Benefits of Association

Do you belong to an Association of Professional Process Servers? If not, why not? There are several possibilities: NAPPS (National Association of Professional Process Servers) provides a directory of 11 chartered state associations and 10 non chartered state associations on their NAPPS website. You may also wish to join (IPSA) International Process Servers Association and/or the United States Process Servers Association (USPSA). Research the association(s) of interest to see which one will best serve your needs and to ascertain your eligibility requirements.

We belong to the National Association of Professional Process Servers, a national association.  It is an excellent conduit for obtaining assignments from other process servers and law firms, especially from those outside your city or state.  There are many excellent benefits of membership. The NAPPS is very affordable to join, provided you are eligible, and the return on your investment is sometimes ten to twenty times what you put into it. 

The state associations operate similar to NAPPS in terms of representing the interests of their members; some of them work hard to lobby their interests with the state legislature or county governments, and educate members on how to serve process or pass along important information about changes or events within the industry.  Just like NAPPS, the local association can be a good way to network with other servers in other parts of your state so that if they have a court document that needs to be served in your city, they may call you to serve it for them rather than drive across the state to serve it themselves, as you may do for them likewise. 

Business Tool Recommendations for the Process Server

Every business requires the use of tools; process service is no different. It would be difficult to find a businessperson today that does not have at a minimum a cell phone, and most likely a smartphone. Today’s wireless society allows the process server, who most often spends hours on the road, the convenience of a mobile office. A portable (i.e., not desktop) computer or tablet, a mobile wireless printer, and a smartphone are a good beginning set of basic technology tools for the process server. You receive a call on your smartphone from a client who already has the court documents in their office or they have sent you an email requesting service. All the client has to do is scan and email the documents; once received you simply print them from your computer, tablet or phone and serve them.

Okay, so that is a basic beginning set of technology tools. What should I add to establish a fully functioning business?

While nice, it is not necessary or sometimes practical to have everything when first starting out. We began with a single desktop computer, printer, fax machine, cell phone, traditional phone and a functioning automobile. Even with limited funds, as long as you have a telephone and a vehicle for getting around, you can begin a process service business. Yes, even if you cannot afford a computer, you could operate a process serving business … at least in the beginning.  It would be difficult and you would not be very competitive, but you could get moving and start obtaining clients, start serving papers, and start making money.  So, there are no excuses. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it can be done.

As your revenue increases, assess your needs and increase your business tools. Determine your system needs (such as management software) as well as your equipment needs. Technology changes rapidly so it is wise to budget upgrades.

Provided you have some funds, here is what I suggest as bare minimum equipment to have if you want to have a business in process serving that will bring in clients, look professional, operate competitively, and complete assignments efficiently:

Any computer with internet access

A printer (A black and white laser is preferable, plus will cost less to operate. Check out all-in-one laser printers that afford you the opportunity to print, copy, fax and scan all from one machine; you may save money in the long run)

Fax machine
Cell phone
Desktop copier
A functioning, preferably fuel-efficient, vehicle
Basic office supplies – paper, envelopes, staples/stapler, paperclips, pens, printer/copier ink 

Once you really get going and want to run with, or ahead of, the pack, here is the equipment I recommend:

Wifi – to receive assignments or contact by email while you are on the road
Portable printers – to print assignments in your car as you go 
Cell phone - iPhones/Blackberry/smart phone
Copier
A functioning, very fuel efficient, vehicle
Conventional phone line or even an internet phone
A seriously big desk space
Fax machine
Postage meter
Business Cards
Office supplies - paper, envelopes, paperclips, staples, staplers, toner, folders, pens, mailing labels, whiteout, adhesive tape, etc.
High speed scanner
Forms to use for various office tasks – faxing, correspondence, field sheets, maps
Field equipment – binoculars, flashlight, clipboard, pens, note pad, water bottle, contact cards, vehicle phone charger

There are many other articles and items of equipment and supplies that you might need at one time or another. The above lists are certainly not all-inclusive, but should be enough to get you up and running, keep you profitable and competitive, and start you on the road to running a respectable process serving company.

Process Serving: Charge What You Can Afford / Charge Based on Demand

For the first rule – charge what you can afford - do not set your price so low that your expenses eat up all your profit (hence you have no profit).  As with fuel costs and other expenses of running a business, if you decide to price things so low in an attempt to undercut your competitors, you may find yourself out of business, potentially in foreclosure or bankruptcy while your competitors are still running strong. 

Secondly, and this will play upon the second rule to a degree.  If you do price yourself too low, you might find yourself so busy that you cannot perform quality service, eventually leading to mistakes, missed deadlines on court appearances for your clients, and the eventual exodus of your entire book of clients.

