07/12/05
Dear Friends,
It's time to get tougher and to diversify our income.
A leading company which drives business to the notary signing agent has dropped a bombshell on our self-employment dreams. Fidelity National Information Services' LSI, a division of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has completed a test pilot phase of Closing Stream(TM).
Closing Stream is a a Web- based closing solution for mortgage refinance and home equity lending transactions is going to an online meeting closing solution which will handle the borrower through a process which will greatly minimize the notary's involvement in the process.
I choked a little when I read:
"Prior to the scheduled closing, LSI sends the copies of the closing documents to the borrower via overnight delivery. The borrower is only responsible for returning one signed and notarized document to LSI. The returned document is combined with the original closing documents in preparation for the closing. At the scheduled closing time, the borrower logs into the Closing Stream system and dials a toll-free number to connect with an LSI closing representative. Using Closing Stream's online meeting application, the representative thoroughly covers each loan document to ensure the borrower understands all of the details."
(Details/ariticle in its entirety follow my comments.)
Fortunately, the choke was not a near fatal one. I have been preparing for this.
Fighting Back: Powerful Marketing Strategies
During the refi-slowdown I have been using my off-hours to create more powerful marketing strategies for my notary business, as well as looking into diversifying earning opportunities for myself. While the notary signing agent's glory days may be fading, there are still plenty of signings to come. I do not want to miss one of them. With an eye in that direction, I began to increase my marketing efforts and looked for ways to get more bang for the buck.
One powerful marketing strategy I started working on last year was to develop the concept of networking with excellent colleagues in Texas to provide a means for reaching more clients and to develop a website with a lot of very useful content for title companies and lenders alike.
What would be useful to lenders and title companies in this context? A list of well-qualified and experienced notaries in Texas, and thus was born the Texas NSA Network.
MARKETING TIP: You will get more repeat visits to your website from those who will use your services if you include valuable information which they will bookmark for the future. Consider including valuable information on your website and your patrons will appreciate it and look back again and again. I have used this technique and I find that "Texas Notary" and "TexNotary" are almost one and the same when those who hire experienced notaries are seeking experienced Texas Notary Publics.
The project is a big success as far as I am concerned.
The results of this endeavor brought me a ton of business during the month of June. Those I work closely with as a networked "family" are located at the Texas NSA Network website. The Texas NSA Network marketing project created amplified marketing and exposure for all of the members and we do several things to make this happen.
Fighting Back: Diversifying Income Channels
Successfully self-employed people know what trends affect them and how to judge when the tide turns.
I always consider the possibility that my good fortune can come to an end and I look for ways to diversify my services, and to be able to transition with little hardship. Some of the opportunities that I have begun putting more of my down time into researching and pursuing are:
Field Service and Inspections
Public Record Retrieval (Light Abstracting)
Independent Information Specialist
Web Content Publishing
Digital Imaging
Non-Loan Notary Work
Book and Publication Selling
Because of the evidence I see forecasting the Notary Signing Agent's income slowdown, as I mentioned above I have been pushing hard to find ways to counter-act the problems I will encounter in the near future. So, my time has been focused on:
Seeking the best marketing strategies for my NSA business
Developing research material on the above referenced opportunities
The Results of My Brainstorming and Research
500+ Links and Articles for Dynamic NSA Marketing
and Diversified Business Opportunities
Because I get so many requests from new people asking for my help, I have decided to make all of my "knowledge" about our business (plus other opportunities) available to those who want to purchase it.
I have put thousands of hours into developing the information stated below...I will not give you my client list, but I will tell you how to build your own and exactly how to find the title companies and lenders you need to target.
I will NOT tell you how to be an NSA but I will tell you where the best resources are for learning about the business.
Currently, in addition to articles I have written about how I have done things to make myself successful, I have also researched and found the following items. They have been collected and are being improved upon for publication on August 1, 2005.
Key Methods to Promote my NSA Business - I have unique ways that I continue to draw attention to my business that others have not thought of. Also, ways to get leads as well as how to make sure you get repeat business.
Field Service/Inspections - I have mined up at least 85 (to date) national companies which will accept vendor/inspector applications for work, plus organizations which provide membership opportunities to promote the inspector and give them an edge on professionalism
Public Record Retrieval / Light Abstracting - I have compiled a list of companies which will take vendor/public record retrieval applications, as well as several membership organizations and good articles which give overviews on that type of contractor job.
