Snapdocs is a force to be reckoned with. Even though their notaries are bad, and Snapdocs charges a hand and a wrist to use, they still are getting a huge market share. Perhaps we need to compete with them the same way AT&T and Verizon compete.

Maybe I have to talk to the signing companies and offer them anytime minutes if they use our site more. Or maybe I need to offer them new features. Of perhaps I need to offer an easier way to find Notaries on our site.

Most hiring parties I interviewed don’t care if Notaries know anything, they just want people with around two years experience. But, people lie about their experience, so what do the numbers really mean. How many signings do you think these companies really want? If you have signed 200 loans will they try you if they like you?

Maybe I should find a way to pay signing companies to use my site. Every time you use a Notary from 123notary, you can get a chance to win a Starbucks card.

I cannot afford to create the technology necessary to rival Snapdocs, so I have to compete in other ways. Using my femininity is not one of those ways, mainly because I don’t have any.

Perhaps I should try to appeal to generation Z. I don’t even know what they like. I think I know more about foreign cultures in central Asia than I do about generation Z, the post millennials. I do understand generation Y. After you talk to them for more than two minutes, the only question that enters your head is… why?

I think that what will win the battle is finding out exactly what signing companies want and having new search features to give it to them easily. Wish me luck. In the mean time — keep stamping.

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You might also like:

Compilation of posts about SnapDocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21531

See our string of posts about snapdocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=snapdocs

With so many people complaining about Snapdocs, how is it that they survive. Or perhaps with their heavy bills for programming and engineering services, they are not surviving. I heard a rumor that they wanted to sell out to the NNA. I also heard their offer was rejected by the NNA. Their sister site in Germany called DerSchnappenDokument seems to be a little more financially sound though. Here are some things people don’t like about Snapdocs.

1. Cattle Calls (moo)
Notaries complain relentlessly about cattle calls. If so many Notaries don’t like it, then why do they list on SnapDocs? But, it’s worse. Since few Notaries want to work for free, and few Notaries (other than how Kim Kardashian would be if she were a Notary checking her Twitter followers every two minutes) check their texts every minute, it is hard to get responses to cattle calls. After twenty minutes the calls are going out to people an hour away who definitely are not going to work for peanuts. So, a lot of Notaries are annoyed that most of their texts are for jobs that are too far away. What a poorly thought out system! Then, when you finally do answer a text, you find out that someone else cheaper already answered or that they don’t want you. I personally think that Notaries should wear a bell around their neck and have a diet consisting mainly of grass if they want to continue this nonsense.

2. Thin Margins
Snapdocs charges companies to use their platform. Prices change over time and change based on your arrangement with them. Last I heard it was between $5 to $14 per job depending on which features you used. If you used the billing and downloading software, you might pay more while sourcing a notary alone might be cheaper. I don’t know the details but this is what I have heard. The problem is that companies who use Snapdocs feel that they should deduct the SnapDocs fees from what they pay the Notary. So instead of $80, they might only pay $66 to cover their costs. What companies need to know is that SnapDocs offers technology, convenience, and time saving and that the company using it should pay for that as labor saving technology. You should pay the Notary what they are worth instead of trying to bargain them down to rock bottom.

3. Discrimination
SnapDocs is an impartial search and information platform. But, due to the prominent photos of Notaries on their site, those who use the site are more likely to discriminate. Other sites have photos too, but on signingagent.com, the photos are a lot smaller and not as clear, and on NotaryRotary you don’t see the photo until after you have clicked. Users would be tempted to select Notaries based on how they looked physically or racially more than what their skill level was or how they wrote about themselves. At 123notary, it is more about notes, reviews, and certifications — things of substance.

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You might also like:

Compilation of posts about Snapdocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21531

See our string on Snapdocs posts
http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=snapdocs

I got an email from a loyal Notary. He had gotten a questionaire from Snapdocs. One of the questions was, “Do you refer Snapdocs or other notaries?” He answered “No” because he did not know how many other dozens of Notaries got job texts when jobs were dispatched and was not always able to be the fastest to answer the texts.

This Notary said that if he was not the fastest to respond to a text, that he did not get the job. Because of his response, he thinks that Snapdocs took him off their postings.

