Turn Calls/Inquiries into Signed Retainer
Agreements and Cash in the Bank… Remotely
Ray: But that’s the point. Wally got $200,000 in retainers out of the jail on those and his associate was kept busy for years.
Richard: Well how about…
Ray: Are you there?
Richard: Yes. I’m here. A lot of the guys I deal with are solo practitioners, small firms, two or three people, a lot of them will do a lot of DUIs, and a lot of them actually have been around for 15-20 years and they tell me I don’t want to deal with these real high end cases. I just want more domestic violence, misdemeanor type stuff. Will they get that from advertising in the magazine?
Ray: Murder cases are far and few between. As a DUI, as you well know, DUI violations they’re not going to get housed for the first time. They’re going to get released. Drunk tank, sit down, and they’re going to get released.
Richard: Well I meant more like assaults, domestic, the lower level stuff.
Ray: Yes. They’re still going to get housed if unless they; in a lot of facilities if you don’t make bail in the first what, hour, you’re going to get housed. Literally, you start getting housed right away the moment you get arrested. It’s just how long does it take them to get housed. In some places it takes six hours. In some places it takes 30 minutes. Right?
Richard: Hmm. Okay.
Ray: Whether or not you were able to reach a family member, a wife, or whoever to bail you out, whether you have all the money for a bondsman, whether you found a bondsman that can help you, all that is a question. When attorneys say no I don’t want anybody in custody, well yes, Mr. Attorney, but these people don’t remain in custody. That’s the whole point. They don’t want to be in that situation so they’re going to work very hard to solve their problem and you want to get to them before they solve their problem. You want to put your name and your message in front of them before they find somebody else to solve their problem.
See, here’s the interesting thing.
Richard: Why would an attorney tell you that?
Ray: You’ve probably heard of; what?
Richard: Why would attorneys tell you they don’t want people in custody? What’s the reason that they’re told you?
Ray: Because they have a belief that if you’re in custody you didn’t make bail and therefore you don’t have any money. It’s a fallacy.
Richard: Oh okay. Okay. I got you. Huh?
Ray: That’s incorrect, but only the ones that have open minds are going to say or ask why is it incorrect because I used to think this is the case. Then we can tell them. I obviously know a lot about the bail business and so the point is they’re just accustomed to seeing people who either have no bail or people out of custody. When somebody gets arrested, that’s the best time to put, or within the first two, three, four days, that’s the best time to put a message in front of them; hey, I can help you out.
Richard: Yes, unfortunately yes. (Laughs)
Ray: You may not be ready for me to help you out because you may not have the money, you may have to go find the money, but if we get that message in front and they keep it, they retain it and hence that’s the magazine.
Now I was going to raise a point, you probably have heard about Jail Mail right?
Richard: Right, yes. Yes, I’ve talked to clients about that.
Ray: All the time. I’m not saying do one or the other. I firmly believe in a marketing mix. You have to do a number of things in today’s world, business world, and you have to keep playing with it until you find a good match, mix that works best for you.
Richard: Right.
Ray: ]You see it with Jail Mail and I know some of the companies that comply the data for the newly arrested home addresses and as we know that Jail Mail is the letters that are received at the inmate’s home address right after getting arrested because then the attorney’s soliciting. The Supreme Court says they can do that.
Richard: Right.
Ray: I think it’s great because you can get your name out there, but think about this. Here is a company that says I got a DUI, guy got popped for a DUI. The company is not going to sell it to attorney. I want to sell it to attorney B, to attorney W because I make money that way because that’s my way of doing. I’m going to charge $1.50-2.50. Hell, I even know some guys that charge as high as $3.50 a name.
Richard: Oh, hang on. I’m going to let you know one LA attorney gave me all the mailings and in LA there’s 100 different attorneys that do Jailer Mail. They passed your magazine maxing out a three attorneys. Yes, the message is a lot more focused.
Ray: That’s my point. The guy gets released. He’s a DUI. Even if it’s a first time DUI, drunk tank, he’s arrested. He gets home. He goes to sleep. The next day he wakes up and what does he have, 40 or 50 letters from attorneys.
Richard: Right, absolutely.
Ray: If you’re not the first one or two that he opens, or three or four, they all say the same thing.
Richard: Yes, well how do you stand out? You can, but it’s tough to stand out. It’s a big fish in a small pond. This is a big fish in a pond with bars on the surface. A lot of fish in there.
Ray: And that’s just it. I took a look at the whole structure of how it works, meaning the magazine getting distributed inside the jail, and I’ve had a number of people saying you should fill that magazine up with attorneys, excuse me, advertisers, bail bondsmen and attorneys. You’ll make more money.
Richard: Right.