Notary Mentor Archives - Notary Blog - Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice - 123notary.com
123Notary

Notary Blog – Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice – 123notary.com Control Panel

September 8, 2023

What is a Notary Mentor and Why Do You Need One?

Filed under: General Articles — Tags: — Tom Wilkins @ 12:01 am

Diving into the world of notary services isn’t just about mastering legal protocols or understanding documentation nuances. There’s a subtle art to this profession, an expertise that often blossoms from experience and, more importantly, guidance. This brings us to an essential question: “What is a notary mentor?”

What is a Notary Mentor?

A notary mentor is an experienced notary public dedicated to offering guidance, advice, and unwavering support to newcomers in the field. These seasoned professionals have treaded the intricate paths of the notary world, accumulating a treasure trove of knowledge, insights, and best practices. They primarily share this wealth by guiding newer notaries in navigating challenges, ensuring they grow and flourish in their roles.

The Vital Role of a Notary Mentor

  1. Sharing Experiences: Every notary mentor has their own set of unique encounters and scenarios. Sharing these real-world examples aids mentees in understanding how to address unprecedented situations, offering a practical spin to theoretical knowledge.
  2. Skill Development: Whether mastering the art of stamping, understanding diverse documents, or building essential soft skills like effective communication, a mentor provides hands-on training.
  3. Networking: It’s often said – it’s not just about what you know but who you know. A seasoned notary mentor’s vast network can be a golden key for a newcomer.
  4. Ethical Guidance: With strict ethical codes governing the world of notarization, navigating these can be daunting. A mentor ensures the mentee understands and adheres to these pivotal standards.
  5. Building a Business: For those venturing as mobile notaries or establishing their services, business insights from someone experienced are invaluable.

The Impact of Having a Notary Mentor

  1. Faster Growth: Under the right guidance, new notaries can sidestep typical beginner errors, paving a robust career foundation. This makes one wonder again, “What is a notary mentor if not a catalyst for accelerated growth?”
  2. Confidence Boost: Armed with the knowledge that they have a mentor to consult, mentees often find their confidence levels soaring. This newfound confidence fuels better decision-making and a proactive work approach.
  3. Increased Opportunities: As highlighted earlier, mentors can open doors to their extensive networks, leading to many notary services evolving job opportunities or client introductions.

Discovering Your Notary Mentor

  1. Notary Associations: Many local or national notary associations offer mentorship programs or connections with potential mentors.
  2. Networking Events: Events focused on notaries or legal aspects are great. They provide a platform for professionals and beginners to interact.
  3. Online Forums and Groups: Several online platforms cater to notaries. Engage actively, and you might find a mentor willing to guide you.
  4. Direct Outreach: If there’s a seasoned notary you look up to, don’t hesitate to reach out. Share your admiration and your keenness to learn.

In wrapping up, “What is a notary mentor?” transcends a mere query. A notary mentor is a guiding light, a reservoir of wisdom, and a propellant for growth. As notary services evolve, having a mentor becomes even more pivotal.

Curious about niching down your services? Discover how can mobile notaries find a niche in our detailed guide.

Share
>

August 2, 2016

How to find a Notary mentor

Many new Notaries want to set up shop and get going. The problem is that they don’t know how. They haven’t mastered their Notary skills and have no idea how to complete a signing or even get a signing. They need a mentor — and fast! But, how do you find a mentor? Actually, there are various types of mentors, and that is something more critical to understand than anything else.

You can get an actual human being who lives near you who can be your mentor. If you are lucky, they will let you tag along at signings and explain things to you. You could also find someone far away who can coach you. The problem is that most Notaries who are good at Notary work might not be good at teaching Notary work, and even if they are, they might not care about teaching you.

Those who are too close to you might see you as competition. We’ve had many stories on 123notary about how a mentor trained someone new out of the goodness of their heart. The next thing you know, that new Notary steals all (or a good portion) of their mentor’s clients and puts their mentor out of business. It has happened many times.

So, what type of mentors should you be looking for? We suggest finding many sources of knowledge and help, as you cannot depend fully on any particular source.

.

1. Hotlines
NNA has an amazing hotline. They are great at helping out with technical questions about ID’s, credible witnesses, out of state forms, international issues, and more. 123notary does not have a hotline, but people routinely email us asking us questions and we are happy to help. Some people call Carmen at 123notary, and she is very seasoned in all aspects of the Notary and Signing Agent process.

2. Local Mentors
Get one in the next county over so you are not in direct competition with them. Mentors know that you might cut into their market share, so they will be unlikely to help you if you are within 30 miles. To be safe, you can consider 50 miles. If you can go out on a few signings with them, that might really help out as you will have hands on experience with the documents and procedure. Just make sure you do your studying first before you go out on an assignment, so you’ll have some knowledge about the documents. Seeing the documents a lot is different from having a solid knowledge about what the salient features of the documents. So, don’t fool yourself into a false sense of confidence.

3. Far away mentors
If you can find someone who is great at answering questions over the phone, but is too far away to actually visit. 123notary has many Elite Certified Notaries throughout the nation who are excellent. I think that NNA used to have an official list of mentors that was nationwide. I am not able to find that list on the web anymore. But, if you want to mentor, just post a reply to this article.

4. Courses
Many Notaries want a mentor when they haven’t actually studied. There is no substitute for book knowledge. It is hard to find a good mentor unless they like you. But, it is easy to find a book. 123notary offers loan signing courses that will get you started in about two weeks. You can take our online test and be officially 123notary certified which counts for a lot when advertising on our site. You will learn all the pertinent terms, all about the basic documents, signing procedures, marketing, and more.

5. Blogs
Many Notaries have caught on to the idea that they can get free knowledge and advice by reading blogs. NNA and 123notary have excellent blogs with great technical and marketing information in addition to entertaining stories, and more. To use the 123notary blog effectively, it is better that you understand how the categories work. Here are a few categories we recommend:

The 30 point course
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3442

Loan Signing 101
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=2053

Hospital & Jail Signings
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3251

How to get work & Who is getting work
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3264

Best Humorous Posts
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3241

Technical & Legal
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=3244

We also have many subcategories under Marketing, Humor, Popular Posts, types of documents, and more.

6. Companies that micromanage
I learned more about loan signing from Nation’s Direct than from anywhere else. They taught me the ropes and were there on the phone to get me through my first 100 signings. They don’t pay that much, and Notaries complain that they micromanage, but they are a great place for newbies to get started in my experience. We have a list of companies that hire beginners. Those companies might tell you more about loan signing than any “mentor.”

.

You might also like:

Companies that hire NEW signing agents!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=7059

.

Share
>