Misty Ursitti

I would say persistence, dedication, and determination are the top factors. This isn't an easy job. There's a lot of staffing firms out there, and you have to stay persistent and dedicated. Even when I was branching out independently, I treated the job the same as I was doing at ADECO. I get up, I go to my computer, I do business development. I treated it as a 10-hour day. Really, dedication to what you're doing makes all the difference.

One of the things I truly believed in, and I was always told by my mentors at ADECO, is that I don't believe in salespeople. I don't believe I'm in a sales role. I just believe that people like to do business with people they like. I feel that finding common ground and getting to know my clientele and the candidates on a more personal level has helped in my career. I don't consider myself a salesperson, even though business development is sales. You have to believe in something in order to sell it. I believe in this industry, I believe in what we offer, I believe in the cost savings that it provides organizations. Just not thinking of it as a sales role, but thinking of it as human interaction and getting to know people on a personal level. People like doing business with people they like. That was probably one of the best advice that I was given, because it made it more of a relaxing transition instead of a forced transaction. I'm not pushy. If people want to do business with me, I welcome it. I try to stay consistent and try to stay top of mind, and when they're ready, I believe they'll give me a shot and reach out when the time is right.

Don't ever underestimate yourself. Have confidence in what you're doing and work hard. Be persistent, be consistent, and the rest will follow. That's what I've always told my daughter. One of the things I always want you to keep in mind is I don't ever want you to ever depend on anybody financially. There's women that get stuck in those situations where the man is making the money, and then if things go south, they're kind of lost. They don't know where to go, they don't know what to turn. I always tell my daughter it's essential she has a career, something that she can provide for herself financially, and still be in a beautiful relationship, and still be able to provide for herself in case something goes wrong in that environment.

The biggest challenge is just competition. It's such a competitive market out there. There are so many staffing firms. I've been really blessed with the clientele that I attract. Since I've been in this industry for so long, a lot of my clients are clientele that I actually worked with in the past, that know my work ethic and my capabilities and how I deliver. Those organizations brought me in and gave me an opportunity to partner with them because they knew who I was. The biggest challenge is getting your foot in the door with organizations that don't know you. All I want is an opportunity to get my foot in the door to prove ourselves. I've probably had around five new clients that I haven't been introduced to since I've started independently, that have given me an opportunity, and things have proceeded from there going forward. It's just having people give you that chance. That's pretty much the biggest challenge, getting a foot in the door in some of the organizations and giving you that opportunity to prove yourself when there's so many competitors out there. All I ask is for an order, just to be used as a comparison. I'm not making you do business with me. It's just seeing what we have to offer. May the best candidate win type scenario.

Integrity is definitely number one. Honesty.