Bail Bond Business Slow..

Help! I don't know what is going on with our bonding business, maybe its not just here locally, but other cities/states as well. However, after talking to our incorporated partner in another city, as well as other local bonding companies in town their business seems decent.

A couple of good points are we're first in the phone book which is a plus. Secondly we're also 1st on the list in the jail(s). I've checked with Evercom to make sure the lines are clear as well as with the jails and everything shows normal. The calls just aren't coming like they were a couple of months ago. I check in with reception nightly so i know plenty of bonds are being written. We've had this business for approx. 5 years, but it seems the past couple of months have been the worst ever. Economy maybe? I'm not sure. Anybody have any ideas?

We haven't really "promoted" the business much, can anyone give some ideas that have helped bring some business in for them?

All advice will be appreciated.

_________________
Joshua P. Woodby
P.I./Surety Agent/Washington Co. TN Appointed Process Server
Owner, A Beagle Investigations and Process Service
TN P.I. License #6232, TN P.I. Company License #1496
Senior Agent, A Bail Away Bonding Company Inc.
T.A.P.B.A. Certification Always Current

A:) It's that time of year. Gets like this before the holidays then we don't get a minutes peace..
B:) I have found that no one uses the phone book anymore...I hear "I found your number online and..."
C:) From experience, the cops use who they know. When I first got started, I didn't do much at all.
Once I got the name out and got to know people, the calls came in. A lot of depts set low bonds,
and no one will come out for them. I started doing just that (within reason) with the local jails.
Now, they call me no matter what time it is...becasue they know I'll come for the small stuff...
Which generally leads to the bigger stuff. I went for 2 $500 bonds, and walked out with a $20K.

D:) The economy stinks, and people will choose a roof and food over getting someone out of jail.

_________________
Kate
650.863.8470

" Yeah, I see ya, you ding dong..."

Tis the time of year. Hunting Seasons is kicking off here.

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

The internet is our biggest thing. We advertise alot on the internet. We get calls from New York, New Jersey and etc... We get most of our calls from Bail.com. Twenty dollars a month for every county I advertise in.

Check it out.

_________________
Steve Faircloth
A Way Out Bail Bonds
(220) 204-9733 Cell
NSIN# SF0105
LIC. #704058

There is a related thread to your question in the FAQ section of this thread. Football season is also among us, so sponsoring a local school team, placing ads in the football programs, placing magnetic signs on friends and families cars, placing ads on taxis, commuter buses, park benches, etc etc.

1 other possible explanation for the decline in your business is the often illegal and unethical practice of a bonding company having a jailer on his/her payroll...we all know its wrong, but we also all know it happens. I'm not telling you to break the law, I'm merely attemtpting to offer an answer to your question.

Also, check out your local bill boards surrounding your local jails....place an ad on them...if a family or a person is unfamiliar with how things work, they pull up to the jail, and they see a brightly illuminated bill board with "Joe Schmoe's Bail Bonds"....well it works for 2 of my clients.

Print up drink coasters with name, # and logo and ask bar/restaurant owners to use them..especially on weekends. Make them brightly coloured so they show up in dark or low light situations.

More of these ideas are in the faq section.

_________________
River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Man aint this the truth, got a couple of those asshooligans in my area as we speak. Theyre new on the block and looking to knock me off the top of the food chain...It aint hapnin. I say what goes around, comes around....

Things are tuff all over this time of year, always have been, always will be. Things'll pick back up come November, and run like gangbusters til Christmas. Then it falls off again til "TAX TIME" ! then its Christams all over again...

If the other companies are doing good and a lot of bonds are being written as you stated then maybe they're starting to lower their fees?
Just a thought

_________________
If the world didn't suck we would all fall off. (Luvonda)
Nobody has power over you that you do not allow them to have. (Scott)
Be careful of the seeds you plant because one day they will be harvested.

Dave
Private Investigator
Licensed by the NYS DOS Division of Licensing

Business had just started to pick up here, then died again. It's been slow all over from what I have seen. There are a lot of reasons, but I have gotten to the point that I prefer to give up a bond to a "discount" agent rather than trying to chase a premium or defendant. The number of bonds that I write doesn't matter if I can't pay my bills.

