Category: Notary News and Advice

Every business owner deals with the occasional difficult client. Being able to handle those difficult clients goes a long way to your bottom line. After all, the overall costs of finding new clients is often more expensive than retaining current clients. As a business owner, you need to find a way to keep the difficult client happy. Here are five tips that can help avoid and handle the tough signing.

1. Be Prepared

Making sure you have all your ducks in a row can mean the difference if a signing is going to be good or not. Not being prepared can frustrate the client and bring unnecessary tension to the situation. You are a professional. You need to make sure you have communicated with the client, know the instructions, and know how to get to the location of the signing well in advance so there are less surprises. There will be less surprises when you do all you can to be prepared.

2. Courteous and Professional Conduct

This seems like an obvious point, but evaluating your own conduct can be very difficult. If you are consistently dealing with tough clients have you ever stopped to ask yourself if you may be the problem? Are you making a mistake you are unaware of? Are you doing the little things that you should be doing to be courteous and professional? Some basic questions to ask yourself:

• Are you arriving at your appointments on time?
• Are you finishing your appointments on time?
• Do you use language that is appropriate for business conversations?
• Is your dress appropriate for business meetings?
• If there is a problem, are you communicating promptly and effectively with the client?

Following the golden rule is always good advice when working with other people. Courteous and professional conduct are at the base of good customer service. The answer doesn’t always have to be “yes”, but all of your clients should be treated with respect. Having the confidence to evaluate your own conduct can help you provide better service to your client base.

3. Pro-actively Fix Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. The client hired you to do a job. It is your responsibility to make sure that job is completed. Pro-actively fixing your mistakes shows you are responsible which may lead to more trust from your client. Telling your client a mistake was made is not a pleasant conversation. Having that conversation after fixing your mistake is slightly easier for all parties.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Say “No”

Saying “no” can actually avoid conflict. Most clients get frustrated or upset when an expectation they have is not met. If you are given an opportunity for a signing that will be hard for you to complete within the client’s expectations, you may want to turn it down. It may be better to say “no” upfront then to end up with a frustrated client because you are not able to fulfill on a promise that you made.

5. Learn Resolution and Conflict Management Skills

Your learning should focus on more than the knowledge you need to be a mobile notary. Working with people is central to your career. Learn resolution and conflict management skills by reading blogs and articles or attending a professional training. There are many business communication training classes that cater specifically to the self employed and small business owners. Conflict management is a skill that can be learned.

Dealing with difficult clients has more to do with you than it does with your clients. Take responsibility for good customer service by following good practices and honestly evaluating conversations that did not end positively. Remember that good customer service can lead to referrals growing your business.

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Protect yourself from everything from pit bulls to petty lawsuits with these mobile notary pro tips.

It’s an on ­demand world, and the days of “bankers’ hours” are long gone. With companies like Uber and Airbnb changing the way business is done in all kinds of industries, it’s only a matter of time before notary publics have to keep up with the times, too. That’s why mobile and remote notaries are the wave of the future: They bring their services right to the dohttps://www.airbnb.com/orsteps of people who need them, and they don’t make anyone rearrange their busy lives to deal with an old ­fashioned office schedule.

Mobile notaries are definitely cutting­ edge — so much so, in fact, that you may be wondering where the rule book is. Just what should you do to protect yourself in this relatively new field?

No worries. We’ve got great advice to help get you started. Here are seven important ways to protect yourself as you begin your adventures as a mobile notary:

1. Secure Your Surety Bond
Sometimes mistakes happen — and sometimes they can be costly. Every notary public needs to have a surety bond that will cover monetary damages if a mistake ends up costing the state money. Since you probably don’t have thousands of dollars lying around, a bond guarantees the money will be paid if anything goes wrong.

2. Consider Additional Liability Insurance
Just like doctors have malpractice insurance, a notary should consider picking up additional insurance to cover damages. Notary Public Errors and Omissions insurance is usually inexpensive and offers you peace of mind. If you ever need to use that bond money, you’ll be glad you have this insurance coverage to pay it back.

3. Speaking of Insurance…
As a mobile notary, you’re going to be in your car. A lot. Make sure you have great car insurance coverage to protect you from nasty surprises. You might want to increase your liability coverage beyond the minimum. Adding glass and collision coverage can also be a good idea, especially if your car is still relatively new.

4. Have an Emergency Kit in Your Car
Your car might start feeling like your second home, and it makes sense to make it as safe as you can in the event of a break down. Keep a working jack, jumper cables, extra windshield washer fluid, flares, a snow brush/ice scraper, blanket and bottles of water in an emergency kit in your trunk. You should also have a phone charger up front. Bonus points if you keep a travel umbrella in your glove compartment as well.

5. Keep Pepper Spray in Your Pocket
You’ll probably never need it, but pepper spray is a really useful deterrent for snarly, unleashed dogs. You just never know when someone’s pit bull might be on the loose in the neighborhood you’re visiting, but a quick shot of pepper spray will send even the meanest junkyard dog away whimpering before he even gets close.

