Tactics and Weapons
Sounds like preparing for war? Well, let’s be frank. There is an ongoing war, and it’s between notaries for a limited amount of assignments. To fight this war, and win the jobs; you need to hone your Tactics and select appropriate Weapons. Of course we are not directly engaged in violence among notaries. Our fight is one of image. The notary that “appears” to be the most qualified – gets the job. Tactics in this dissertation are the procedures leading to the goals to be accomplished; Weapons are used to facilitate achieving those goals.

All other things being equal, the smarter general defeats the less intellect. Similarly, the one with “6 shooters” defeats the single shot flintlocks. Enough introduction, time to put these concepts into practice and get your phone ringing.

The first goal is being the most easy to reach notary possible. The Tactic is to present your contact information for notary services at multiple levels. The first Weapon in your arsenal is the humble business card. Distribute widely, Doing an edoc in an office building? Hand one to the lobby security guard. Do the same for apartment houses, doctor offices, and every other place. Web sites are cheap, create a good one. Most internet service providers that host sites have easy to use tools that assist in creating decent web sites. Pay the generally trivial fees and register on the various notary services web sites. They pay per click to attract seekers of notary services. That’s a start.

Prospective clients will generally try to reach you via email or phone. Your cell phone is where the calls will come in. Is it modern and able to use the newer, more penetrating frequencies? If the signal is weak at your home, consider a signal booster. It’s illegal and dangerous to use a cell phone while driving without a fully automatic Bluetooth device. Another weapon in your arsenal should be a small tape recorder (I know, they are mostly “solid state”) to record the details rather than attempting to take notes while driving. General Patton had a gun on each hip, two guns. You should have two cell phones. One for voice, one for email; that allows you to look at an email while talking about it to your client. Carry in the car 12v charger cable(s), or a spare battery.

Now that you can communicate effectively, you need the skills to be able to handle virtually any legal request; that is goal two. Your Tactics include total mastery of appropriate laws, and the methodology to process unusual and complex requests. Weapons? The key one is diligence in being a never ending student. Nobody knows it all. However, many have shared their skills and knowledge on the various notary oriented web sites. Spend a few hours each week sifting thru the “I never got paid” griping to find the golden procedural tutorials, tips and advice.

Goal three is being a better you. Solicit a variety of frank and factual opinions about how you conduct yourself. The Tactics for self improvement vary, but certainly include introspection of your personality and “bearing”. The Weapons vary from professional psychological help in extreme cases, to just accepting the feedback of others. Few bother to ask how they could have done better with their interpersonal skills.

The notary that wins the assignment battle is reachable, knows their stuff, and is a pleasure to work with. You can be sure your competition is actively working to surpass you in each aspect.

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