Updated 7-13-22. One of the first things new Notaries ask is “How do I get my first assignment?” There is no single answer. When starting my own career, I realized that I needed to do more to land that all important first assignment. Here is what worked for me:
Identify Your Market
Figure out what type of businesses you want as clients. When doing your research, you will soon find that not all title and signing companies hiring Notaries for loan assignments do business the same way. For example, some companies want you to send them an invoice right after the assignment is completed; others want you to only send an invoice at the end of the month. Still others do not want you to send them an invoice at all because they use an automatic pay system. Ask lots of questions and do lots of comparisons.
With this in mind, you should get an idea of which companies would be the best fit for you. Once you have successfully identified your potential clients, the next step is a little easier. Develop two plans: One is for businesses that operate within your state; the other is for out-of-state businesses.
It is important to develop two different plans because title/signing companies use different methods to find qualified Notary Signing Agents for their needs.
Going After Out-Of-State Clients
Here’s my approach for getting loan assignments from out-of-state clients:
- Go to websites that allow Notaries to create a professional profile like SigningAgent.com. These sites allow you to create a Notary Signing Agent profile that your potential customers will view. I would recommend new Notaries check out some of the other professional Notary profiles first to get some ideas of what to put on your profile. Always make sure to emphasize your strengths.
- Meet with other professional Notaries in your area. This will accomplish several important critical things for your business. It helps to network with other professionals in your field who may be overwhelmed with assignments and need someone to assist them (win-win). It will help you find a mentor that can help you get started.
- Attend national conferences for Notary Signing Agents. National title/signing companies are usually vendors at these events, and they often look for Notary Signing Agents who are interested in new clients. The National Notary Association has an annual conference that is ideal for new NSAs to meet and build relationships with national companies.
Going After In-State Clients
Here are my suggestion for getting in-state loan assignments:
1. Go to your bank or other local financial institution and ask for a referral to the title company they use on loan assignments. I got my first loan assignment by asking someone from a bank that I did business with to give me a referral.
2. Go to title companies in your area and take a survey. This is another very effective way of securing business from them. Show up (not at the end of the month) with a clipboard in hand to ask a couple of survey questions, such as:
- Do you use Notary Signing Agents?
- What do you look for in a Notary Signing Agent?
- What has been the biggest issue using Notary Signing Agents?
3. Attend local land title functions in your area. To find out where and when the next event is go to your browser and type in “Your State Land Title Association” and your search will bring up your local land title association website. At the website you will be able to see all the local events happening in your area. Plugging into these events will give you great exposure to your marketplace.
Getting that first loan assignment might seem scary at first. Once you set your goal and go after that assignment, you will meet some of the most interesting people and make lifelong friends. Please feel free to drop me a note and tell me how you do with these suggestions or other things you have done for that first assignment.
Daniel Lewis of Carmel, Indiana, is the founder of Lewis Notary Services, Inc., a nationwide scheduling service. He is the 2010 NNA Notary of the Year and also the co-author of the Notary business guide book, “Make Your Business Our Business.”