How to Get Fidelity and Bancserv Approved as a Notary Signing Agent | 1-on-1 Coaching Mark Wills

My name is Mark Wills. If you don't know who I am, I just happen to be honored to be a coach to so many amazing notaries in this country. It's an honor for me to be on here with you to help you grow your business. So this is the way it works. Every single Monday, I jump on and I help notaries build their businesses. A little conversation to hopefully get you over whatever hump it is going on in your current business strategy. So if you're a notary, jump on. If you're an LSS student, jump on. If you are not an LSS student, jump on. Oh, what up, what up, what up? Hello. Hello. Good to see you. Hey, how are you? It's all good. All good. I am here to help you no matter where you are. So tell everybody where you're from. Let's have a conversation.

So, Amy Skillen. I'm from beautiful Colorado. I have a question, though. So I had a family thing interfere with life. You know, life shows up.

Yeah.

And so we're getting through to the end of that. And I. And I've been 100% preoccupied with that. Zero business, marketing, anything. But now I'm, like, trying to find that mojo again to do it. And I'm having a really hard time. And so appreciate. Do you have any.

I appreciate the honesty and I appreciate the vulnerability sharing with everybody here. I mean, the first thing I would share, my tips and advice is don't beat yourself up because you lost a little momentum. I mean, that happened. So I think the first way to get out of a rut is not beating yourself up that you're in a rut. Because not being in ruts is not normal. Like, this is all part of the life curve. It's all part of the business curve. Even have this conversation. Hopefully we can get you jazzed and ready. But not to expect another rut is expecting is not setting yourself up for success is my coach. So. Because the best way to create new momentum is really staying present in the current moment. So what I mean by that is, like, the. The fact that you're on here talking about it, like, we gotta start celebrating little wins.

Yeah.

So what I think we want is this big jolt of momentum that's never going to happen. Momentum is like a snowball. Right. Starts off small, gets bigger as you're going down the hill. So my first thing I'd want to coach you on is, like, just be like, I'm so appreciative of you that, like, life got in the way. You have every Reason not to jump back on to the horse, but you are. And so the way to recreate the momentum is by celebrating the small wins, by noticing the things in the moment. Does that make sense?

Yeah.

It's giving yourself credit, because right now, what you're doing is not giving yourself credit. You're like, oh, my gosh, I'm kind of like, life's hit me. You're letting life kind of win when you're what your job is like. Look, I'm still excited at some level. I still want to do this at some level. I still ambitious and motivated at some level. And that's where you start, right? So you start with the small wins.

Okay?

Now. Okay. That's the easy coaching. The harder coaching is like, you have to reprioritize what it is that you want. And so my point is, after this call, you need to really sit down, write down, why do I want to become a notary public loan signing agent? What am I say? I want to earn money. But why? Like, what's the. What's the prejudice behind your. Your. Your desire? That's what you need to find out. And so my point is, by refocusing on your motivations, that creates the excitement. Let me just give you an example. You're like, man, you know, I'm living. I got a ton of debt, and the debt's weighing down on me. But bringing the motivations back to the forefront creates that kind of springboard effect, is my point. Right. It's like, I want to be home with my kids. Write that down. Like, reorganize why it is you chose to do this a year ago. Getting some of those motivating factors back in your forefront is what will create the motivation. Because think about it. When you were first gung ho about this is because those were in the forefront. You're like, living paycheck to paycheck. I need spend more time with my kids. I want to go whatever it was, right? Making this.

Yeah.

But the reason you got motivated first was because you were sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Right.

Of whatever that was for you. So my coaching would be to revisit those motivating factors.

Okay?

Revisit those moments. And I think if you wrote those down, you'd be like, dude, I got to get my butt back into gear, okay? And it's not because of anything I said. It's because of you rethinking about why did I want to be a notary to begin with? Why did I want to join this business to get with and if you have that in front of your face on a list. And by the way, the reason I love writing it down and not typing in your phone, there's something weird that happens when you have to process what's in your brain, writing it down. It becomes more real, becomes more powerful. So I think the short answer is, start celebrating the small wins. The only way you get yourself out of a rut, period, is by staying present and having gratitude. That's just period. That's just very generic advice for anything. But to get reinvigorated, you got to go back to the drawing table. Why did I want to do this? Why did I spend the money a year ago? What made me take my credit card out? What made me decide I'm going to spend time away from this, to study for that? If you can rethink about that, write that down. And then when you're done with that, put that somewhere. Right? Okay. Put it on your refrigerator, put it on your car dashboard, put it in the bathroom window. I mean, mirror. And be like, look, that's why this is why I decided a year ago that I'm going to do this business.