This leads to the second rule - charge what the market demands.  If the typical going rate for service of one court document in your market is $60.00, and you charge $55.00 the price may lead to demand for your service based on the lower price.  If you get so busy because you are cheaper, there's a good change you will get over loaded with assignments and ultimately provide poor service.  Consider also that you may work yourself to an early grave.  If you keep your price competitive at $60.00 or even a little higher, however, you will gain a share of the market amongst your local competitors, considering everyone is charging the same relative price. You might even be working less if you charge $65.00, but end up making the same amount of money as your competitors or perhaps even more.  What you would rather do?  Work harder for less money per assignment or work less for the same money, be tanned and rested, and not be overloaded with too many assignments, and be able to provide superior service to your current book of clients. In turn, you will have loyal clients who tout your good name and superior performance to others who might have a need for your services.  In other words, do you want to do quantity or do you want to quality of work?  Think about it.

Have I piqued your curiosity? If so, check out my book “The Business End of Process, Running a Process Service Company From the Ground Up” available on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&ajr=0.

Pricing Considerations for Process Serving

When considering how to price your services speed of delivery is another factor to consider. It is one thing if you have a court document that needs served; it is another thing if your client needs it served right now.  Charge a rush fee for that.  Why?  Well, beyond the obvious, let me put it to you this way.  If you have five routine papers you need to serve and four of them are all situated in one general locale, but then you have the fifth one needs to be served that day … no, that very instant. Oh, and it is on the other side of town, thereby taking you away from the $240.00 you will make off of the four other papers, it just makes good business sense that the client needs to understand (and they typically do) that a premium charge will be assessed.  After all, you are now delaying serving four other papers just to insure that one is served.  Do not be shy about charging for a rush.  Sure, if you want to score points with the client, then perhaps you might occasionally consider not charging the rush fee.  Do that too often however and you will find yourself working harder for a lot less profit than you can reasonably expect to make.

The level of difficulty of the assignment is also a key factor.  Say you have to deliver court documents on a military installation and/or may have to wait two hours at a particular location for the defendant/witness to appear so you can serve them?  What if you have to develop some sort of complex operation, in order to find yourself in front of the defendant/witness, because they have been or are known to evade service?  Factor these into the equation on a case-by-case basis.

Number of documents served is another area to keep in mind.  Now I have seen this vary from server to server.  What happens if you have two different types of documents to deliver to the same individual? Should you charge for that extra document?  Some servers do not while others do, but at half the price of the first document ($30.00). Still others charge full price for the second document ($60.00).  In terms of pricing second instruments (or second documents), to charge or not to charge is the question.  If you ask your client, especially those who operate in family law, they do not like being charged per document for the obvious reason that it increases their costs.  In the case of family law where you typically see second, third and sometimes fourth instruments, you should consider the issue of your time. Various affidavits of service come with serving those extra documents; there is the factoring in that should you forget to deliver one of those extra documents that could mean the difference between a court appearance or a cancellation. You also have to consider your liability towards your client goes up considerably if you fail to complete or fail to serve everything properly.  What I have mostly experienced is charging second instruments at half the going rate of a first instrument.  Very few servers charge nothing for the extra document, and those that charge full price very rarely get the business or get it from a very loyal constituent of clients.

In my next post, I will provide you with two prevailing rules of capitalist economics.  First, charge what you can afford.  Second, charge based on demand. 

Are you ready to start your own Process Service business? Check out my book “The Business End of Process, Running a Process Service Company From the Ground Up” available on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&ajr=0.

Serving Process: What Should I Charge?

So how much should you charge for serving process?  The answer varies depending on whom you ask. I’ve heard that the “golden rule” states that the rate for service of a single instrument (one court document) be competitive with the rate charged by the local sheriff or constable’s office for the same exact assignment.  In my business dealings with other process servers however, I have experienced a variance in the price that, in some instances, wildly swings from one extreme to the other.

In my opinion, there is no hard and fast rule. An amalgamation of factors plays into pricing.  To a small degree, consider what the sheriff or the constable charges for serving papers.  They have traditionally been the ones that served civil process before private process servers came on the scene, and as such, many feel they have set the standard.  Perhaps not in terms of quality or speed of service, but for some reason the local shire reeves (this is the original pronunciation for the sheriff from the old English dialect) appear to have set the standard.  I would not consider them the only factor.  After all, the reason private process serving has become an industry at all is because the volume of work available is so enormous that the quality and speed of the service derived from the sheriff or the constables is substandard, particularly in large metropolitan markets.  Not because they are terrible at what they do, but for the most part they simply do not have the resources to do otherwise.

When considering what local law enforcement charges the public for service of process, factor in other things, too.  First, would be fuel costs.  Factor in the distance traveled to deliver a paper as it relates to fuel costs.  If you have to travel thirty miles to deliver a court document pricing should reflect that cost.  It has been said that for every dollar cost per gallon of gas, one should factor a cost of $5.00 for the service.  Now, that is not to say that if gas costs $1.00 per gallon that you should charge $5.00.  No, what it says is that if gas costs $3.00 per gallon, then your fuel costs for the average process serving assignment should be $15.00 plus the cost of actually doing the service.

