Posted by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 6:26pm
Msg #454162

Anyone want to pick apart my profile?

I think, *think* being the operative word here, that I'm ready to move forward into the wacky world of mobile notary services and all that entails. I've updated my profile and am open to hearing your critiques. My website is mostly complete, though I will be tweaking the layout/photos.

Any suggestions? Anything that jumps out at you as a horrible mistake?

Just as background info - I have been shadowing another notary and NSA for the last few months to learn the ropes. I've completed the training via the OTHER group just for the "certification". I have read the oft referenced post #33325 an absurd number of times to squeeze out every drop of knowledge there. I have been attending local SBA seminars (although I have been in management and an Administrative Director for a non-profit so I already had a good bit of knowledge about running and operating a business). I've read through and dissected apart the MS Rules and Regulations, as piddly as they are, plus many assorted best practices guides to fully understand my responsibilities, limitations, and potential liabilities.

I understand what I'm getting into and I know things are likely to be very slow at first. I've invested a lot of time and money into getting my mobile notary business off the ground because I am serious about making this a long-term profitable business.

Reply by Notarysigner on 2/5/13 6:59pm
Msg #454168

Great except you won't get any emails because the domain is obviously incorrect, otherwise very good. IMO

Reply by Belinda/CA on 2/5/13 7:04pm
Msg #454172

Hello. Welcome to our world!

I did not get to look at much. I did however use the link to go to your web page.

The issue I came up against is...
When I clicked on a tab at the top of the page to change pages, say to Fees, the photo/section at the top did not change. The whole top of the page did not change. I kept thinking it did not change pages and was not linking. Does that make sense? Nothing on my window changed to show me the page did indeed go to where I wanted it to go.

Maybe change the top of each page so it is obvious the link was followed and a new page has indeed opened. Make something different on each.

This may not happened to others depending on how they have their size for their window set but it happened to me. Finally I scrolled down and saw that the page was indeed changing but I had to scroll down each time to see if it changed to what I wanted open.

You do not want clients 'wondering' but 'knowing.'

Reply by jba/fl on 2/5/13 7:08pm
Msg #454174

Re: Hello. Welcome to our world!

She said she was not finished with placement of photos, etc. I noticed that as well - it did confuse me too. Good eye Belinda.

Everyone sees a bit differently, don't they.

I'm just so impressed you have done your homework so thoroughly before coming here. Tis a pleasure to have you among us.

And - lucky you - you are the only Premier Notary in that general area. What a plus for you.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 7:34pm
Msg #454179

Re: Hello. Welcome to our world!

Thanks, I hope that the low numbers of mobile notaries in my area will help drive the available business my way... fingers crossed!

Reply by SharonMN on 2/6/13 10:40am
Msg #454221

Re: Hello. Welcome to our world!

Looks good. Make sure you are actually prepared and trained to do the fingerprints and inspections since you claim to be available for them. Also, add your actual experience before the "NNA certified" bit as soon as you have some.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 7:38pm
Msg #454181

Re: Hello. Welcome to our world!

All good points. I'm going to tweak the layout and pics in the next day or two. I agree the same "header" on each page is a little confusing. When I was putting it together I had to keep double checking to make sure I was working on the right page!

I'm looking for images and graphics to use on the site - hopefully it will make it more eye appealing as well as ease up the navigation.

Reply by jba/fl on 2/5/13 7:04pm
Msg #454173

just noticed that - you have misspelled mobile to be moible

told you I read fast on profile.....Yeah! James!

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 7:38pm
Msg #454182

Thanks. Apparently my keen eye for detail missed that typo. It's fixed.

Reply by jba/fl on 2/5/13 7:02pm
Msg #454169

These comments are on your website, which you said was not complete yet.
1. Credible witness: must provide ID in most states unless known to the notary.
2. Get rid of all protest work - these are not valid in most states, and are part of the fringe nut group seeking to avoid paying taxes, etc. You can use the orange search button on NotRot to see the comments about that type of work. After you read it, I think you will understand and be in full agreement on this. See Msg #316868 and Msg #304055
3. Do you take credit cards? How do you want to be paid? Will you take checks? Sign up for Square Up or one of the devices that attach to your phone to accept credit cards. They will cost you about 3% or less, so add a few cents to cover that if so desired, depending on the amount of the bill. I usually don't bother until we get to higher volume, which is rare doing general notary work. (Also discussed here last couple of days - search for those threads)

I did send these through the "contact us" option - so you will see if it all works as expected.

As for your profile here: I think it looks good. The lead statement does just what we were talking about here a few days back: tells where you will go, your area. The consensus was that that was most important.

I saw no misspellings, but I read fast so my mind may have corrected them. Check again. I read the website slower, and saw none there.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 7:34pm
Msg #454180

I did get your email and sent back a reply.

