a bigger point about status quo thinking. Along the way, they break down how to persuade someone in under a minute - anchor your idea to something bigger, tie it to an identity people want, and prep even when you've only got sixty seconds. IN THIS EPISODE [0:11] Welcome back and the return of the Sales Speed Round [0:39] Fall is a mentality, not a time [1:19] The jar of fall topics, explained [2:21] A quick (and very messy) refresher on the 5S framework [6:20] First pull: football is the best team sport there is [7:10] Brian's sell — teamwork, the sidelines, and why football demands more from you than any other sport [9:39] Recapping Brian's five S's [11:46] Krista's objection: the injury and CTE risk [13:03] Brian on physics, force, and player safety coaching [15:08] The Tom Brady "do hard things" argument [16:56] Why their son plays football anyway [19:18] Second pull: scary movies add fear to a world that already has enough [19:44] Krista's sell — When Harry Met Sally, Shawshank Redemption, Tommy Boy, and the emotions worth chasing [23:08] Recapping Krista's five S's [23:54] Brian pushes back: what about escapism? [24:46] The true crime tangent [27:08] Where suspense ends and horror begins [29:18] Third pull: daylight saving time should be illegal [29:20] Brian's sell — the agricultural history of DST and why it's outlived its purpose [33:30] The circadian rhythm and health-risk angle [34:52] The bigger point: status quo thinking vs. questioning what's always been [38:28] The meta lesson — tying your idea to a bigger identity [41:05] Why prepping (even for a 60-second pitch) makes you more persuasive [41:55] Wrap-up and what's still left in the jar KEY QUOTE "When you're selling an idea, it's really not about daylight savings. It's about who you are and what you identify with." — Krista Demcher MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Their original Fourth of July Sales Speed Round episode When Harry Met Sally, Shawshank Redemption, and Tommy Boy The Michelangelo Phenomenon (referenced in a past episode) Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

September 7, 2026Episode 22333 min

223. Everything You Need to Know About Sales You Can Learn From Tommy Boy

Not long ago Krista was building a keynote around a message she teaches constantly: be authentic, use your own voice, say things the way you would actually say them. She asked Brian if there was a clip or a story that could land that point. He thought immediately of Tommy Boy — the scene where Big Tom Callahan closes a room full of buyers with a line about T-bones and butchers, and the later scene where Tommy, now running his late father's company, tries to borrow that exact line and butchers it instead. Krista used both clips on stage. It was a massive hit. She's using it again. But Brian's case goes further than one scene. He argues the whole 80-minute Chris Farley masterpiece is a sales curriculum hiding inside a road-trip comedy. Authenticity: customers smell a phony, and borrowed words don't land the same way in your mouth — something both Brian and Krista learned the hard way early in their careers, him selling Dermabond, her selling jewelry, both of them writing down someone else's script and wondering why it fell flat. Hard work and territory planning: Tommy and Richard with a paper map, no GPS, figuring out how to maximize face time across every auto parts distributor in Ohio — which in a digital world becomes the question of where your effort actually drives return, and what opportunity cost you're paying for the shiny thing you're considering. Resilience and objection handling: Tommy hears an enormous number of no's, and you watch him mature from fleeing the room at the first pushback to validating a customer's concern and then reframing it — which is exactly what he's doing in the (extremely gross, per Krista) guaranteed-box bit. Nobody has a 100% close rate. Nobody. And then the scene Brian thinks matters most: the diner. Kitchen's closed, Tommy wants wings, and he gets them — not with a pitch, but by being a human being having a bad day in front of another human being. People don't buy products. They buy personal connection. Richard says it out loud in the movie, and it's still the whole game. The counter-argument, of course, is the canon: Glengarry Glen Ross, Wolf of Wall Street, always be closing, coffee's for closers. Brian's take is that those films take one true thing — persuasion matters — and pump it full of steroids until it becomes the only thing. That's not the sales team you'd want to build. Tommy Boy gets you to the same lessons with more laughs and less bro club. If you sell anything, lead a sales team, are looking for a training that people will actually enjoy, or have somehow never seen Tommy Boy — this one is for you. Do you buy it? IN THIS EPISODE [0:12] The Sell: Tommy Boy is the greatest sales movie of all time (and the live revision to a better sell) [1:29] Locking it in: everything I needed to know about sales, I learned by watching Tommy Boy [1:38] Krista on being married to a man who can quote entire movies but not tonight's schedule [2:48] The Story: building a keynote about authenticity and needing the perfect clip [4:38] The premise — Big Tom Callahan, Callahan Auto Parts, Sandusky, Ohio [5:40] The T-bone and the butcher: the line that closes the room [6:20] Tommy inherits the company and tries to borrow his father's words [7:10] The line goes sideways — and why inauthentic language always does [9:42] Krista on Dermabond, jewelry, and copying someone else's script [11:42] Lesson one: customers smell phonies [12:09] Lesson two: hard work — the road trip, the '67 Plymouth GTX [13:39] Lesson three: territory planning, and what it looks like without a paper map [15:38] Opportunity cost: the thing you can't do because you chose something else [16:24] Lesson four: resilience and hearing no before you hear yes [17:30] The guarantee objection and the most disgusting great line in sales cinema [18:39] Why that's actually textbook objection handling: validate, then reframe [20:00] Lesson five: personal connection — the diner, the closed kitchen, and the wings [22:15] The Stakes: what the Glengarry / Wolf of Wall Street canon gets wrong [24:31] Believing wholeheartedly in your solution is what makes you persuasive [26:42] Scarcity is an economic principle, and Chris Farley isn't making any more movies [27:07] Krista's live audience test: 75% of hands went up [29:02] Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and the Tommy Boy revival Brian may be starting [29:24] The Success: a sales training your team will actually thank you for KEY QUOTE "I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take the butcher's word for it." — Big Tom Callahan (and the line Tommy should never have tried to borrow) MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Tommy Boy (1995) — Chris Farley, David Spade, and Callahan Auto Parts of Sandusky, Ohio Glengarry Glen Ross — "always be closing," "coffee's for closers" The Wolf of Wall Street The Pursuit of Happyness Billy Madison Death of a Salesman Krista's keynote on authenticity and finding your own voice The opportunity cost principle Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast

