The Pattern That Works

Research on effective professional communication (across industries—doctors, lawyers, consultants, advisors) consistently finds the same pattern:

Phase 1: LISTEN

• Ask questions
• Understand context
• Build rapport
• Let them talk first

Phase 2: SPEAK

• Diagnose
• Recommend
• Explain reasoning
• Answer questions

Phase 3: LEAVE

• Summarize key points
• Confirm commitments
• Capture what matters
• Set expectations

Phase 4: REINFORCE

• Follow up in writing
• Send resources
• Check in on progress
• Close the loop

Why Most Advisors Skip Phase 4

Here's the brutal truth: Most farm visits end at Phase 3.

You listen. You speak. You leave. And then... nothing.

No written follow-up. No reinforcement. No closing the loop.

Why? Because Phase 4 is:

• Time-consuming (writing takes longer than talking)
• Not urgent (the visit is "done")
• Easy to skip (no immediate consequence)
• Not measured (organizations track visits, not follow-ups)

But here's what farmers experience when you skip Phase 4:

"They seemed knowledgeable. They gave good advice. But I never heard from them again. Were they serious? Do they actually care? Should I implement this?"

Without Phase 4, everything you built in Phases 1-3 fades.

"To Be Heard, First Listen"

This ancient principle is still true: If you want farmers to hear you, first hear them.

Most advisors reverse this. They show up with solutions before understanding problems.

What Listening Accomplishes

When you listen first:

1. You understand context

   • What's actually happening on this farm?
   • What are the constraints and priorities?
   • What's keeping them up at night?

2. You build rapport

   • Farmers relax when they feel heard
   • Defensiveness drops
   • Openness increases

3. You earn the right to speak

   • Advice offered before context is pushy
   • Advice offered after listening is welcome

4. You avoid misdiagnosis

   • The presenting problem isn't always the real problem
   • Listening reveals what's really going on

How to Listen Effectively

Start with open questions:

• "What's on your mind today?"
• "What's keeping you up at night?"
• "What's different this season compared to last?"
• "What's working well? What's not?"

Follow their thread:

• Don't redirect to your agenda immediately
• Let them talk about what matters to THEM
• Ask follow-up questions that go deeper

Notice what they don't say:

• Body language
• Hesitations
• Topics they avoid
• Energy shifts

Resist the urge to problem-solve too quickly:

• You'll want to jump in with solutions
• Don't. Keep listening.
• Farmers need to feel heard before they can hear you

How Much Time to Spend Listening

A good rule of thumb: Spend at least 30% of the visit listening before diagnosing.

If a visit is 30 minutes, spend 10 minutes listening. If it's an hour, spend 20 minutes listening.

This feels slow. It feels inefficient. But it's the foundation of everything that follows.

What Farmers Are Really Telling You

When farmers talk, they're often telling you things that don't sound like the presenting problem:

They say: "Planting got delayed by weather" They mean: "I'm stressed about timing and playing catch-up"

They say: "We're thinking about expanding to the north section" They mean: "We need advice on how to manage more land"

They say: "My neighbor tried that and it didn't work" They mean: "I'm skeptical and need more proof before I try it"

Listen for the meaning beneath the words.

Now You've Earned the Right

Once you've listened—truly listened—you've earned the right to advise.

Your recommendations will land differently because they're grounded in THEIR context, not YOUR agenda.

How to Advise Effectively

Connect to what you heard:

• "Based on what you told me about X..."
• "Given your concern about Y..."
• "Knowing that timing is tight..."

Explain your reasoning:

• Don't just say WHAT to do
• Explain WHY it makes sense
• Connect to their priorities

Acknowledge trade-offs:

• Every recommendation has downsides
• Be honest about them
• Let farmers make informed decisions

Tailor to their constraints:

• Cash flow
• Labor
• Equipment
• Risk tolerance
• Family dynamics

Invite questions:

• "What questions do you have?"
• "Does this make sense for your operation?"
• "What concerns you about this approach?"

The Fade: Why Farmers Forget

Here's the problem with Phase 2: Most of what you say will be forgotten by the time you leave.

Research shows:

• People retain about 10% of what they hear
• Retention drops sharply after 48 hours
• Farmers juggle dozens of decisions at once

So even if your advice is perfect—it fades.

That's why Phase 4 (Reinforce) is critical. But first, Phase 3.

The Transition Nobody Teaches

Phase 3 is the bridge between the visit and follow-up. It's where you set up everything that comes next.

Most advisors skip this entirely. They finish talking, say goodbye, and leave.

But effective advisors take 2-3 minutes to:

Summarize key points:

• "So here's what we covered today..."
• "The main recommendation is..."
• "The next steps are..."

Confirm commitments (both directions):

• "You're going to check on X"
• "I'm going to send you Y"
• "We'll reconnect in Z timeframe"

Set expectations:

• "I'll email you a summary by tomorrow"
• "I'll check in next week to see how it's going"
• "Call me if you have questions"

Capture While It's Fresh

Ideally, before you even leave the farm property:

Voice capture immediately:

• Pull over
• Speak 2-3 minutes into your phone
• Capture key observations, recommendations, commitments
• While it's still fresh

Or write quick notes:

• Before starting the truck
• Bullet points of what matters
• Not perfect—just captured

The goal: Don't trust memory. Capture what matters before it fades.

(Session 6 will dive deep into HOW to capture efficiently.)

The Most Skipped—and Most Important—Phase

This is where trust is actually built or lost.

Phase 4 is where you prove:

• You remember what was discussed
• You follow through on commitments
• You care enough to reinforce
• Your word means something

What Reinforcement Looks Like

Within 24-48 hours of the visit, send written follow-up:

• Brief summary of what you discussed
• Key recommendations
• Reasoning/context
• Resources or links
• Your commitments ("I said I'd check on X—I did, here's what I found")
• Their next steps
• How to reach you

Why writing matters:

• Farmers can revisit it when making decisions
• Provides documentation for their records
• Proves you were listening
• Demonstrates professionalism
• Reinforces key messages

The Impact of Reinforcement

When you reinforce consistently:

Farmers think:

• "They remembered our conversation"
• "They followed through like they said"
• "They care enough to document this"
• "I can count on them"

Trust deepens. Implementation increases.

When you DON'T reinforce:

Farmers think:

• "Did they forget already?"
• "Was I just another stop?"
• "Their word doesn't mean much"
• "I better not count on them"

Trust erodes. Your advice fades.

Why This Is Hard

Reinforcement is hard because:

Writing is slower than talking:

• 60 words/minute speaking
• 40 words/minute typing
• 3-5x time investment

It's not urgent:

• Visit is "done"
• Other priorities demand attention
• Easy to delay

It's not measured:

• Organizations track visits
• Nobody tracks follow-up rates
• No accountability

It requires systems:

• You need what you captured during the visit
• You need templates or processes
• You need reminders to actually do it

But here's the truth: Without Phase 4, Phases 1-3 don't matter much.

You can be competent, listen well, give great advice—and still fail to build trust if you don't reinforce.