The thing I admire about Snapdocs is that they have a market niche and definite advantages. They might not have the best Notaries. Even the Notaries who look good online with their Fidelity Approvals and impressive repetoire of signings under their belt of all descriptions – when I look at their test scores in my system, the results are almost always horrifying. However, Snapdocs offers fast comprehensive technology and fast Notaries who do not dilly dally. You have to give them credit for this. 123notary has a completely different business model and we have a combination of fast and slow Notaries.

Maybe 123notary should learn from Snapdocs about screening Notaries to see how fast they are. We are emailing our certified Notaries to see if they get back to us, but we allow three days. Snapdocs would probably weed them out if it took them more than three minutes.

Putting quality and pay grade aside, Snapdocs gets a huge market share of clicks that is currently as big as 123notary and NotaryRotary combined. I cannot vouch for the quality of the clicks or the quality of the jobs. Many of the clicks are just Notaries logging into the system and Notaries on 123notary do not login that often unless I bug them.

The moral of the story is that when SnapDocs says jump, you jump. Their docs are not the only thing that is snappy, but also their Notaries assuming those Notaries want to actually get hired.

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You might also like:

Opinions about Snapdocs in the blog and forum comments
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21299

Snapdocs profiles are getting more impressive but…
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20819

Snapdocs wants to sell shares on Shark Tank
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20815

Here are some comments we got about Snapdocs in the blog and forum. I organized them in to positive and negative.

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POSITIVE

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1. Good information is kept in the database

Pam likes the fact that Snapdocs keeps quality information in their database about mileage, year to date payments, and a lot more. There is no doubt that Snapdocs has the most comprehensive computer database system for Notaries ever created.

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2. This Notary sets her fees and has no trouble.

A.C. Dye has never had a problem with Snapdocs other than a quick login issue.

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3. Some Notaries happily get good service & jobs from this platform

Craig is happy with Snapdocs. He gets 33% of his work from them and would not trade them.

Bruce claims he has had only good service from Snapdocs and that Snapdocs does not set your fee. You can just hold out for jobs that meet your fee or specifications.

Cindy loves Snapdocs and has had no trouble. She counters bad offers with her fee and I’ll guess that she often gets it.

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NEGATIVE

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1. You have to answer every text request or be penalized.

Debra is upset that she has to answer to all jobs otherwise she will be penalized by the algorithm. You lose points if you ignore requests and then you perhaps go down and down on the pecking order. It sounds like being handcuffed to the back of a train which is how my life has been running 123notary for the last few years.

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2. You have to respond within seconds.

Linda claims that she responded to a text within one minute on at least 15 requests, however, never got a single job. Hmm. I never would have guessed. Glad I am writing this article. I am learning as much as you guys are.

Bob also is complaining that Snapdocs is a speed contest. You have to answer fast or you don’t get the job.

Dennis claims that the text blast demeans the profession and resembles a “feeding frenzy.”

Pam also says that you have to respond to texts within 20 seconds if you want to get hired. When they say jump, you say, “It’s more like diving for the phone, and how high?”

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3. Low-Ball Fees

Alfred feels that Notaries who have not calculated their after-expenses hourly rate might like to work for Snapdocs, but that he does not.

Lyle on the other hand says that initial offers are low-ball, but that he holds out and usually gets his fee.

Jeanne feels that Snapdocs offers insulting fees. She tries to negotiate, but it is hard when initial job specifications are not stated in their entirety.

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4. It’s hard or impossible for some Notaries to actually get work from them.

Sandy claims that she never got a signing from this platform. That is surprising.

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5. Data Entry Requirements

Lee says that there is a lot of information you have to input, and it seems to be far more than he enjoys inputting or downloading.

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6. Demeaning animal type treatment

I will refer again to Dennis’ comment above about how the Snapdocs job dispatch seems like a feeding frenzy that resembles the way animals are fed in a barn and the animals all swarm around the food troth. He is right. This is demeaning. But, high paying title companies are doing the same thing sending out emails to a dozen people for a job and seeing who answers first. I am also tired of sluggish Notaries, but requiring responses within seconds turns Notaries into the slaves of their mobile phones.

