Build Lifetime Notary Clients & Boost Referrals Fast with the S.M.I.L.E. Framework

💡 What if your next $20 notary appointment could turn into $2,000+ in lifetime value?

That’s not a gimmick—it’s a strategy. And in this episode of Sign & Thrive, I’m sharing exactly how you can make it happen.

Most notaries operate with a transactional mindset: stamp the document, collect the fee, and move on—only to start the hustle again to find the next client. But what if you could turn every single appointment into a long-term client and referral powerhouse?

That’s where my S.M.I.L.E. framework comes in. This system—part of my Top of Mind Method—is designed to help you:

✅ Create loyal, repeat customers who seek YOU out
✅ Build a network of referrals without awkward asking
✅ Leverage every appointment into a lasting relationship
✅ Break free from the cycle of always chasing new business

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

🔹 The two biggest misconceptions about client retention (and why they’re costing you money)
🔹 How much it REALLY costs you to constantly find new customers (hint: 5X more than keeping an existing one!)
🔹 The 5 powerful steps of S.M.I.L.E.:

• S – Solve Their Problem
• M – Masterfully Deliver Your Services
• I – Implement an Ironclad Follow-Up System
• L – Leverage Long-Term Connection Strategies
• E – Expand Your Knowledge & Your Network

🔹 Why leaving a business card behind is NOT enough to stay top of mind
🔹 How to shift from “just a notary” to a trusted resource in your community
🔹 The simple but powerful question you MUST ask every client to ensure repeat business

Most notaries don’t take these extra steps. They’ll say it’s common sense—but it’s NOT common practice. That’s why those who apply these strategies stand out and earn exponentially more.

Your Notary Business CAN Be Different

Imagine this: Instead of constantly scrambling to find new customers, your phone rings with repeat clients who already trust you. You’re not just a notary—you’re a go-to professional with a thriving business built on referrals and relationships.

💡 If they needed a notary once, they’ll need one again—or they’ll know someone who does.

This episode is packed with actionable steps to help you stop grinding and start building a sustainable, profitable notary business that gives you financial freedom and flexibility.

📲 Want Ongoing Support & High-Performance Strategies?
Join me and hundreds of motivated notary entrepreneurs inside the High Performance Notary Collective

Join HPN Here

For more details on this podcast visit: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode22

Episode 22: Stephanie Maloney walks us through her life as a notary for estate planning.

Stephanie Maloney is the Director of Client Services at Premier Estate Planning, based in Arizona but assisting clients in all fifty states with their Estate Planning needs.

Book a free consultation with Stephanie HERE.

Episode Description:
Have you been "shoulding" all over yourself about getting your Medical Directives, Last Will & Testament, or even a Living Trust in place? Me too! Even as an advocate of the importance of these documents, I've found myself dragging my feet, procrastinating, and avoiding the process altogether...until now. My guest, Stephanie Maloney, is in charge of Client Services at Premiere Estate planning, and on this episode she shares her passion and her lessons about a necessary subject that many of us avoid. Part of the joy of being the Notary at an Estate Planning Appointment is the peace of mind it brings to the signers. Now it's your turn to enjoy that peace too! And, frankly, there's no better way to understand the process AND the documents, then to go through it yourself.

Episode Highlights:
2:13   Estate Planning: It's about putting our permission slips in place before a problem happens in our lives. Most people think estate planning is for wealthy, older people. But actually, it's about being in control of our decisions, under all circumstances, for both our medical care and our financial lives.

17:48   Who needs a trust? Anyone who has minor children needs a trust.

36:25   Do it. Don't wait another month or another year. At least take your consultation now.

Full transcription of this podcast: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode22

This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Podcast Service: www.getknownstrategy.com/podcast-service

For more details on this podcast visit: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode21

Episode 21: The massive opportunities in the fingerprinting business.