Reply by Pro Mobile Notary on 2/5/13 7:02pm
Msg #454171

You can start by putting a valid email address on your profile.

I tried to send you an email to [e-mail address] and got an error message that it is not a valid domain name. I clicked on the address, so it is not an issue of my typo.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 7:32pm
Msg #454178

Sorry, the email was a typo - Guess my fingers got away from me for a moment. That doesn't look good when I toot my own horn about being detail oriented! lol Thanks for the heads up, it's been fixed.

Reply by GaryT/CA on 2/5/13 8:04pm
Msg #454186

From your website

As a mobile notary, I do charge a travel fee when traveling to perform a notarials acts.
Check spelling.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 8:26pm
Msg #454187

Re: From your website

Good eye! I just caught that myself. Should be correct now...

You know how you look at a word for too long and suddenly the word doesn't make any sense, or it looks misspelled even when it's not.... my whole site is like that for me at this point today.

Maybe fresh eyes tomorrow will revel more little nuggets of typo-goodness. If I pick at it anymore today I'll probably

Thanks for the heads up, I appreciate it.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/5/13 8:30pm
Msg #454188

Re: From your website

*sigh* I meant to say: If I pick at it anymore today I'll probably go crazy.

Dagnabbit! It's been too long a day sitting in from of this computer.... okay, stopping now before I forget how to spell my own name....

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/5/13 8:39pm
Msg #454190

Susan - I thought your profile was great when I looked at it at 8:36 pm.

It does not matter whether you asked to be picked apart or not...it will happen on NotRot. LOL. Take nothing personal.

Reply by NJDiva on 2/5/13 9:20pm
Msg #454192

LOL...ain't that the truth Brenda??? LOL

"It does not matter whether you asked to be picked apart or not...it will happen on NotRot"

And please don't forget to take the snarky replies (I'm not above them) with a grain of salt. lol That happens here too...lol

Reply by JanetK_CA on 2/6/13 1:50am
Msg #454202

Re: LOL...ain't that the truth Brenda??? LOL

I find it helpful to keep in mind that sometimes the "snarky" replies are just something that inadvertently sneak in between the keyboard and the printed screen and aren't really intended. IMO, it's often just the result of dashing off a quick reply. So NJDiva's advice is well worth taking!

And kudos to you, Susan, for approaching your new enterprise as a serious business. It reminds me somewhat of how I started out, although I didn't have anyone to shadow. Did spend a few months doing homework and studying up, even though I'd already been a notary for a couple of years because I wanted to be as prepared as possible when I started. There will always still be a learning curve, but the more you can absorb up front, the faster you'll learn.

As for your website, my recommendation (which you may have figured out already) is to significantly reduce the size of the picture (and maybe even your business name) or set it off to a side. People who go to your site are looking for the content and you definitely want as much as possible to show up on each page. If you don't capture their attention immediately, they move on. (And what looks to be a stock photo won't do it. I like the photo, but it should be a little bit of window dressing, not look like the main event. )

Best of luck to you!

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/6/13 10:56am
Msg #454229

Re: LOL...ain't that the truth Brenda??? LOL

No worries, a little snark won't break my heart.

Thanks for the feedback on the site - and I agree with you 100%. The site needs some tweaking for sure. First thing to go will be that stock photo. I'm pouring over various photo and graphics sites to find something more suitable.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/6/13 10:51am
Msg #454227

I figured as much, honestly. Just thought I make a preemptive move to initiate the feeding frenzy. lol

Fortunately, I have a thick skin and I rarely take anything personal. Thanks for the feedback.

Reply by HisHughness on 2/6/13 12:30am
Msg #454201

Just what kind of game are you playing here?

You come on this forum as a newcomer, ASKING our advice. And you do that AFTER you have done everything we've told every other newcomer to do. You've read all the requisite background posts, you've taken the training, you've gone about setting up your business logically and, presumably, effectively.

And then you have the GALL to ask us for advice, after not leaving a damn thing we can pick apart. That's a really really cheap shot. A SOX on you. Go ahead and do it YOUR way.

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/6/13 11:02am
Msg #454231

Re: Just what kind of game are you playing here?

Awww.... can't a girl have some fun?

I know I didn't follow the standard newbie MO but I've never been one to follow the "trends". lol Don't worry, I'm more than certain that you'll have some more newbies here shortly asking the same inane questions all over again.

Ohhh, maybe I'll be the one to refer the next newbie to post #33325... oh the irony, the irony!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/6/13 11:39am
Msg #454240

Something I just noticed - nitpicky time I guess

It's "Notaries Public" not "Notary Publics"...

Also, you state that 100% of the fee is due if a cancellation occurs within 2 hours of the appointment time? To that I'd just say good luck with that. Sometimes things happen - I don't see any company paying you 100% of an agreed fee for a cancellation. You may want to rethink that part so as not to drive away prospective clients.

