Posted by ikando on 4/24/13 11:51am
Msg #466931

Another pricing perspective

We regularly discuss pricing on this forum, so when I read the linked article in Fast Company, a business magazine, I thought it might help with perspective. When one considers that the lender or title company is offering our services as an incentive to obtain the customer/loan client, we are definitely a benefit to them. Otherwise, they would not be able to operate in our area, nor get the paperwork taken care of to complete the process.

So considering we are also business people, we need to help our clients see the advantages of our services to them, and that we should therefore be paid for our value. Here's the link:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3000999/takeaway/what-dead-squirrel-taught-me-about-value-pricing

Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 4/24/13 12:32pm
Msg #466937

Interesting article; however, I think it is more difficult to instill in the borrower the value of our services.
I believe that by the time a borrower is signing documents for a loan they are thrilled that the process is close to being complete.
If they have a Lender that they have been pleased with, I believe they feel comfortable with the Notary Signing Agent that is handling the notarization of their documents.
Many borrowers, in my opinion are not aware of the best practices of the Notary Public handling the documents, and therefore are interested in signing the documents in a timely manner.

If this seems "off base" to you, just know this is my opinion on the subject.

Reply by rengel/CA on 4/24/13 12:56pm
Msg #466942

Our clients are not the borrowers,

our clients are the title companies and signing services who DO need to be aware of the importance of the notary's importance in this process.

My .02

Rengel/CA

Reply by Pam/NM on 4/24/13 1:12pm
Msg #466949

My thoughts exactly

If you save Title's or your service's bacon, they are the ones who remember what you did for them (hopefully)

Reply by VT_Syrup on 4/24/13 1:56pm
Msg #466955

We follow this business model to some degree. The client (title company or signing service) would like a price that is decided on in advance. They don't want variables that are unknown at the time the appointment is made (how many pages in the package, the notary having a longer drive because a bridge is closed the day of the signing, the borrower slowly reading through the package, a charge per notarized signature, etc.) So the notary sets a fee that is a bit high for some signings and a bit low for other signings. The difference is that most of us won't waive the fee if the borrower won't sign, since that might be seen as tempting the notary to pressure the borrower into signing.

As for the value of our services, I think the clients have a general idea of the value of our services, and also understand there are a number of competing notaries that will offer similar services for similar prices. The company in the story seems to have been offering a substantially different price model from the competition.

Reply by HisHughness on 4/24/13 3:49pm
Msg #466976

***The client (title company or signing service) would like a price that is decided on in advance. They don't want variables that are unknown at the time the appointment is made***

We are not selling widgets, or socks, or bottles of laxative; fixed prices work in those transactions. We, on the other hand, are selling our time and expertise. Surgeons will charge extra if they encounter a major glitch in their treatment. Lawyers charge by the hour. Plumbers charge a house call fee plus an hourly fee.

Why on earth, when we quote a fee based on a standard packet size of 120 pages and get a packet of 180 pages, would we not be expected to increase our fee for the roughly 50 percent more work that is expected of us? A bridge being out is not in the control of the lender or title company, and that sort of vicissitude has to be eaten by the signing agent occasionally. But 50 undisclosed pages of faxbacks? I think not.

Reply by VT_Syrup on 4/24/13 4:16pm
Msg #466982

The general preference seems to be to give a fixed price for a range of circumstances (but not an infinite range). My quote covers up to 300 pages for original and borrower copy combined, so in your example of 180 pages for the original (which is 360 pages including the borrower copy) I would expect extra.

If a notary were give a price schedule like the imaginary one below, I don't the signing services and title companies would be enthusiastic:

$0.565 per mile (round trip distance) plus
$0.50 per certificate under seal plus
$30 per hour (including time spent driving) plus
$0.12 per page

In the case of the pest control business, their "out" is if they come across a case that will cost a lot more than $150 to resolve, they eat the cost of driving out there and don't charge anything. The homeowner isn't in a substantially worse position; they can still call someone else to resolve it in a different way. But if a notary backs out at the last minute because it will cost the notary more than the job is worth, the consequences could be considerably more expensive for other parties to resolve than the few hundred the notary was going to charge.