Meet Barbara Battersby, a Trust Trailblazer | Proof

Barbara Battersby is a trailblazer in online notarization and started doing online closings almost three years ago. She lives in Glendale, AZ and works with cash buyers and sellers, all through Premier Title Agency. To date, she has completed 772 online notarizations using Proof, so she knows a lot about the platform and the many benefits it provides to notaries and their clients.

Barbara found Proof to be incredibly easy to learn. After one day of training, she had it down. Now, she only does remote notarizations for all her clients.

Below is a short Q&A with Barbara about what it’s like using Proof for online notarization.

What do you like about doing online notarizations for clients?

I love that every day is different with online notarization. I have gotten to meet people from all over the world. So far, I’ve worked with signers from 18 different countries, from Nigeria to Australia to Poland. Meeting those people has been the most exciting part of my job.

Online notarization is also much safer for notaries. I like that I don’t have to go to people’s houses or meet them in a parking lot at 4AM, for example, as they are passing through town. That simply doesn’t happen anymore with RON. Signers also feel safer getting documents notarized from their own homes using RON. They don’t want to have to go to their bank to do in-person notarizations.

I also appreciate how convenient remote online notarization is. I don’t have to get dressed “to meet the world”, since I am only showing my face—and most of the time, I am doing notarizations in my slippers. Clients like the convenience, too. Spouses can close from different locations, and multiple signers can be in different places and time zones. Even if a signing has to be done over a two-day period because people are all over the world, I can get it done.

How does online notarization compare to being a mobile notary?

Interestingly, signers are friendlier and more appreciative online. With in-person notarizations as a mobile notary, people just want to get the notary out of their house as quickly as possible. But with RON, signers appreciate the courtesy and dedication. I get thank-you notes all the time, even after challenging closings. My clients thank me for making the process seamless. They are also proud of themselves for figuring the process out.

What advice do you have for notaries who haven’t converted to online notarization yet?

Try it! You should be prepared to interact more with signers, especially if they’re not tech-savvy. I give out my cell phone number and tell them to call me if they get stuck and I’ll walk them through it. I spend a lot of time on the phone with my clients.

I am always selling Proof to people, especially real estate agents. I believe in it completely. I find Proof ten times easier to use than other online notarization platforms. There is very little downtime, the level of service is much higher than on other platforms, and I have never had a document lost.

Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your thoughts about online notarization and Proof! We are thrilled that you’re enjoying using Proof so much.