JMHO

Reply by NJDiva on 2/6/13 11:59am
Msg #454245

Absolutely agree with Linda on that "rethink". n/m

Reply by Susan Lancaster on 2/6/13 1:37pm
Msg #454273

Re: Something I just noticed - nitpicky time I guess

I'm making a list of changes and have added that one (notaries public) to the list. Thanks.

I've been back and forth over the cancellation policy - and I'm still not married to it. And I really have no illusions that I'd be able to hold an individual requesting GNW to that policy at all. The only way to even attempt to preempt that would be to require travel fees to be paid up front and I know THAT is not a good idea. It is a method being used by a few notaries/other mobile service providers in my area, but it just seems somewhat tacky. IMO.

From what I've gathered here, extracting fees from an SS over canceled or no-show appointments is difficult in general. I've read Hugh's thread, #223813, and I do think that's a realistic policy. But that can always be included in the negotiation and doesn't necessarily need to be posted in full glorious detail on the website. I've been considering just including a statement about NSA appointments being subject to "a cancellation policy", then just release the detail after the offer of an assignment.

So my question - Would you suggest not posting a cancellation policy at all, only alluding to or mentioning one, or just modifying the statement to a more realistic model? Please keep in mind that I'm trying to network with local banks and TCs for NSA work. A couple of the local companies have asked about my fee structure and cancellation policy. That doesn't mean I need to post it to my website, but it's another factor to consider in my circumstances.

I have noticed that most mobile notaries and NSAs don't itemize their fees on their websites/profiles - I'm guessing that's to deter any local competition from undercutting? Something else to consider - even if my area is not saturated with mobile notaries. Hmmm...

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 2/6/13 2:24pm
Msg #454281

Personal business models ...

There are as many business models as there are businesses, and for most of your questions there is only one 'right' answer and that's your own. =)

HOWEVER ... since you're here picking brains, I'll share a few bits of my own. Some people compete with price, some with some specialized 'niche' service, some with experience ... but if you lay out your cards by posting fees, you invite competition from all those competing on that point, and you're handing it to them. Also, you completely void the entire art of negotiating - the Salesperson's Rule #1 is "the first person who names a number - loses."

Again the disclaimer - this is my own model - I never do ala carte fees, I follow the KISS rule. I ask "Where, when & what is it" and my fee is all-inclusive. It makes the client's phone call that much easier, and I'm all about that. Since I tend to work more with Title Agents than SS's, I pretty much already know what'll be entailed and things wash in the end. I don't sweat the incidentals - sometimes I print a bigger pkg, but sometimes it's smaller, and sometimes there's 3 people at the table & sometimes it's a single person. It's a wash. I either do it, or I don't.

As for cancellation fees - I also add them to the wash. That's NOT a popular business model, it's MY business model. It rarely happens - when it does, sometimes I'm paid anyway (w/out invoicing) and sometimes I'm not. In fact, today I drove 80 miles round-trip & the borrowers were unable to sign. Not happy, not enjoying it, but would really have to think hard to remember the last time it happened. For this client, I'm not discounting them for all the times it's 4 miles from home & I'm done in 15 minutes - so, it's a wash. I don't sweat it.

I guess, since I will NOT compete on price points, I compete in ease of service & some industrial-strength experience. I have always asked myself "WHY would they WANT to pick me over someone else?" Then I create a model to try to be the answer to that question.

It's rare for my website to bring in anyone other than the general public - it's happened, but it's rare. The 'Big 3' of notary listings brings me 99.9% of the loan work - many times I rue the day I so heavily embedded myself with Google, as I do not really want general work.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 2/6/13 2:38pm
Msg #454287

still have coffee left, so here's some more ...

It might be helpful to understand that the schedulers almost never know anything beyond the location, the date/time, the type of transaction, and often the lender (but not always) & whether fax-backs are necessary. It's IMO burdensome to ask the scheduler such things as how many signers there will be, how big/small is the pkg, how many pages to fax back, etc., particularly since they rarely have a clue.

I realize this forum is often the 'water cooler' where a lot of venting goes on about such things, but in my mind these types of detailed questions posed to someone who only knows the fundamental facts is probably their biggest headache. I feel the same way about 're-negotiating' post confirmation, unless it's something REALLY significant.

I noted that you were adding to your base fee for a "Cash purchase" - usually those are a little less than 'base' because there's no loan. I say a "little" less, not a LOT less - you still need to carry your full arsenal of knowledge with you regardless. =)

Reply by indaberry/LA on 2/6/13 9:16pm
Msg #454412

I don't see the name "Susan Lancaster" anywhere on your website. Was that intentional?

Reply by Chakwaina on 2/7/13 10:48am
Msg #454516

I would suggest changing "general public notary work" to "general notary public work"


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