Okay?

That's how you springboard back. And so it's not forgetting why you chose this and putting that back into your forefront. And I'll just end with this. Amy, I am so proud of you, because so many people let life get in the way, and their biggest excuse of not getting back on the horror on the horse is not doing what you're doing is picking yourself back up. And so I'm proud of that. A lot of people don't, and that's why people kind of stay where they are, that they become victims instead of victors. Right.

Yeah, I totally get that. And, you know, I have very lofty goals with what I want to do with this. Yeah. I'm just trying to move from, you know, the life situation back into business mindset.

Yeah. I love it.

Thanks.

And I say I love it because so many people would stay out. And you're choosing not to do that.

No.

You know what I mean. I don't know what happened. Okay. And I'm not asking, but here's what I would tell you to reframe. I always tell students that an event in your life, regardless what it is, could be an asset or liability. It's a reframe.

Yeah.

Right. So, look, I think everybody knows my story, right? I'm an orphan. And then I was in foster care, and then I went from foster home to foster home, and then I Got adopted. I can choose whether to use that as a liability or as an asset. Right. The asset is like, I want to give back. The asset is I want to turn this motivation into triumph. Right. And so it's a decision we make. So I don't know what happened to you or what's happened in general is what I should say. But the question after the reframe, we all have a decision to make is, did what happened to me, is that an asset or a liability? Meaning is it holding you back? And so with a certain degree right now, it's not holding you back. That's what I'm so proud of. But if you go one level deeper and be like, what did I learn from that? What can I glean from that? What can I use from that to help me build my business? And that is the key to life is taking an event and making the conscious decision, is that an asset or a liability to my life?

Yeah.

And I choose to make sure to see the asset in everything. Because if you choose to see the liability, then you're always going to be struggling, you're always not going to move forward. So I'm not sure what happened. But if there's this, a little of something positive, you gotta hang on to that, like whatever it is, like a little sliver because that's how you use as an asset.

Yeah. So I mean, really the distraction was my mom, she had a fall. And then, you know, all of the things that happened with an 87 year old woman after they have a fall. Right. All the things. So anyway, and she's doing fine, she's doing well, she's gonna be fine. And we're all happy.

Good.

But it was like literally two and a half weeks of nothing but taking care of her. I think that you have a really good point in that, you know, you have to look at every situation as, what did I learn from this?

That's right.

And if you can't find a lesson learned.

Right.

Then you got to reframe your mindset because you can't just go through life not learning, so.

Exactly, exactly. And being appreciative. And being appreciative, like you go, you still got your mom. Right. Like, how amazing is that? And so, you know what I always tell people is like, if I had the childhood that I dreamed of.

Yeah.

I wouldn't be the man that I am.

Absolutely.

And so, you know, you take a look at that, be like, you know what I mean, how blessed I am that I actually have an 87 year old mother. Who I could actually take care of versus, like, oh, my gosh, I had to take care of my mom for two weeks or whatever it was. And so. And that's the moment where the reframe is up to us. Yeah, it's up to us. Right? It's like, am I going to use it? Because, like, look, I think one of the biggest blessings is coming from someone who doesn't know his biological mom. Right. One of the biggest blessings, I think, in the world is being able to say mom to a mom that's alive. And so it's a total reframe. And then at that moment, we got to read, because that's what life's about, right? Life's going to beat us up, period.

Absolutely.

I can go through a litany of things that I'm going through right now, but, yeah, the truth is, I make a decision every day whether that's going to work for me or against me. So I'm so, so honored to have this vulnerable conversation with you, and thank you for being able to have it in front of the entire community. But, girl, let's get back on the horse. And, you know, I'm here if you need anything at all.

Thank you. I just want to share something super quick with you. I am also adopted, and both of my children are adopted, so it is so close to my heart. And so I just wanted to share that with you.

Made me start crying, you know, so I'm not going to get off that easy. No. What I would say to you on the way out, you know, you are the real superhero. And so, like, I haven't even adopted any children because I know what a massive on taking that is. So when I meet someone else who has a heart as big as yours, I just want to give you a big hug and say thank you because you are literally a superhero to those two children you adopted. And to everyone listening right now, it's. It's people like you to make this world go around. It's giving back when you don't have to. And so I. Girl, you got me all. Thank you right now, but love you go. All right, bye.

