Repeat Yourself [Academy]

Repeat Yourself.

Someone once said, Repetition is the mother of learning and the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.  

When I grew up, we had farms in two different locations, what we called the home farm and the other the north farm. The land was four miles apart. To get to the north farm and into some of the fields we needed to cross railroad tracks several times.  A Rock Island Rode Train track ran alongside a Milwaukee Road Train track. That meant when you crossed one, in just a few feet you were going to cross the other. The Rock Island train ran only once a day but you never knew when or from which direction it was coming. The Milwaukee train ran several times a day and at high speeds. Ever since I can remember, my dad would tell me every time we crossed those tracks to look both ways, twice. By the time I was seven years old and driving tractors in the field I often crossed those tracks pulling equipment following my dad to that northern farm and back again. All I had in my brain during each trip was “look both ways twice.” He repeated it so many times, I find myself saying the same thing at every intersection and train crossing to my kids and grandkids today, l”ook both ways twice.”

Two of our fields on the north farm were separated only by the two railroad tracks running side by side between the fields. To get from one field to the other we had to cross both tracks with our equipment. In those days one of the implements I  used a lot was a spike tooth harrow we called a drag. It was a 30-foot-wide piece of equipment used to smooth a field after planting. We didn’t have a drag cart to fold the drag and lift it off the ground so we just drug it out of the field and across the tracks. But crossing the Rock Island track was tricky because the rails set higher off the ground and part of the drag would sometimes get caught on the rails as I crossed.  I would stop quickly, jump off the tractor and release it from the track, it often required me to do it several times before I got completely across.

It was a nervous time because I never knew when a train might come.  

Studies show that repetition makes learning stick. To remember information over the long term the learner must be exposed to the information multiple times and repeatedly practice recalling or retrieving that information.

So to enable the retention of knowledge, repetition is still one of the most effective ways to attain greater permanency of learning.  

What kinds of things have you been telling your customers over and over so they learn it and remember it? Have you been repeatedly telling them about the benefits of early planning, doing their field by variety cropping plans prior to harvest? How many times have you told them about the benefits yet some still don’t get it and want to delay planning and ordering.

Have you been telling customers about the Top 5 Factors so much that they can not only repeat them back to you, but also tell you the benefits of each one? Have they told you after numerous reminders that the Top 5 Factors are their job description, what their job is when raising a crop? 

Have you been so repetitive in the values you bring to your customers that they can repeat them at will, especially when confronted by competitors trying to sell them something?

If none of those things are happening then you need to start repeating yourself. How many times have you told your kids the same thing but they didn’t hear it or do it? It takes repetition to sink in sometimes and change behaviors.

Studies have shown that the brain forms new pathways when a task is repeated often, thereby optimizing the performance of the skill.

Repeating the same message in both written and verbal form is an essential part of an effective communication strategy. When you repeat key points, you reinforce them in the minds of your customers, making it more likely they will remember and understand the message. Repeating simple words and phrases convinces them they’re true.

Repetition is key to achieving fluency and mastery in any field. By repeating tasks or exercises customers become more comfortable and efficient, leading to increased implementation of what you are teaching. Continuous repetition helps internalize knowledge or skills to the point where they become second nature.

Do you want to know if your customers are learning and remembering the values you’re bringing and telling them about?

Listen to what they say during conversations with you. Are they feeding your words and phrases back to you? If not, start repeating yourself and watch sales increases start to repeat themselves too.

Happy Selling, 
Rod