Daniel Jurkowitsch is currently a Nassau county detective in New York, as well as the CEO of FingerprintingClasses.com

Start your fingerprinting business or get your free resources at go.fingerprintingclasses.com/bill 

Episode Description:
Are you ready to learn how to start a fingerprinting business AND start making money at it? Daniel Jurkowitsch is the CEO of FingerprinitngClasses.com and current Nassau County Detective, and he shares unfiltered possibilities about being a fingerprint technician in ANY state. Fingerprinting services are in extra high demand right now, and no matter what state you are in, there are two clear pathways to build a side hustle OR an empire. The choice is yours on this episode of the Sign & Thrive Podcast for Notaries.

Episode Highlights:
39:23   Laser FOCUS is my mantra.

41:44   You need three things: the equipment, the knowledge and the eyeballs.

50:01   Word of mouth is still the best marketing strategy, which means customer service is paramount.

Full transcription of this podcast: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode21

This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Podcast Service: www.getknownstrategy.com/podcast-service

For more details on this podcast visit: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode20

Episode 20: Bill delves into the Top of Mind Method, and how it provides even more value.

Episode Description:
As customers flow into our Notary business, we're faced with many different ways to represent our brand and demonstrate our expertise. These opportunities, when optimized, help deepify relationships, clearing the path for something that can last beyond one single transaction. Because, if your customer needed a Notary once, they'll need one again. Or, at the very least, they'll know someone who does. Through years of experience, Bill has built the framework for the Top of Mind Method, and the 13 Opportunities you have to connect deeper and provide even more value to your ideal customers.

Episode Highlights:
3:22   The challenge is that when things are going good and your phone is ringing off the hook, it's real easy to push aside all the fundamental business practices that help businesses succeed in the long run.

6:49   Results don't lie. They can be harsh sometimes, but they're true.

12:42   The top of mind method is basically 13 opportunities we have from the first time we interact with a client until they are in our database. And it can be a perpetual cycle of connection and adding value.

Full transcription of this podcast: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode20

This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Podcast Service: www.getknownstrategy.com/podcast-service

For more details on this podcast visit: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode19

Episode Description:
Selecia has built an amazing business working as a mobile notary, a Justice of the Peace in Florida, a wedding officiant at the Rainbow Notary Nuptials, and an advocate of RON (remote online notary) - tapping into the expat community needs around the country.

You can learn more about Selecia at www.rainbownotaryandnuptials.com

Episode Highlights:
38:56   The cream always rises to the top - the people that are studying, the people that are looking, the people that are working on their Google My Business page, the people that are taking extra classes, the people that are expanding, the people that are doing Apostille, etc, etc.

37:41   It's 2022, we marry everyone! Black and white, older and younger, tall and short, gay or straight. Love is love!

42:01   Anytime someone needs a notary it's a life-changing event for them.

Full transcription of this podcast: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode19

This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Podcast Service: www.getknownstrategy.com/podcast-service

For more details on this podcast visit: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode18

Episode 18: Listen to how Vanessa is expanding her own personal business, as well as showing others to do the same.

Vanessa Terry is the Founder of Notary2Notary, the nationwide notary training program, On-Time Notary, her nationwide signing service and iNotarize, her new Electronic Notary Platform. She loves training and provides resources in the notary industry across the country. She was also named 2021 Forbes Next 1000 Entrepreneur who is changing the way people work.

Visit our website to learn more about our training at www.notary2notary.com

Episode Description:
Are you feeling afraid of not making enough money as a loan signing agent with the rising interest rates? You're not alone! And where some Notaries are stressing, others are expanding. Many of our peers are finding opportunity everywhere! Listen to this conversation with Vanessa Terry about how she's expanding her own personal business, as well as coaching others to do the same. There are additional income streams AND ways to warm up your current network to get more business right now.

Episode Highlights:
1:06:54   The first thing I always tell new notaries to do is join a local chamber of commerce.

1:04:22   Attend five client-getting events every single year. This will radically change your business.

1:02:52   You've got to reduce the amount of time you spend with energy vampires. Those are the people that suck the life out of a conversation or a meeting. And you'll know these people because when you walk away you'll feel exhausted.