Oh, my God.

She got me all flustered, man. Yes. Amy, can you hear my voice? You're a superhero, period. End of story. And so, wow. I'm all up in my feels right now, so let me get back and focus. And my biggest takeaway from the conversation with her is, you know, I want you to hear me on this. Okay. No matter. Like, I think sometimes we feel as humans, like we're the only one going through a dark moment. Everybody has dark moments. We're all going through something. Like, I'm dealing with something as we speak. It's like, the bottom line is, are we going to be victims or victors? How are you looking at what's going on with you? We can all be like, poor me, oh, my gosh, this is why it didn't happen. Or you can reframe and say, this is why it's going to happen. So make sure you're not becoming a victim. Always be the victor. Stand up to whatever's going on. You got to be stronger than the moment, stronger than the past. You got to shock yourself and do something even you think is crazy to get where you want to go. How's every Monday Monday going? Let's go. Man, I am so grateful that you are here. Drop your Ls, Nation. I saw you at the meetup with Liz.

Yes.

Let me just say right now, if everybody watching Sam is, you know, making big money out in Las Vegas for many years, but because he's the best student, he's always learning. He comes on these, ask me questions. He goes to a meetup in Las Vegas because the smartest people know they're not the smartest person. So, Sam, I just want to use you as inspiration. I saw you at the meetup. I'm like, that's my guy. Always trying to network and just try to get any little thing that he can. So all your flowers are well deserved. What can I help you with today, man?

So I learned something new the other day. I did my first SBA loan.

Okay.

And of course, there were. There were errors on there. I didn't date the note and the deed.

Oh, God.

They're a little different because. Different from the. From the residential. So I figured I'd share that with you guys.

So let's take this as a learning moment.

Yeah, certainly.

How many signings do you think you've done in your career, more or less?

I'm at a little over 1500.

1500 closings. And he vulnerably shared with us.

Yeah.

That he missed dates. And so what I love about this vulnerable conversation is that we're human. It happens.

Yeah.

What would you have done differently signing 1501 where you missed those two dates to maybe help another notary watching right now?

I was. Well, I took it on the fly. I wasn't aware that it was an sba, so maybe just look at it a little bit. Sometimes they send the documents a little close to signing. The thing that really Helped is that I did my quality control check, then I scanned back. They said something about it. I got it fixed before the drop. There was no challenge. So how you fix it is the most important thing.

Let me ask you. Let me unpack this with you, okay? And it's just to help the next notary watching. Right Now, I know what they say with bus drivers. Okay. They say 70% of accidents for bus drivers happen in the first year and the fifth year. Why do you think that is?

First year would be inexperienced.

Yeah.

The fifth year would be complacency.

Oh. So, yeah, would I say that maybe you got a little complacent?

Maybe. Yes.

And that is maybe the advice you would give to a notary is like, it happens. But if I could do this again, because I don't know if complacency is the right word, but as someone who's done tens of thousands of closings personally, it almost becomes robotic.

Yes.

And the more robotic you become, you almost start missing those little details. So maybe the lesson here is Even when you're 1500 closings in, it still catch yourself being a little bit too robotic and being like, oh, let me just kind of slow down and look at those different nuances. So I don't want to put words in your mouth, but maybe that could be a learning moment.

No, it all worked out good. The signers want me to come back for their next SBA loan, so I told them they could request me through the signing service. So. Yeah.

So what's that? I hope everybody just heard that right now. So what Sam just said is that, yes, I would love to work with you again, but let's not bypass the signings.

Exactly.

Why is that important to you, Sam?

Well, because you don't want to undercut your. We're in a working, professional relationship. So signing services need to make their money as well. So it's a win, win for everybody.

Everybody heard that. And I think that you. What you're doing is also building a relationship so they continue to use you on their other appointments. And so I love it. It's a professional relationship. He's respecting the relationship with someone who's giving a business. Again, so many good things in this conversation hope everybody's taking away, because I think a lot of people go, well, how do you bypass the signing service? I think that's a little short sighted.

Yeah.

Really is. How do you get a bigger relationship with the signing services? By doing exactly what you did. You could have been a little bit, you know, pro Sam, and be like, oh, here's my card. That's bypass. But you didn't. You took that moment, said, I want to respect this relationship with someone who's been feeding me business. And I hope everybody heard that.