Independent Information Specialist - This is something I have been working on for some time. Basically, what you do is determine a focus for your specialization and begin to collect valuable information and develop it into simple reports. There are a few nice little home-based careers you can use this information for if you decide not to sell it.
Web Content Publishing - This is another thing I have been working on for some time. This works. I already get checks from Google.com to prove it. Google pays for clicking through their ads. I have also achieved a degree of success in this arena in the past by selling products from a website that is now defunct. The supplier went out of business.
ne day, I got no more checks and I found out they had been put out of business. I am soliciting suppliers to start the site back up now that I have LEARNED the right way to make this as lucrative as I want it to be by reading a book by a guy named James Martel. Because of his book I have learned and shared a lot of marketing techniques with the notary world through my website. Through my proven success at marketing my notary business on the internet I have realized that this guy is truly on the level and I have begun going back through his program and doing it step by step rather than just choosing the part I needed to make my notary business marketing develop successfully. I firmly believe that through James Martel's process you can build a cash generating website that will pay as much as $5,000 in monthly commissions on what is sold through it. The reason I fully believe this is because with almost zero effort, I was able to reach $500 per month on my own in the past.
I look forward to having no problem during the gasping breaths of my NSA business. In fact, I realize I will do a great deal better.
Soon you will see my completed volume of
500+ Links and Articles for Dynamic NSA Marketing
and Diversified Business Opportunities
for sale on Amazon and eBay.
This is a collection of information packaged together for the NSA looking to marketing like crazy and who wants to be careful to diversify to stay self-employed. You will not see the collection elsewhere and will either be shipped on disk, or sold via download.
I am also planning to offer re-sell rights to the purchasers. If you want to receive this compilation of my research before I put it on Amazon and eBay. You can purchase it for the pre-sale notary's price of $19.95 . It will be distributed on or before August 1, 2005. After August 1, I will sell it for $39.95.
If you are interested in purchasing my research for $19.95 before August 1, 2005, please email me with your name, address, telephone number and confirm that you want the finished product. DO NOT SEND CHARGE CARD INFO BY e-MAIL.
I will send you a link when the product is ready. I will not get your charge card/check information until time for delivery. You will not be charged until the product is delivered.
See you on the forums!
Brenda Stone
aka BrendaTx
THE 07/11/05 ARTICLE ABOUT LSI and Fidelity National Financial appear below:
Fidelity National Financial Division Completes Pilot for Web-Based Closing Solution and Launches Nationwide
July 11, 2005
JACKSONVILLE, /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fidelity National Information Services' LSI, a division of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF ) successfully concluded its pilot testing for Closing Stream(TM), a Web- based closing solution for mortgage refinance and home equity lending transactions. The pilot project confirmed that this patent-pending online closing process reduces loan cycle time, enhances borrower experience and ultimately increases lender revenue.
ING Direct, a division of ING Group, has been among the first lenders to test Closing Stream. "We are tremendously impressed with LSI's ability to deliver an online closing solution that creates so many efficiencies," said ING Direct's Jim Kelly. "With Closing Stream, we have minimized our loan cycle time, resulting in higher application-to-close ratios, improved productivity and reduced cost."
With the Closing Stream solution, LSI controls the entire closing process, eliminating the need to coordinate third-party providers. As a result, borrowers may schedule their closing as early as possible during the application process. Also, since this closing method is primarily Web-based, borrowers may participate in the transaction from any geographic location.
Prior to the scheduled closing, LSI sends the copies of the closing documents to the borrower via overnight delivery. The borrower is only responsible for returning one signed and notarized document to LSI. The returned document is combined with the original closing documents in preparation for the closing. At the scheduled closing time, the borrower logs into the Closing Stream system and dials a toll-free number to connect with an LSI closing representative. Using Closing Stream's online meeting application, the representative thoroughly covers each loan document to ensure the borrower understands all of the details.
During the closing representative's coverage of the documents, any necessary changes to those documents can be completed. If changes are required, the representative electronically coordinates those changes with the lender and reposts the corrected documents on the Closing Stream Web site during the closing process. With accurate documents in place, the borrower answers a series of online questions acknowledging that he or she understands and agrees to the terms and conditions of those documents. All of the audio and on-screen activity during this closing process are recorded and archived for future reference.
"We are excited to unveil the first viable Web-based closing solution nationwide," said Al Verkuylen, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Execution, LSI. "Now, Closing Stream will allow originators everywhere to attend and manage more consistent closing processes."