At the time of this writing, if you Google on “mobile notaries”, you will get 440,000 results. There are many pages of directories listing thousands and thousands of mobile notaries. How can you stand out from all this competition?
The answer is that you have to offer something your competition isn’t offering, or at least something that isn’t as widely available as basic mobile notary public service. Some things you can offer include:
- Specialized services for a particular market, such as loan signing
- Interpretation and translation services
- Coverage of a specific geographic area
- Greater convenience in offering to meet the client at the location of their choice
- Greater availability at odd hours
- Rush service
- Bonus services
- Certification
- Guarantees or other risk reducers, such as emphasizing that you are bonded or carry errors and omissions insurance
One specialized service in high demand that mobile notaries can provide is form filling or loan signing. A mobile notary specializing in this area is called a signing agent. “Form filling” involves filling out loan documents by entering information into template documents and then delivering the documents for signing and notarization. The term “loan signing” refers to the signing end of this process. Since 80% of mobile notary public assignments involve loan signing, you will be in more demand if you offer loan signing services as a signing agent. It takes about two weeks of specialized training to acquire basic competence in loan signing. Once you feel comfortable with the material and have acquired some experience, you can take a certification test. Becoming certified as a loan signer will increase the number of visits you get for your listings in online notary directories up to 78%. Be sure to check your state law to see if loan signing is allowed in your area.
Reverse mortgage signing services is another area where specialized training can increase demand for your services.
If you speak Spanish or another popular language, you can make yourself stand out by offering interpretation and translation services.
You can stand out by promoting your services in a specific geographic area. A good way to do this is to create a website keyword-optimized for that area and promote it so that it will show up in local Internet business searches. If you can cover more than one area, you should do this for all applicable areas. Likewise, if you cover more than one area, list yourself in multiple areas in directories. Be sure to list a specific address in the geographic area you’re covering, which will increase clicks on your listing by approximately 18%. If you don’t want to use your home address, consider obtaining a PO Box or a suite mailing address.
Offering to meet your client at the location of their choice is another way to stand out from the crowd. For instance, it is often more convenient for clients to have a document signed while they are on a break at work. Other clients may prefer to sign a document at home or at a restaurant, while still others may be confined to a hospital, nursing home, or jail. Offering to meet the client where they are can bring you business.
Another way to distinguish yourself is by offering services at odd hours or on a rush schedule. This will attract business from clients who need emergency service. Of course you will then have to be prepared to respond to these emergencies.
These are just a few examples of ways you can distinguish yourself from your competition. With some creativity, you can think of other bonus services you can offer that would appeal to specific markets. For instance, if someone is applying for a loan for a new house, what other services might they need? Is there a way you can meet that need, or put them in touch with someone who can meet that need? Put yourself in your client’s shoes, ask yourself what they need, and find a way to deliver that to them, and you will stand out head and shoulders above your competition.
Certification is another way you can distinguish yourself. If you are certified with an association or certified in some specialty such as loan signing, displaying your certification in your listing and on your website can make you more credible than competitors.
Guarantees and risk reducers can also make you stand out. You will make your clients feel more secure about doing business with you if your promotional literature emphasizes that you are bonded or carry errors and omissions insurance (E&O insurance).
Whatever you offer to distinguish yourself, make sure your offer is displayed visibly in your promotional material, on your website, and in any directory listings. Ideally your offer should describe what distinguishes you from your competition in 90 words or less.
If you can build your offer into the name of your company, it will help brand your image. Pick a name that reflects what is uniquely distinguishing about your mobile notary service.
Distinguishing yourself from your competition is one of the most effective ways to increase the effectiveness of your promotional campaigns. It will work wonders for growing your mobile notary public business.
Read our mobile notary public tips page for more ways to grow your mobile notary business!
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