Joy Langtry

There are lots of questions on this forum from new NSAs who want to learn how to market themselves, what to charge, what you can earn, etc., etc., etc.  I thought it would be fun to offer my thoughts.

First of all, know your product.  What is your product?  It’s you.  What do you offer that is special and desirable to your customer?  Make a list of your strengths and skills, and all the positive benefits that a company will achieve by using your services.  Then, make a list of all the reasons that you love doing this work, all the elements that you enjoy.

If those 2 lists are very short, or you have a lot of trouble, angst or discomfort trying to create them, maybe this is not your best choice of profession.  Be honest with yourself.

Otherwise, after you’ve filled up your notepaper with all of this info, try to distill it down to a mission statement or a statement of a guiding purpose.

Mine is “to provide value to my clients in all my actions”.  When I ask questions prior to accepting an assignment, it is so I can evaluate my ability to best provide value.  When I set my fees to fairly compensate me for my time, effort and skill, I am then inspired to offer my very best service value.  So while a guiding purpose like this sounds very giving and altruistic, it must be supported by the foundation of resources I need to function appropriately.  And believing that this is a fair exchange strengthens my confidence.

Second idea – expect pay that is commensurate with experience.  I am always fascinated by the rants of NSAs who say that we should all charge the same.  I know for certain that my 20-years of corporate business experience and 5+ years of loan signings make me more valuable than the beginner with a brand new commission and no relevant business experience.  Established, experienced signing agents deserve the fees in the $125 to $200 range, no questions asked.  And they should also offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  When the rare error is caught, own it, fix it and learn from it.

Let the brand new notaries (who would sooner post a question asking the URL of a title company than take the initiative to do a Google search themselves) take the $40 to $50 jobs, and let the services that pay these fees get what they pay for.  Natural selection will weed out anyone unsuited for the task, and those who have the aptitude, develop the skills and pursue the training will command greater fees as they progress forward.

Third idea – invest half your marketing time signing up for on-line directories, and then get creative.  Once a week, or for 3 – 4 days during the slower beginning of the month, find 5 new signing services or title companies to sign up with (via Google searches on-line), and then find 5 businesses in the phone book to call.  They could be:

Local mortgage lenders – ask who closes their loans

Local title companies – ditto

Local real estate agencies – ask if there is someone they recommend to their clients for mortgage loans, then loop back to the above

Local lawyers – do they ever need Notary Services on the fly?

Local Real Estate Investment Clubs – RE Investors have to have loan closings, too, A LOT!

I bet you can think of others.  Yes, calling people can be intimidating, but only if you let it.  Get over it!

It’s often surprising to find out where business can come from as a result of these efforts.  If you don’t have an appointment to go to, this activity is well worth doing.