Electronic signature can help you close more, faster.
Years ago I was in the mortgage and real estate business.
While certain competitors existed at that time, they did not at that time offer web-based templates, and were difficult to use. They required software to be installed, and more technical skill than should have been required.
This meant every single time I needed a document signed, in order to get the sale moving, it meant either
- Sending them PDFs, which they would typically print on paper, sign, and then send back, or fax back. Remember fax?
- Or to use electronic signature, I’d have to drag in little “sign here” stickers every single time. Repeatedly. So I wouldn’t use it – it was simply less hassle to email the PDFs.
- Or meet someone in person.
Times have changed – and now, with SwiftCloud’s electronic signature word-press plugin, you can just setup any doc you frequently need as a web based template – a form, that anyone can sign online.
If you need to pre-fill it with some info – for example, a loan amount, an interest rate, etc. – you can! This means you can, right while on the phone, get a signed contract.
No waiting. No buyer’s remorse. Need the wife’s signature, business partner, husband, etc.? The first party can sign right while on the phone, and then you can forward it along to the next party.
In every commodity sales business, including real estate, insurance, etc. there’s a small percentage of deals that both land in your lap un-earned – you just get lucky, and a small percentage that fall out. People agree, then just hours later speak to a spouse, see some marketing, have second thoughts… and they’re gone.
Maybe it’s only 5% or 10%, but cutting both ways, that’s 10%-20% of your sales commissions in play that electronic signature could in many cases, help you save. If you save even half of those, that’s an instant 5% to 10% raise, while lowering your work, saving you time and hassle, increasing your marketing automation, and a dozen other benefits you get by switching to electronic signature.
How much money is a 5-10% raise for you? For each sales person? Multiplied by 5 years?
Subtract any minor costs for e-signature and you should have a handsome ROI, financially.
If you need a signature to get clients started – say, in the case of real estate buyer’s agreements – having an instantly-available easy, seamless online agreement could be the difference between picking up a client and potentially saving a commission one day, vs it becoming a sticking point, or introducing a feeling of nervousness especially if one spouse isn’t as sold.
If you need electronic signature for general permission waivers – for example, a waiver of liability, imagine saving not just the paper, but the data handling – being able to search, instantly, your database of people who signed. A kid’s karate school can integrate the e-signature with all new-customer-intake along with SwiftCloud’s auto-payment systems for a complete working, seamless, zero-human-time-required implementation. We can even connect a bar-code scanner like a gym to look up someone’s account.
Electronic signature will almost certainly save you money right out of the gate – especially since it’s free to start.
Next, the time: If you could save 15 minutes per file, and it takes you 1 hour 1 time to setup, you’re at break-even after 4 files. Everything thereafter is “in the black”. The time itself is quickly profitable as well.
The popularity of e-signatures is growing rapidly, and many business people are keen to learn more about this technology. As there are various providers of e-signature software, companies and individuals should exercise caution in selecting the best solution.
You may wish to incorporate other criteria, such as feature capabilities, mobile signing, or pricing, into your due diligence on e-signature providers. Regardless of how you come to your decision, the right electronic signature solution will help you in managing document workflows and transactions a lot more efficiently than with paper. Once you choose an electronic signature provider to sign up with, you can be assured that you’re on your way to making your document workflow and other tasks a lot easier for your company.
Electronic Signatures, the Courts and the Government
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (“GPEA”), Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (“UETA”), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (“e-CFR”), as well as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (“ESIGN”) are all attempts by Congress, federal departments and the states to define the liability and validity of an electronic signature, and help the courts answer the questions about enforceability. These efforts all center around three primary concepts authentication, integrity and non-repudiation.
Give Electronic Signatures a Chance to Save Your Business Money
Businesses today should look at the logistic benefits of electronic signature technology and contemplate how they might benefit their organization. If you have a fax machine then you should certainly have an electronic signature service as well. Electronic signature services provide unparalleled speed to users. They are faster and more versatile than fax machines, less expensive than overnight shipping options and the soft and hard cost savings are extraordinary. Electronic signature services can be used on any file type, including audio, video, photos, and all text documents. Electronic signatures are also easy to store, track and audit.
In the end electronic signatures will not change your life, but they may change how you operate your business day-to-day. Just like the fax machine did, it will make you more efficient and help you get the job done faster, and that may just be the difference that separates you from the competition.