Staton Leads Staffmark in Sales

Sara Staton has come a long way in the last year.
The Fort Smith native joined Staffmark on Dec. 5, 2005, and finished as the top account executive for the fourth quarter of 2006 among the staffing firm’s more than 250 offices in 26 states.
Staton took over the Rogers-Bentonville-Bella Vista area for Staffmark after she managed the US Pizza Co. on Dickson Street in Fayetteville for a year and a half.
In the first year of a companywide sales contest, Staton was second during its second and third quarters with 44 new accounts closed. Her 31 new accounts closed in the fourth quarter easily outdistanced the runner-up’s 20, and her 83 total accounts through November was the second-highest in the nation.
Staton closed a total of 90 accounts for Staffmark in calendar 2006, a number that made her blush.
“I must say in a first year it is quite … well, I have been rewarded very much by my company,” she said.
Staton had no prior sales experience before joining Staffmark. She worked mostly as a waitress while majoring in psychology at the University of Arkansas.
Though she didn’t know it at the time, those skills would eventually serve her well in her new career.
“I learned a lot about behavioral psychology,” she said. “That has helped me read people better.”
Staton credits her success to a tailored approach to each business rather than a catchall sales pitch.
“It’s based on my feel for the individual, how I can help the individual and really being honest,” she said. “I would rather tell someone I’ve never done something before rather than give them some sales pitch and end up failing.
“I think that’s why I’ve been successful. I’m not a real hard salesperson. I’m real honest and I find that gets me a lot farther than just giving a sales pitch.”
Staffmark’s product is its matching of qualified employees with businesses from general laborers to professional managers and administrators.
In Staton’s case, the company made a nice match for itself.
“They took a chance and I’ve done quite well,” she said.
Staton has taken a crash course in the wide array of companies in Northwest Arkansas from the industry-heavy Rogers to the more buttoned-down Bentonville.
Learning the needs of manufacturers as well as suppliers and distributors has been the most enjoyable — and vital — part of her job.
Staton visits 10 to 15 businesses every day and while she’s not comfortable with every place she visits, she isn’t intimidated by much anymore.
“I wouldn’t say I’m ever afraid to go after anything and ask the questions,” she said. “Everybody is a potential target. Everybody hires and everyone needs quality employees.
“It’s really convincing myself, ‘This business needs my service.’ I don’t think there’s a business that couldn’t utilize me. That was the first part of me learning the market. Don’t think there’s not a chance in a certain type of industry.”
Staton said plans for Staffmark in 2007 center on splitting the Rogers office she works out of into two units: one dedicated to industrial jobs in Rogers and another in Bentonville focused on professional placement.
“There’s never a dull moment,” she said. “You never know what a day will bring. That’s why sales are so exciting.”