 
You might be scratching your head, so let me give you an example.  It is usually recognized that if you have an overall price of $60.00 per court document served in your local market, $30.00 should be for the actual serving part of the assignment - $30.00 for your time to go from your office to the service address.  Then you add $15.00 to cover fuel costs.  Now you are at $45.00.  Wait you say; that doesn’t add up to $60.00, and you’re correct.  Factor the remaining $15.00 for your office expenses, such as paper and other office supplies, insurance, utilities, advertising costs, and taxes.  Taxes?  Process serving usually doesn’t come along with sales tax, you say.  Correct; but you have to factor in your income tax withholdings, property tax, franchise tax, and all other government levees placed upon your business in accordance with the laws of your city, county, and state governments. 

So what happens if fuel costs go up?  Well, if a gallon of gas goes from $3.00 to $4.00 t you should probably consider raising your price from $60.00 to $65.00.

Next posting, we will discuss more pricing considerations.

If you are interested in starting up your own Process Service business, please check out my book “The Business End of Process, Running a Process Service Company From the Ground Up” available now on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&ajr=0.

Get the Word Out - Part II

Based on the principle that marketing is a two-pronged approach, my previous post provided five ideas to help you get the Word Out. Remember the importance of looking for new clients while ensuring current clients get the utmost in customer service. Here I share my remaining ideas to help you continue to Get the Word Out.

1. NAAPS – National Association of Professional Process Servers is an excellent conduit for obtaining assignments from other process servers and law firms many from out-of-state who need a server in your locale. As an affordable membership to eligible process servers, NAAPS offers many benefits providing an excellent ROI. Check out www.napps.org for more information and eligibility requirements.
2. State Associations – Every state has a state process serving association, each one representing the interests of their members. Much like NAAPS, they represent their members and provide education and networking opportunities. They are a great way to reach out to servers in areas you may not service and they in return will refer back to you.
3. Door-to-door – This is generally the most difficult, time-consuming and disheartening approach. You could visit law firms for hours, days, months and you might get one client. It is not hopeless, but takes a lot of time coupled with a heavy dose of rejection. A past associate began his business with this strategy and landed a client who he still serves today. It can pay off.
4. Social Media Networking – There are scores of social media networking sites and communities to connect with potential clients, other process servers and businesses in need of a process server. The benefit of using social media networking to market yourself is that your potential connections are limitless. In most cases, you can do it for little more than a bit of your time.
5. Targeted Demographics – When working on a process serving assignment, another process server, the attorney who requested the issuance of court documents, who do you interact with most often?  Sometimes, however, you really want to focus on legal assistants and paralegals. You will communicate to and interact with on these professionals on every assignment.  Keep them happy, make them look good and you will reap the benefits. Join their associations, attend their meetings and build lasting client relationship and friendships with legal assistants and paralegals.
6. Get Out There – One last thing, make it a habit to become involved by attending and/or sponsoring events, or become listed in their publications. We enjoy our annual participation in a 5k run event with the local bar association. As we run side by side with others, we get to meet new attorneys and their legal assistants.

If you would like to learn how to start up your own Process Service business, please check out my book “The Business End of Process, Running a Process Service Company From the Ground Up” available on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&ajr=0.

Get the Word Out - Part I

In my last post, we established the necessity of a two-pronged marketing approach. Always look for new clients while treating your current clients like royalty (within reason, of course). How, you ask, do you accomplish this? Get the Word Out. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started.

1. Advertise – in the local bar association newsletter. Be industry specific and target one demographic, in this case law firms.
2. Get listed – Yellow Pages and business pages, off-line and on-line – even a one-line is better than a no-liner.
3. Business cards – Be sure you carry business cards with you at all times. Place one in the hands of every court clerk you encounter. They often encounter attorneys or private individuals in need of a process server. If the ask the clerks for a referral, and the clerks have your card… well, you get the idea. A word of caution here; just because they have your card don’t assume they will refer you – mark sure you treat them well, always smile, always be friendly (and it doesn’t hurt if you bring cookies or donuts once in a while).
4. Rule of Five – Devise a marketing campaign that puts you in front of your customer no less than five times in a specified period. (Rule of five says that most people generally have to see your ad at least 5 times before taking action.) So grab a copy of the local bar association membership listing or directory. Target the litigation attorneys – family law, personal injury, commercial litigation, debt collection, etc. Send them a full-color, professional looking postcard that provides your company name, phone number and be sure you include that your company provides process service. While this is a numbers game, it is relatively low-cost and eventually pays off, usually in a way that defrays the costs spent and provides you with a long-term client.
5. Website – If you do not have a presence on the web, you do not have a presence. Even a simple single webpage is better than no web presence. We began with a low cost web-hosting template and eventually upgraded. A website is not static, however. It will require ongoing attention and changes as people will expect to see changes when they visit. If it stays the same, they will not come back. A basic website generally will not provide immediate results, but as your business grows so can your web presence. Think of a website as another tool for growing your business. When you are ready to upgrade with the help of a professional website developer/SEO professional be sure you ask for a referral from someone who is happy with his or her web partnership.

Check back next posting for the remaining ideas to “Get the Word Out”.

If you would like the complete low-down on how to start up your own Process Service business, check out my book “The Business End of Process, Running a Process Service Company From the Ground Up” available on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&ajr=0.