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

All of these posts are very, very good......... I agree with all.... ups and downs and the changing climate of the business.... I have neva, I repeat neva.... tried to make a living in this business, it has been a "if they call fine... if they don't, fine..." that may sound a little strange to most, but it has always been a sideline with me.... I have a tremendous amount of respect for full timers in the bond business... be them bondsmen or BEA... it is frustrating, stressful, dangerous, exasperating, irritating, demanding, nerve racking, tense, hectic, taxing and a thousand other adjectives.... (my 3rd grade English teacher would be so proud of me... )... but we love it...

MANY PEOPLE GET INTO THIS BUSINESS FOR THE GLORY, THE MONEY, THE EXCITEMENT... I have seen it ruin many friendships and business alliances... but I keep this one thought in my mind: "It is only a job"... that's all... it's just a business... if you can stand back and not let it consume you... you will be fine. (I am sure some of the members here take it a lot more serious than I do but that is fine... this attitude has served me well for a long time)

For the short 10 years or so that I have been working in this business.... it has been feast or famine.... I will all of a sudden start getting calls 24 hours a day.... and I might write 50 or 100 grand in a couple of days.... large and small bonds... who knows... then BOOM... the phone won't ring for a week and I figure .... Oh Sh--... what happened??? This has been going on for years.

I will lay this personal fact out there for ya to consider... I have phones in many locations... remote numbers with no physical phones or offices... forwarded to my 'home' office through toll free numbers, they follow me to my cell when I am out. I have yellow page ads in all the jurisdiction I work... not big full page 2 grand a month Verizon stuff, but just mostly one liners "in red, bold" and my monthly phone and ad costs are less than $500... that's all!! I spend $12 a month with Yahoo on my website, which I design and publish myself... (yeah, I know, it looks it... but I get hits on it like the big boys...) I have premium membership on this site cause I like reading the crazy posts on here and besides Phil needs the money and ... I actually learn a lot from these nutty folks... they really are quite intelligent... (at least, some are) go figure... I I get just as many calls as some of my big time competitors but it is coming from "referrals and repeats and inside the jail from inmates that know me" I WILL SAY THIS ALSO.... I am in the country.. big city business is different, so you may want to listen to the big boys on their take from that aspect. I am not getting rich. I am making a comfortable living... less than $100K a year... I have friends up north that are bringing in mid 6 figures... that is $150K plus... but they are also working their arzs off.... and they are bondsmen... I do not know.... let me repeat this... i do not know any... any BEA people that are knocking down really big bucks in the Recovery business... above $150K... (I said personally... I am sure there are some that are grossing much more than that.... but you check their bottom line and I will believe it when I see it...) Talk is cheap and you will hear a lot of BS in this business.... when they tell you the tail... tell them to "show you the money"... most will start to studder, cause it just ain't there for the average 'sidewalk pounder'... that is not to say you cannot do it... but you better have a full time job... most of the members on this site have sidelines..................

I can tell you that the political climate in this business (Virginia) since DCJS got involved, has been on a steady slide.... sometimes good, sometimes bad.... I think the rule of thumb in this business is............ "there is no rule of thumb" that about sums it up.

Go with the flow.... keep doing the things that seem to work and you will succeed.

... and maybe one other thing.............. don't think just because I am a little nutty... that I am a little nutty... understand? I'm a little old and... well, my humor sometimes over rides my thought process but I try to put out useful stuff... but that's for you to decide.

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

There more people getting into the bail bond business than are leaving. So there is more competition.

There is less money to pay for bail premiums as most people have tapped out their lines of credit or home equity loans.

There are many more bail companies advertising nationwide on the internet.

Courts, at least in my area, are O.R.ing more defendants. They also are reducing bails to make it easier for perps to bail.

Many local LEO agencies are citing defendants on the street and not booking them.

Finally, our local DA's are not filing charges on many simple possession, shoplifting, etc charges. So defendants sit out their 72 hours and walk out of jail for free.

But cheer up, it will only get worse before it gets better. Have a plan to survive for several months of little or no income.