6. Go Back to School
Not all states require coursework for notaries, but taking a class to brush up on your skills is a great way to prevent mistakes. Find one in your state and sign­ up — it’s guaranteed to be an afternoon well spent!

7. Stay Sharp and Fresh
One last tip: Don’t let anyone catch you off your game. Make sure you are always dressed professionally and protect yourself from potential embarrassment with a tin of mints in your glove box. After all, you don’t want to make a terrible first impression by knocking a client dead with your coffee breath! Altoids or Tic Tacs are an easy fix.

8. Error Check Yourself to Avoid Costly Errors.

Yes, you may be insured and have a surety bond, but that does not mean you want to have anything looking out of place. Make sure you don’t hit an easy, but costly, notary mistake.

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Or Call us at (727) 817-0000

As a mobile notary, you spend a lot of time behind the wheel, traveling from client to client. If you can cut your fuel costs, you can significantly improve your bottom line. We recommend making these tips part of your daily habits to improve your gas efficiency and spend less at the pump:

Studies reveal that 70% of people completely trust the information provided in online reviews. For better or worse, the internet has replaced the local watering hole where most people go for advice on who to hire. And this includes any mobile notary public, which is why you need to be proactive on notary websites that offer reviews.

Prospective clients will use the reviews to determine if they will choose your services over the competition. It is important to be proactive and create your own profile on as many review websites as you can. Below are four of the most popular and make an excellent starting point to establish your reputation online as a great notary.

Not All are Specifically Notary Websites, but this is a Great Start

Yelp

Since its inception in 2004, Yelp has established itself as the leader in online review sites. As a notary service provider, you can create or claim your business page to establish your presence on this site. On your business page, you can list your service areas, hours, payment information and rate range. Your past clients can post reviews and give you a star rating from one to five. Your star rating generates a detailed monthly and yearly trend report you can use to gauge your business growth and reputation increases.

Angi

Angi, formerly Angie’s list, allows your clients to shop for your mobile notary services right on the site. Upon selecting your ad, site visitors can read about your service package, check pricing information and read reviews from your past clients. The site gauges your reviews to create an overall letter grade. All of the reviews are verified to keep malicious individuals from driving down your rating. If you reach specific review milestones, you may even receive an award that displays prominently on your service page.

Yellow Pages

At first glance, the Yellow Pages may feel a little outdated. However, this site continues to be a trusted source for online reviews. Site visitors can search for your company by name or service type. Upon landing on your page, they can browse through detailed reviews and a simplified star rating. Links to your website, social media accounts and contact information allow for quick and easy accessibility for individuals in need of mobile notary services.

123Notary

The up and coming site, 123Notary, lists your service page alongside other industry professionals in your area with just a single search. The basic profile layout allows you to create a bio and include your full range of services for clients to review. Upon completion of the scheduled service appointment, clients can return to your service page to leave a review about their experience. Positive and neutral reviews are immediately listed with the client’s name and posting date. Negative reviews are screened in a two stage process to eliminate erroneous or unfair depictions of the provided services.

Encouraging Positive Reviews

Obtaining reviews from your clients on notary websites is often as easy as asking for an honest summary and star rating before you leave the appointment. You can create business cards with links to your favorite review sites to help clients navigate to the appropriate place to share their experience.

As your web presence improves, your past and current clients can search for your name online and leave a review on the site of their choosing. When you receive a review, you can address the user with a message of thanks or offer to rectify negative situations or interactions. Your feedback reinforces your commitment to providing the best services possible in such a competitive industry.

The more engaged you are on notary websites for reviews, the more willing you appear to accept new business.

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Your Nationwide Notary Signing Service

Increase your efficiency and bottom line with Sunshine’s Mobile Notary Services and Online Notary Services. Sunshine is always there when you need us.

GET STARTED

Or Call us at (727) 817-0000

Click the video below for the full breakdown of the closing disclosure 2015 form.

Understanding the Closing Disclosure 2015 form.

It’s important as a notary signing agent to understand how to locate, read, and identify key information on the closing disclosure 2015 form.  It is a simplified way to understand all costs on a real estate loan.

It makes it easier to locate Interest Rates, Monthly Payments and Cost to Close associated with the loan.  The disclosure must be provided to the buyer at least three days prior to closing.

Protect Yourself!

After talking to notaries, there seems to be confusion with what E&O really is. A lot of mobile notaries say that it’s not a state requirement and they have a bond so they don’t need it. This is where they are wrong.

Don’t Miss Out On Work Because you’re not covered! You can be a mobile notary or a remote notary, but you need to be protected for both business and individual signings.

In this list we go over the 5 ways to prep for a successful signing. Making sure you have all your ducks in a row can mean the difference if a signing is going to be good or not. Following these steps can help make sure that everything is prepared and ready from all sides of the signing.

Sometimes by following these steps, you end up catching something that needs to be corrected and saves you from having to correct it later. Now no one is perfect, but making sure you have a guideline system before the signing can make the difference of having a successful signing.