August 31, 2026Episode 22233 min

222. Your Resume Isn't Your Legacy: What Dolly Parton's Death Taught Us About Being Remembered

Your resume is not your legacy. That's the idea Krista Demcher is selling in this special solo episode of She Sells He Sells: Ideas Worth Buying — inspired by the death of Dolly Parton on August 25th, and by a post Krista wrote on a whim that ended up read on SiriusXM, shared by Miss Rachel, and viewed nearly six million times. Krista starts with the trophy case, and it's staggering: roughly 3,000 songs written, 11 Grammys, an Emmy, two Oscar nods, a Tony nod, 13 CMA Awards, and a place in three different Halls of Fame. But when Dolly died, that isn't what filled anyone's feed. People weren't mourning a resume. They were mourning a person — and Krista, an admitted Enneagram Three achiever, sat with what that actually means for the rest of us, who will never have a trophy case like Dolly's. She tells her own Dolly origin story — a chance stop at the Dolly Parton Experience at Dollywood in 2018, not knowing much about Dolly beyond 9 to 5, and walking out a forever fan enough to name a Christmas tree after her. She reads the actual post she wrote the morning after Dolly's death, walks through why it took off the way it did, and shares some of the comments that stopped her in her tracks — including the one that captures the whole idea: "Dolly loved you back." From there, Krista lays out three things she thinks we're actually supposed to take from a life like Dolly's: how your struggle can become your legacy (the Imagination Library, built because her father never learned to read), why you can't take yourself too seriously (the Dolly Parton look-alike contest she entered — and lost), and how what's meant for you won't pass you by (the story of turning down Elvis, and what came back around twenty years later through Whitney Houston). She also tackles the pushback head-on: yes, Dolly could do things most of us can't, because of her money and fame. But the scale is different — the instinct isn't. And she closes with three quiet, mostly unknown stories that prove it. If you've spent the last week scrolling through Dolly tributes, wondering why none of it is about the music — this episode is for you. IN THIS EPISODE [0:08] Welcome back — the Sell: your resume is not your legacy [1:37] Why Dolly's death, and this viral post, felt too important to skip [4:01] The trophy case: 3,000 songs, 11 Grammys, and 190 career wins [5:53] The pivot — what people are actually mourning, and who Dolly really was [8:15] Krista's own Dolly awakening: Dollywood, the Dolly Parton Experience, and a Christmas tree named Dolly [12:41] Writing the post — the exact words Krista wrote on Threads [15:01] The post goes viral: 5.9 million views, and the comments that stopped her in her tracks [17:51] "Dolly loved you back" — the comment that captures the whole idea [20:04] The Solution, part 1: your struggle can become your legacy (the Imagination Library) [21:41] The Solution, part 2: don't take yourself too seriously (the look-alike contest she lost) [24:04] The Solution, part 3: what's meant for you won't pass you by (Elvis, Whitney Houston, and "the house that Whitney built") [26:09] The Stakes: the pushback — "we can't all be Dolly" — and why the scale is different but the instinct isn't [28:34] The Success: living this out at every scale, quietly, for decades [30:15] The band uniforms, the Buddy Program, and a driver's story nobody was filming [32:23] The close: do you buy it? KEY QUOTE "Fame didn't build her character. The character was there, and fame allowed her to amplify it." — Krista Demcher MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The Dollywood Foundation's Imagination Library The Dolly Parton Experience at Dollywood Dolly's "I Will Always Love You" story — Elvis, Whitney Houston, and "the house that Whitney built" The Dolly Parton look-alike contest The Buddy Program (launched at Dollywood, 1991) Sevier County High School marching band uniforms Connect with us: 📸 Instagram: @SheSellsHeSellsPodcast ▶️ YouTube: She Sells He Sells Podcast