MISS MATTIE Chapter 11



    Mattie could have gone further in college but she didn't feel it would advance her goals and she wanted to get started in the investment world.

Real estate also interested her as a side line mostly acquiring and reselling properties but her main interest was in stocks and bonds.

Working for a brokerage firm was met with some prejudice but that was to be expected. The worst part was being viewed upon as an inferior and talked down to.

As she built her clients, they expected that any large investment should be handled by one of the men even though they were her clients. Then the men would consider the client now belonged to them.

Mattie would do the leg work and then they would steal her clients. She put up with this for six weeks and decided she had endured enough.

She went into the office of the head broker and said either change your policy or I'm leaving and I will get my clients back after I tell them how you run this business.

The head broker asked “How do you plan to do all that?”  Mattie answered, “Most of these clients are women, and it will be a small matter to show you up and to have them deal with me only. It is either quit stealing my clients or I will take them elsewhere.”

The head broker did not answer her, but instead he went out and called a meeting to make the announcement that from now on Mattie would handle her own accounts and that includes the ones taken from her since she has been here.

As she looked around the room, the men were staring daggers at her, but with a flip of her hair, she sat down at her desk and started laying out a plan to increase her business.

Mattie realized the women had control of much of the money that needed to be invested so she joined the women clubs she didn't already belong to and there she began to enlist many new clients.
      
While some were skeptical at first of her ability, she was building a good track record. In some circles it became a status symbol to be represented by her.   She became known for not risking their money without a fair return. Seldom was any money lost and often they got it back with a good return.

Mattie was feeling pretty good about standing up for herself and each day, she would give Marti a rundown on what she did and the results.  

Marti applauded her on her success but cautioned her that being hard and fast will not turn out well in every case.  

She told Mattie, “You have got your education and you are smart but there is one thing more you must do and that is learning to read people.

The quicker you can understand what makes people to respond favorable to you (both men and women) the more success you will have.

True success will only come about when you understand how to use people to your advantage and at the same time allow them to have success along with you.

The difference in what was happening to you before was the men were stripping you not only your clients but also of your earnings.

One other thing I will mention is being a woman you must have a woman's perspective on business. If you try to emulate a man's approach you will lose for he will use his manly qualities which you don't have.  But on the other hand you have certain qualities men do not possess.

One of the most powerful attributes of the female is the ability to flirt. Learning how to use this power in business is an art form. It is subtle and suggestive but knows how much or little to use so as not to make any promise of anything.

So the key is to in a subtle way to suggest - - but stop way short of promising anything so while they are on the way to disappointment they will still have hope.”

To be Continued