Friday, February 26, 2010

How I Work It

I typically use my looks to my advantage when there is something I want.

I'm sorry did I just hear laughing?

I know for most ladies that may mean "accidentally" dropping something on the floor to distract or a well timed hip movement with each step but we all know that's not the kind of looks I have. My "looks" go hand in hand with my ability to get into high school football games on a student ticket.

Over the years I have learned the only way for me to combat my overly-aggressive/must-win energy is to just play stupid. That paired with the fact that I look like the other professional's daughter doesn't make it hard to swallow that I'm just a naive young girl who has no idea what she's doing. It's how I got the oil rig to stop drilling for an hour in Oklahoma. It's how I get people on the other side of my real estate deals to give my clients a break.

I knew that sometimes it works in my favor, but this week I took a negotiating class and turns out Smart/Stupid is apparently a proven negotiating technique. With the right personality on the other side of your deal it'll mean they want to help you out rather than beat you into the ground. So even if you don't look 18, swallow your pride and play dumb a little more often and you never know where it will get you.

2 comments:

Lauren S said...

I totally agree! That technique really helped me through my first year in public accounting. But it was only part technique.

The McGregor Clan said...

Ha ha. I do this all the time at the hospital. I have to help pt's manuever through their health insurance's to receive services, and I'll play dumb on the phone and it's interesting b/c most people will try to "help" out the naive sw. I didn't know it was called something specific. As long as the patient gets what they need, I don't care. i frequently say, it doesn't help anyone for me to have a big ego. :)