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7. Block Call List

Ken doesn’t work for cheap, and he blocked calls from SnapDocs. I’m surprised he was on their list to begin with.

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You might also like:

I’m a high end notary in a low-ball world
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22263

10 rules for negotiating notary fees
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19620

123notary is in a huge competition with Snapdocs right now. We are looking at what they do, and what seems like a good idea versus what seems counterproductive. 123notary caters to Notaries on large budgets who pay for wide coverage. Snapdocs caters to people looking for Notaries who want a Notary with the right quality / proximity ratio or algorithm. Our priorities are not the same and hence our algorithms are not either. Snapdocs wins on convenience, but 123notary wins on knowledge.

On Snapdocs, a company searching can set a radius as wide or narrow as they like. And Notaries can only have one zip code on file.

On 123notary, Notaries who have money to spend can sign up all over the nation and a handful do. Our system of showing Notaries where they don’t live is controversial. It helps Notaries promote themselves, but might be annoying to those who want to find someone close. Hmmm.

Snapdocs has 60,000 Notaries, yet only a few hundred are people I would consider hiring. But, you can always find people really close if you want.

123notary has about 7000 online Notaries of whom I would try out at least one thousand. We tend to show Notaries who are a bit farther if we consider them to be better.

So, what is the bottom line — adjustable radius, smart customized radius, or keep it the way it is? Our radius is already customized based on what area you are in by the way, but we could customize it more intricately in the future if you like.

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You might also like:

What Notaries don’t like about Snapdocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21246

Title companies use the top three on 123notary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21282

I have noticed over the last two years that the profiles of Snapdocs members have been getting more impressive. You see Notaries with more experience, a better repertoire of loans under their belt, and better looking photos of Notaries as well. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that those Notaries were the top of the line. However, I keep test scores of Notaries and have learned that the Notaries who look good on Snapdocs don’t necessarily actually know anything about how to be a notary or signing agent. They merely look good and probably respond to texts really fast.

The equation here is speed versus knowledge. It is hard to get both in one Notary. Notaries who have experience and a wide variety of jobs under their belt have experience that is worth noting. However, book knowledge versus experience rarely seem to add up. I have quizzed those who have no experience who studied and they can sometimes score a high grade on my quiz while those with twenty years of experience can fail.

The moral of the story is that in the Notary industry, it is hard to find a single Notary with purely positive attributes. Here are the attributes I consider important.

1. Getting back to people (an attribute of communication)
No matter how smart or experienced you are, if you don’t return phone calls or emails, you are basically worthless. Snapdocs capitalizes on this and in essence requires responsiveness to survive on their platform.

2. Attitude
If you are the best Notary in the world, but talk back to people and are generally rude, you will ruin everyone’s day.

3. Speed
Snapdocs seems to capitalize on this virtue quite effectively. If you get back to people fast, it is easier to work with you, even if you are not the best notary.

4. Knowledge
A well studied Notary is a lot less likely to make mistakes than one who is just winging it. This quality is more of a 123notary attribute.

5. Experience
Having experience on the street looks impressive on your resume and profile. It means you are less likely to make certain types of mistakes because you would have been put through the meat grinder many times already if you were making those mistakes. However, there are knowledge related mistakes that the most experienced Notaries make daily without even knowing it because most of them refuse to read notary manuals or study up!

6. Quality of Interaction
Some Notaries do not know how to have a professional phone call. If you read our articles on professionalism and etiquette you can see the details.

7. Maintaining a profile
Sometimes the best Notaries in the world write the worst notes sections and do not maintain their profiles.

Summary
To sum it up, Snapdocs is very good at point 1 and 3 which are at the top of my list. However, they are lacking in most other points. The reason for this is that the type of clients who use Snapdocs do not want to invest in knowledgeable Notaries as it is too expensive. After you pay Snapdocs their hefty fee and pay the Notary their low-ball fee, you will want a profit if you are a signing company.

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You might also like:

Snapdocs – when the texts stop
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21163

Compilation of posts about Snapdocs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21531

How does pricing work for top placements on 123notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19355