Bail Bond Success: A.J. Campofiore's Keys to Building a Profitable Agency

• June 23, 2011
• by Collateral Staff
• Business Tips

Growing a bail agency that writes more than $100 million in bonds in one year doesn't just take business savvy - it takes consistency. Whether it was consistently good customer service or a consistently strong business model, A.J. Campofiore grew the largest agency in Connecticut the right way - by keeping both customers and employees happy.

From 1999 to 2004, Campofiore's agency - founded along with partners Dan Toner and Drew Bloom - did about $50-55 million yearly in retail bail while employing 42 people at its peak. In 2004, they branched out into wholesale and sold to many smaller bail agencies in Connecticut. The wholesale business also had agents in Michigan, Missouri and Arizona, and the operation added another $60-65 million annually. The entities combined wrote about 10,000 bonds per year, and in a relatively short time they became Connecticut's biggest bail agency.

In 2010, 14 years after founding his agency, he started the newest chapter of his professional life as vice president of Accredited Surety & Casualty Company, Inc. He now uses his business insights to help Accredited agents experience the success that he has enjoyed.

AboutBail talked with A.J., who shared some of the lasting lessons he learned while growing and running his agency. We hope his insights will help you grow your bail bond agency.

Rely on family for advice and support
Family can be a valuable source of business advice. Campofiore said his grandmother was a businesswoman in the 1950s and beyond who at one time owned five separate businesses, and she was often his mentor when he needed advice.

"As I grew my business, she'd always tell me that if I'm comfortable with the decisions I make, they must be right. And if I make the decisions, I need to stick by them," he said.

Another key to Campofiore's success was his wife, who was with him before he entered the bail business. Campofiore praised her patience with him, which sometimes meant leaving parties early or answering phones at 4 a.m. to tend to business. Although the bail world could be a crazy place, his strong business afforded Campofiore enough time to help raise his four children.

Campofiore also credits his parents for raising him right, keeping him grounded and encouraging him to do his best.

Learn from other successful business owners
Whether it was the restaurant owner down the street or a successful local auto dealership owner, Campofiore wanted to talk with that person if it meant gaining new ideas. The way he sees it, there's something to be learned from a successful business concept no matter what the industry or product.

Dress for success
At any given time, anyone who walked into Campofiore's agency might have mistaken it for a regular insurance company. His staff wore business attire, which gave visitors a clear view of the professionalism his company practiced. Campofiore's constant efforts to run a professional bail agency garnered respect locally and even encouraged the state to come calling with bail questions.

Practice consistency
"One of my big words in business is consistency," Campofiore said. He worked to ensure that every person who called, no matter the day or time, and no matter who answered the phone, received the same high level of customer service.

"Every time the phone rang we started fresh," he said. "You gotta hope competition gets lax, lazy, tired. If I had enough troops and I treated them the right way, and if they followed the system we had in place, I felt that we would outlast anyone who came up against us."

Evaluate people carefully to minimize risk
At its peak, Campofiore's agency was writing about 10,000 bonds per year combined between both wholesale and retail. During this time, he saw plenty of cases where a person seemed trustworthy enough for a bail bond, but upon closer inspection the person turned out to be a huge risk. This drove home the point that you can never be too thorough when evaluating a potential customer if you want to reduce your failure to appear rate.

"Don't give life insurance to three-pack-a-day smokers. Don't sell auto insurance to a guy with six DUIs," he said. "Look around so you don't get clipped real quick. Longevity is key."

Keep employees happy
Campofiore's retail workforce numbered 42 hourly or salaried employees in the mid-2000s, and he takes pride in having provided jobs for each one of them. His agency paid employees upfront, also providing them with benefits such as health insurance and a 401K match. Some of Campofiore's proudest moments came when his employees would tell him of their plans to buy a house or a car.

"They were doing something where they were going on a payment plan for a long period of time, so they had faith that their job was going to be secure for a long period of time to make those big life decisions," he said.

Consider giving back
Running a successful bail agency allowed Campofiore to give back to the community by donating money to charities, sponsoring sports teams and more. Being a "positive asset in the community" brought him great personal satisfaction and boosted his agency's local reputation.

Work with a responsive surety
Campofiore chose to join the Accredited team after being a long-time satisfied client of theirs, having been impressed by their quick responses to his agency's questions or requests. Rapid response to agents' needs such as large bond approval could be what it takes to put their businesses "over the top," he said. In addition, Campofiore feels that Accredited's Debbie Jallad and Sharon Jallad run a surety that makes agents feel like they are family and a high priority.

As Accredited's vice president, Campofiore said he is excited about passing his knowledge on to the bail agents who are in it for the long haul.

"One of the true joys of my job is assisting a smaller agent that has the fire in their belly to go to the next level. That's when my days, no matter how long they are, are worthwhile," he said.

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