Full transcription of this podcast: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode18

This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Podcast Service: www.getknownstrategy.com/podcast-service

For more details on this podcast visit: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode17

Episode 17: Jane Wenning shares her wisdom on improving your mental and physical well-being.

“When you love who you are, you become healthy, strong and unstoppable.  This is true transformation – body, mind and spirit.  This is the gift I want to share.” 
Bio – Jane Wenning

Jane Wenning is a certified Medical Technologist with a degree in Clinical Laboratory Science.  She is an Athletic Trainer, and Health Mentor who has been helping people improve their mental and physical health for over 20 years.  During high school and college, she was overweight, struggled with eating disorders, had low self-esteem and brain fog.  Obtaining a degree in Clinical Laboratory Science and working with athletes, Jane merged these two worlds together to create a structured wellness plan focused on four pillars – Recovery, Emotional Energy, Nutrition, and Movement.   Outside of her degree she has spent hundreds of hours learning about nutrition, longevity, brain health, sleep, interval training, fasting, epigenetics and estrogenics.  Jane now equips motivated people with the tools to transform into healthier and stronger versions of themselves to look younger, have more energy and  live life with vitality. 

Website for download of bio-optimization tools and / or survey 4-pillarshealth.com
Or email her directly at jane4pillarshealth@gmail.com

Episode Description:
Have you ever felt too embarrassed about the way you look or feel about yourself to even walk into an escrow office or networking meeting? Or do you just run out of energy halfway through the day and give up on all the things you know you "should" be doing today?  Is the stress associated with major changes in your business getting you bogged down? Jane gets it. Jane Wenning has been helping people improve their mental and physical well-being for over 20 years. As an entrepreneur herself, she understands how difficult it can be for mobile workers to stay active and eat in a way that energizes us. From her own experience, she adapted the Four Pillars of Health and she shares her journey from body shame to acceptance and abundance in today's episode.

Episode Highlights:
7:16   You have to give yourself compassion. Because if you don't, you're just going to continue to to keep yourself in that place of hurt. And you can never heal from a place of hurt.

37:30   Take out a piece of paper and start journaling "gratitude". You cannot be grateful and angry at the same time.

30:47   The four pillars are recovery, emotional energy, nutrition, and movement.

Full transcription of this podcast: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode17

This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Podcast Service: www.getknownstrategy.com/podcast-service

For more details on this podcast visit: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode16

Episode 16: Hear Janessa's journey to building a thriving General Notary Work business covering two States!

Entrepreneur since 2004, Notary since 2017, Janessa stumbled into Notary work while I was looking for something to add to her real estate income. Little did she know it would become a main source of income!

Originally living in Orange County and then moving to St. Louis, she figured out how run successful notary businesses in two different States. Now she is working to expand her areas of coverage and become more efficient in process and procedures.

Learn more about Janessa here:  http://www.NotaryNewbiesMentor.com and www.facebook.com/groups/notarynewbiesgroup



Episode Description:
Janessa sees opportunity everywhere! And as a serial entrepreneur, she usually turns that opportunity into a business. Hear how she built a thriving Loan Signing business in Southern California, and then MOVED to the heart of the midwest. Through a commitment to Search Engine Optimization and building relationships centered on trust, she now has a thriving business based mainly on GENERAL Notary Work in BOTH states!

Episode Highlights:
4:31   What if you moved to a different state? Would your Notary business continue to thrive? Janessa West's sure did, in unexpected ways. Listen to the Sign & Thrive Podcast for Notaries now.

46:24   How do you plan your growth? Janessa West shares her strategies for building a Notary empire across the country.

37:34   Have you considered using Google Ads to help grow your Notary business? Janessa has some suggestions to help you get more customers.

Full transcription of this podcast: https://www.notarycoach.com/blog/PodcastEpisode16

This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Podcast Service: www.getknownstrategy.com/podcast-service