Yeah. Okay, for here. So I want to make sure it was, I think, the second time I worked with that signing service. So I want to make sure that, oh, the signers are saying, hey, reaching out. Back out to them. And yeah, and you want to make sure that supports the signing service a.

Third time and a fourth time and.

A fifth time, and that supports the signing service.

That's right.

Because maybe. Maybe the. The title company uses several signing services. So if they reach back out to the signing service you work for and say, request me, that induces the signing service to reach out to their client so it could get them business.

I hope every. I mean, this is such a good conversation. Everyone's listening to it, rewind it. When this is on replay is what you're really saying here is business is a win win. It's not a I win, you lose. You want to ensure that the signing service is also winning. And what hope everybody heard right there is the mindset of a veteran signing agent. It is like, look, this is not about me. This is about us. And what you just said in the last 30 seconds was how it kind of trickles back to the SS because you want them to get more business. And that's when really, when you're. The good vibes are moving. That's why I believe good things happen to good people. It's because, you know, there's things that happen great in someone's life. It's not on accident. It's like they're really in vibe with the universe. And they're like, look, I want to be one cog and everybody winning. And that's why good things happen to good people. And, Sammy, you're the epitome of good people.

Hey, thank you very much.

You know, you're welcome. And thank you for being so honest and vulnerable there. Yeah. And allowing me to unpack these sentences that come so innately or organically.

I'm sure that that's happened to somebody else. You know, you're used to doing all residential, and then all of a sudden you take a commercial loan and you're, well, I haven't seen this before, so I figured I'd share it so that everybody can learn something from it. And then I also wanted to add, I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for your community, because sometimes, like, people get you just Get a little bit discouraged. You're trying to grow your business, you're trying to push. You're trying to reach another level. This all keeps us fired up. It's worth everything. Everything that I. That, that. That you put into it. It's amazing. And like, you know, this will be my fourth year if you have the conference, this will be my fourth year going to the conference.

So.

And it's a huge networking. So I guess that means, July, we're all hanging out at your house.

Pool party at the wheels. What I want to say on the way out, Sam, and you deserve so much credit. I mean, I always say I'm just a coach of players, make the plays. You're intentional with plugging into the community. And there's so many people who don't utilize the community the way it should be. Support group accountability, you know, a place that, like, be discouraged together. Like, you're not the only one going through discouragement. But you. I saw you at the meetup. I literally told Liz, I swear to gosh, today, I'm like, oh, Sammy was there. And so. But you're intentional with utilizing the tools that I provide. Not everyone utilizes the tools. You want to go to conference. You want to be around other notary public loan signing agents marching the same direction. And so while everybody has the same tools, not everyone's intentional with them. And so you are, man. And so don't stop building. Don't stop being you. Don't stop inspiring the community. Don't stop plugging in. I'm just. I'm just glad that I. I could call you a friend after four years, bro. So, yes, thank you for inspiring, dude. And just thank you for being a part of the.

Part of it all.

Assess nation started with you.

It all started with you. So thank you very much. Very great.

I know everybody, like, unpacked what he said there. We have a community, but you need to tap into it. He just said, I get discouraged. Like the next person. He's. 1500 signings in. We're all human. Amy talked about her ups and downs. Like, we don't need to go through this process by ourselves. So let's get more people. What is going on, everybody? Man, it's good to see how again, Monica, let's go with you. Monica. Good to see you, girl. How are you?

I'm doing great. Lately I've been getting a lot of loan doc signings, which I know, which is great. You know, a lot of them are from out of state, which is great. You know, but I'm Having a little issue right now. I have this great client of mine who buys homes. Sells homes. Buys homes. Anyways, he has used me for about the last six loan signings, but now we've hit a brick wall with the last two escrow companies. What they're wanting now from him is, no, we can't use your personal notary. We want someone that is. What did they say? That's approved? An approved notary. How do I get around that?

Great conversation. The first thing I want to say is this. Okay. We have to all respect everyone's relationships.

Right?

So the reason they're saying that is, what are they doing? What are they, what are they? So a loan officer, an investor is what your client is. Right. An investor comes in and says, I want to use my notary, and they give you some pushback. So what are they really saying?

They're saying they want to use their.

Own, but deeper than that, what are.

They saying they want me to be?

