Marketing Strategies: How You Can Stand Out
by Hazzaa Kassis, Midwest Notary Association
Having received many emails in the past few months requesting help or just asking why is business so slow we decided that we would put our best foot forward and make an effort to answer these questions in explicit detail and share it with the rest of you that didn’t realize that this is what this association (Midwest Notary Association) is here for. To help you grow and become a success in your endeavors.
Now we all know that marketing is a pain and at times can and will seem like a waste of time because we don’t always see the fruits from our efforts immediately, but they do eventually come in. Time and patients will make the world of difference.
I am going to begin our marketing topics with a thought that needs to remain with you from here on. “If I sign up with 5 to 10 new companies every week, I am bound to get some calls eventually”. Yes, eventually you will get calls but how many calls will you get and how long will it take before you get your first call? There is a very good chance that you may not get a call for several weeks or even months and then when you do get your first call, how long before you get your next call. A member of the Midwest Notary Association contacted me some time ago to ask for advice. Her dilemma was that she had gotten into this business well prepared. She was well versed on the subject of Notary Signing Agent and well prepared financially for a long drawn out state of no business. She read on many websites, forums, chat boards etc that she needed to do her research and sign up with as many companies as possible in order to build her business. Having done so and never stopping her efforts of signing up with these companies she could not figure out why she was not getting calls. My question to her and to everyone doing the same thing is this: “What are you doing any different from the other 2,000,000 Signing Agents?” Chances are “Nothing.” We have all been directed to sign up with at least 200 companies and once you have signed up with those 200 companies then start signing up with 3, 5 or 10 companies a week. All I have to say to that is “Great Idea” if only a few of us were doing this. With every Notary Signing Agent doing the same thing, you can imagine the number of new Signing Agent applications companies are getting every day. What have you done any different than the rest of the Notaries to make YOU stand out? We have put together some ideas that may help you with your efforts in building your business. You’ll find these on our site, MWNA.net.
- How to Build a Marketing Plan:
- Benefits of a Marketing Plan
- Setting Pricing
- Tips and Tricks
I will begin with one idea to help your thought process of what you can do to go above and beyond what you are currently doing on a day-to-day basis; “Marketing and how you can stand out from the rest.” This one is quite easy , and I am surprised that nobody is doing it. We are told every day how easy it can be and how easy it really is. If you haven’t already figured out how easy it is then I don’t know if I should tell you. But I will, because it is so easy .
Contact the company you are signing up with and talk to a scheduler, the person who will actually pick up the phone and call the Signing Agent. Get their mailing address as well as their contact information and let them know you will be sending them your information. If you already have a relationship with a scheduler this easy effort will work as well and go quite far especially if they use more than one Signing Agent in your region. Now get this mailing information from 10 or 20 companies and schedulers, then go to Staples and buy 10 or 20 easy Buttons and 1 sharpie. Yes it will cost you $50 or $100, but think of the impact. Simply write your name, phone number, state and email address on the button. You can also purchase clear labels and print your contact info and stick it on for more professionalism and more information. Now send your information as well as the easy button to your new Client. You can bet that the easy button will not be thrown out and will be kept on this persons desk at all times. What better way to be considered for business than to be allowed to sit on a scheduler’s desk day in and day out waiting to be thought of and or considered for work.
1. Trip to Staples: $2.00
2. easy Button: $6.00
3. Sharpie: $0.99
4. Effect of marketing: Priceless
I am sure many of you have considered the effect this will have if the scheduler receives 5 of these buttons? If there is more than one scheduler in the office then you have no worries, these buttons will be shared with team members. This Idea can and many others will work, just be creative. Find something out of the ordinary that your clients will like and want to keep and make sure you don’t forget to put your information on it.
Good Luck on your new “Marketing Strategies.” If you have comments or would like to share your own strategies, please feel free to send them to webmaster@mwna.net. We look forward to hearing from you.
©Copyright Midwest Notary Association. All rights reserved. Excerpt from MWNA articles. The Midwest Notary Association was founded by Linda and Hazzaa Kassis, a husband and wife Signing Agent team in West Central Iowa. What started with the desire to help other notaries in their region has now grown into a national association. Linda says, “The industry has been good to me and this is my way to give back, by helping others to succeed.” Learn more at MWNA.net.