Posted by Art_PA on 8/9/11 6:01am
Msg #393120

Every Time

Every time you post that "Out of This World Title" is "great", "you favorite company" "pays well and quickly" , it is certain that you are helping your competition. You are helping the $60 notaries and the cheap signing companies. You are doing their marketing and prospecting for them.

If you have been doing this for years, you know that some of the great companies which used to pay over $200 are now paying less than $100, and are having no trouble finding notaries to do their work.

Warning a notary that a company doesn't pay, or of other issues is OK, but you should think twice about destroying your business by helping your competition locate good companies.

Reply by Notarysigner on 8/9/11 11:26am
Msg #393135

I wasn't going to post but....I would suggest you contact your competitors and find out what's going on before giving this type of advice. Networking is the key. Did you not see all the recent post about the SoCal luncheon or see the pictures? Didn't look like a bunch of cutthroats to me.

I network with a few notaries in my area and certainly provide referrals that I can't handle. One thing I can say for certain is we all are on the same page.
The people here know what to charge and even if they are sneaks, so what? You cannot control what you don't have. Do a good job and you'll continue to get your jobs. IMO

Reply by MaggieMae_CA on 8/9/11 12:01pm
Msg #393138

From a luncheon attendee... Well said Notarysigner n/m

Reply by Art_PA on 8/9/11 1:16pm
Msg #393140

I am not suggesting that you should not share with your network.

You should know that signing services read this board and will contact those great companies, and that local notaries will also offer to work for less than you do.

If you have been doing closings for more than a year, you know that fees have dropped substantially and that the "great" company that paid over $200 a few years ago now has notaries doing the same job for $75. When you post about a company other notaries and signing services contact that company.

My competitors, and yours, are notaries you don't know and signing services who are after your business. Are you suggesting that I contact local notaries to tell them about the companies who hire me? Networking is not a suicide pact.

Reply by Notarysigner on 8/9/11 1:33pm
Msg #393141

I believe if the notaries on this forum would tell to the number of signings they have gotten as a result of me telling the hiring party about those notaries, you still wouldn't believe it.

I will never bash/flame another notary so you're entitled to your opinion. That's it for me!

Reply by jba/fl on 8/9/11 3:10pm
Msg #393150

I understand what Art is saying, and I agree with him. I do not publish the "great ones" in pay, etc., for just the reasons that Art had cited, and I would be certain that there are others who feel the same way. SS's will approach these companies and soon the pay structure is gobbled by the SS and the notary is left out in the cold. Then there are tose who will undercut you, the notary, by $10, but that is enough to begin the bidding wars and now your previously great client is everybody elses so-so client. Then, there is the great company that you pass along to others that you network with, and held in reserve by your network so that the company does not fall into the clutches of those who have less respect for them.

It seems, James, that Msg #393047 had just that amount of cachet with you and yiour network as you did not want to share online, but had no problem in sharing via PM's with those you felt would do the company justice. You wanted to protect them from a deluge of calls and emails - which is another thing that I think Art means as well.

It isn't that we don't want to share, it is that after we cultivate them, get them growing just fine, we don't want to set them in the sun to bake.

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 8/9/11 3:53pm
Msg #393163

Although I do think that when a company, or a person within a company, goes above the normal that it is appropriate to praise them in a public way I can understand Art's viewpoint as well. It does make sense.

The challenge is how is one supposed to show gratitude publicly while at the same time protecting their own business. Over the years, fewer and fewer TC and SS companies are willing to show loyalty to the good NSAs that have been there for them when they needed it, including going above and beyond, which adds creditability to Art's position.

I have to admit that I have not always posted about certain companies for the exact reasons he mentioned.

Reply by MichiganAl on 8/9/11 4:53pm
Msg #393169

On the other hand...

We know many of them read this forum. So when someone asks about a company and I say they're great, maybe they see that and think "Hey, Alex has our back. That's someone we want to do business with." I'm happy to support the people or companies that have been good to me.

Reply by BarbaraL_CA on 8/9/11 8:54pm
Msg #393206

Business Sense and Professionalism...

If you are professional and value your "client base" then you will not disclose your client list to others. However, there are times when networking is of value and you may refer a client of yours to one of the notaries with whom you network. The bottom line is TRUST - trusting your client and trusting your network. It also include CONFIDENCE - confidence in yourself and running your business. I've been doing this for 8 years and I have yet to lose a client or tell one of my network associates to take a hike.