No, they have a relationship they're trying to protect. Okay, Right. Shouldn't you respect that a little bit? Like, oh, yes, oh, they got a notary because your investor loves you and so he's protecting your relationship. So my point is this. That should be the conversation. So you should go directly to these escrow officers and walk in and say, oh, hi, I'm, you know, I'm John's, you know, go to notary. Look, I know that you probably have an amazing relationship with your current notary. John loves the way I work. And so if it's possible, you know, I'd love an approval packet. That's what. That's, that's that the answer to the question. You're just, okay, get an approval packet. But the way they're getting you get an approval packet is by respecting their relationship. That's what notaries don't do. But, like, your client is respecting yours. Right?

Right.

So shouldn't you respect their.

Yes.

And so you enter the conversation with, like, because it could be their husband, it could be their son, it could be their sister. You don't, you don't know.

Right.

So give some sacredness to that. Right. And so if you do that, they're more likely going to give you the approval packet. But if you walk in there, kick down the door and be like, I want approval packet. You know, my client is your client.

You're not going to get anywhere right now. And I totally get that. You know, I, I stepped back, you know, I said, you know, it. That's up to them, you know, because I Get it? A lot of these escrow companies want to use their own notary. They're in house. And I'm not stepping on toes. Toes. I totally respect that. You know, and hold on, hold on.

I want you to get more business from these clients. This is the goal. What just happened is my dream for every student, right? You got a loan officer to give you a warm referral to a note to an escrow officer. This is beautiful. Your job is not to only get my epic on John signing, but you want to be the backup to the backup for this company. So how do you create a relationship? The answer is respect the relationship. Does that coaching make sense?

Yes.

My favorite analogy is this. I don't know if you're married, but let's say you're married, right?

I am.

Okay, cool. So you're at a bar, okay. Oh, girl, I gotta get note from you and Heather. But that's another topic, another time to the mail fan.

Go ahead.

If you are in a bar, right, And a guy walks up to you and he goes, oh, I see, you're married. Your husband's probably awesome. Now you're willing to have a conversation because you don't feel like they're approaching upon your relationship. Does that make sense?

Yes.

Okay. But this is the same thing. They're married to their notary. So what you got to say is like, oh, my gosh, I'm sure your notary is unbelievable because what I'm trying to coach you on is you're trying to get their other business for more business, not just John, right? So this is your end to be the backup. So you're like, oh, my gosh. You know, my bet is like, your notary is unbelievable. And so I don't want to step on their toes. If there's a way that I can maybe execute John's, I would love an approval packet. I've been working with John for, you know, six, eight deals. We work really good together. I get that, you know, I need to be approved, and so. And I also get that your notary is probably unbelievable now. You brought the walls down, just like if a guy at a bar respected your relationship right out of the gate, oh, I see. You're married. Not here to hit on you. Where are you from? You're trying to make it. Now you're a little bit less defensive, right? Same concept. You're not respecting that relationship. But if you do, you'll go so much farther. Does that coaching make sense? But I want you to walk in. I want you to walk in with a gratitude gift and be like oh my gosh, so nice to meet you. I'm John's preferred notary by the way if I can't do John signing, no big deal. I'm sure your notaries are amazing but if there's any slight chance I can get an approval package so I can help John with his deal, I would super appreciate. I know John would too. So that's the solution here. All they're doing is too many notaries aren't realizing that all they're doing is protecting their relationship which is great that up front and now hopefully you get the approval packet and not only do you get John's deal, you're now a backup to another.

To another direct. Correct. You're right.

The golden goose I I want you to see bigger than John. Right.

Got it.

Coaching makes it. Oh yeah. Walk in there. Do you have the name of the escrow officer?

Oh I do, I do. I have everything on emails, everything.

Then walk in there like oh I am Monica. I'm the preferred noting for John. A just real quickly I just want to give you this say thank you and I want to make sure that you know that man your notary is probably amazing and you probably have a great relationship. I get it. You know but if there any way I can work with you on it'd be great and by the way if you need a backup to a backup, I love the opportunity and again if I can just get an approval process packet. Excuse me. I'd love the opportunity to serve you and them at any given future. Anyways, have a great day. You too.

Thank you.

Does that make sense? You're saying to the title. I'm not trying to get you up. So that's what you said to the title officer.

Oh oh, I got it. Okay.

Yeah. You know so take him off the off defense.

Yes.

Respect a relationship.

Oh yes, of course.

Talk about and so but I'm saying talk about it out loud and then you're gonna slip in as the go to I promise.