The Quadrangle of Trust: Claim Your Seat at the Table as a Professional Notary Public

You’ve probably never heard of the Quadrangle of Trust. I made it up last year. 

I made it up because there is an insider term called the Triangle of Trust that consists of the three most trusted advisors for consumers;  Attorneys; Tax advisors (CPA); Wealth advisors (Financial planner). 

All of these advisors make important additions to anyone’s advisory team, but to me, the missing piece, the crux, if you will, was the fourth leg of the table-the notary public. Which makes this triangle of trust...

The Quadrangle of Trust.

As notaries public, we’re not advisors. In fact, we spend most of our career avoiding advice of any kind. 

It’s outside our purview. 

And still, simply because of the office we hold as a notary public, we have the trust of the public. Which makes our referral list extremely valuable. 

Notaries get in more doors than any salesman (or advisor) ever will. In fact, we’re invited in, welcomed in, and sometimes our clients even bake us cookies. 

We’re connectors, the hinges that open doors. And if done right, we’re even super connectors. 

Five Ways to Leverage the Quadrangle of Trust

1. Create Your Own Team of Advisors

The first thing  to do is get your own triangle of trust. Having legal counsel, tax advice, and wealth building strategies for your own business will serve you well. And the earlier in your career, the better (trust me, I learned the hard way). 

2. Build a Trusted Referral List

The SECOND thing to do is build a referral list of the people you love to work with and wouldn’t think twice about introducing them to your mom or the people you love the most. This list will obviously consist of the advisors from the Triangle of Trust, but you can expand from that with no limits. 

Consider home services (like housekeepers, plumbers, painters, landscapers, and solar companies). Think about doctors, hairdressers, local restaurants, and more. 

Become the go-to resource for professional services in your city. 

This will keep you top of mind even beyond your client’s notarial needs. And, BTW, this makes cross-selling additional services like insurance, real estate, cars, or oven mitts (whatever you sell) even easier down the road. 

3. Constantly Add to Your Referral List

Third, actively pursue and add new members to your referral list. This is a never ending activity. You will always be seeking trusted professionals for referrals to your network. 

Because of this, sparking conversations with prospects gets a lot easier because you always have a starting point-you’re looking for trusted professionals to add to your referral network. 

4. Use Your Referral List to Bring Value to Your Network

Fourth, seek out ways to bring value both to your network AND those on your referral list. People are always searching for some product or service and word of mouth is still the most powerful form of marketing. Your personal referrals to people you already know, like, and trust, will make you indispensable to your network. 

5. Create Shared Experiences

Finally, the fifth way to leverage the Quadrangle of Trust, and this is next level thinking, is to create events and shared experiences that bring your network and your ideal clients together with your referral partners. 

These shared experiences could be anything from an online networking meeting, an educational webinar, or a happy hour, all the way up to thinking real big, like a cruise vacation or learning retreat. 

There are no limits and there are no rules. 

As a credentialed professional, you hold a position of trust. Your clients will appreciate referrals and recommendations to the services they need. 

This is a way you can stand out in a sea of sameness. 

Most notaries don’t do this. Most notaries just want to sign, date, and stamp paper. That’s important problem-solving work (and why our office exists in the first place).

But...doing the bare minimum for the office of notary public makes you a "stamp." And a stamp is a commodity, subject to competition and comparison. 

If you want to build an impenetrable business that also solves your problems and gives you the freedom and flexibility you seek, then you need to go the extra mile and step into the full power of your office by bringing even more value to your network. 

When you claim your seat at the table of the Quadrangle of Trust, you're not just a stamp for your clients and prospects. You're a resource/revenue/referral-generating machine. 

And that makes you invaluable and irreplaceable, no longer vulnerable to competition and comparison. 

For more articles on building and using your referral list, see below: 

The Secret Tool For Notary Success

Four Books That Helped Me Embrace Networking (Even as an Introvert)

The Unlimited Referral List: Loyalty is More Than Meets the Eye

How to Make an Attorney Prospect List

How to Make Memorable Introductions Within Your Professional Network

Bill Soroka is on a mission to help mobile notaries serve more clients, make more money, and build a business that thrives beyond loan signings, self-reliant & untethered to the housing industry. You can join him with the most committed notaries on earth in the Notary Business Builder learning community.

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