How to Fill Open ABA Therapy Slots Using a Managed Growth System
To fill open ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy slots, start with the openings themselves: which hours, ages, locations, settings and insurance plans. Then work backward through your own funnel rates to the number of qualified leads and tours you need. A managed growth system helps when demand or follow-up is the problem. If staffing is the constraint, more leads won't fill anything.
What exactly are you trying to fill?
"We have openings" isn't specific enough to plan around. Write each opening down the way a scheduler sees it: the hours per week, the time of day, the location, the setting (center or in-home), the age range a BCBA can take on, and the plans you accept. Ten open hours on weekday mornings is a different problem from ten open hours after school.
The detail matters because it decides who you need to reach. If your openings are weekday mornings, families with school-age children may only be able to come after school, and an ad aimed at them will bring inquiries you can't schedule. If an opening is in-home in one part of town, the message and service area should say so. In-home ABA marketing works from the same principle.
Put it in a short table before anyone writes an ad.
| Opening | Hours/week | Time of day | Location and setting | Ages | Plans accepted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening 1 | |||||
| Opening 2 |
How many leads and tours do you need to fill them?
Work backward with the funnel math: intakes = qualified leads × booking rate × show rate × tour-to-intake rate. Turned around, the qualified leads you need = intakes needed ÷ (booking rate × show rate × tour-to-intake rate).
Use your own rates from past months. If you don't have them, start tracking now: qualified leads, booked tours, attended tours and completed intakes, with dates. The example below shows the math only. The rates are made up for illustration. They are not typical results.
For example, say you want 6 new clients. Suppose half of attended tours become intakes, three in four booked families show up, and two in five qualified leads book a tour.
- Intakes needed: 6
- Attended tours needed: 6 ÷ 0.5 = 12
- Booked tours needed: 12 ÷ 0.75 = 16
- Qualified leads needed: 16 ÷ 0.4 = 40
That 40 is the target the marketing has to hit, and it only counts leads that match the openings. Inquiries from outside the area or age range don't count toward it. Raising any one rate cuts the number of leads you need. Better reminders that lift show rate are often cheaper than more ad spend.
Also plan for time. Intakes take weeks after a tour, so give each group of leads time to move before you judge it.
What is actually stopping the slots from filling?
Before you buy more leads, find the stage where families stop.
- Demand: not enough suitable inquiries. More reach and a clearer message help.
- Fit: inquiries you can't serve. Fix the ad and page so they match the openings. The wrong leads guide covers this.
- Follow-up: good inquiries that never become tours. Faster contact and an easy booking path help.
- Attendance: tours that don't happen. Confirmations and reminders help.
- Intake and paperwork: families who toured but stall. That is a clinic process fix.
- Staffing: no BCBA or RBT hours to offer. More leads don't help here at all.
When does a managed system beat doing it yourself?
A managed system makes sense when the constraint is demand or follow-up and nobody on your team has the hours to fix it. It also helps when you need a predictable flow every month instead of waiting for referrals, or when leads already come in but sit for days before anyone calls.
Doing it yourself can be the better choice when you have one or two openings and a waitlist to call first. It can also work when an experienced in-house person already runs ads and answers leads quickly, or when referral partners keep you full. If your waitlist can fill the spots, call it before you spend on ads.
And when staffing is the constraint, don't buy leads. Bringing in families you can't schedule wastes their time and yours. Fix hiring first.
How does Relay help fill open spots?
Relay builds a client growth system directly inside your clinic's business. Paid ads on Meta and Google, automation and the Relay team find families looking for ABA therapy, qualify them by location, age, requested service and the insurance plans you accept, follow up and book tours into your calendar. Your team gives the tour, verifies benefits and clinical eligibility, and completes intake. Your clinic owns the system and every lead.
The first lead comes within 72 hours of ads going live. When hiring limits growth, recruiting support for BCBAs and RBTs is included, so the leads have hours to land in. Relay works month to month with one ABA clinic per city. For established ABA clinics, the offer is 20 new intakes in 90 days, or we work for free.
As one example, one ABA clinic completed 7 new-client intakes from 29 qualified leads in 2 weeks, adding over $45,000 in new monthly recurring revenue. Another clinic added 3 full-time clients in 2.5 weeks. Those are individual results, not typical ones. Results vary by clinic, market and capacity. See results and the growth system explainer for how each step works.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can a clinic fill open ABA slots?
It depends on your market, your openings and how quickly your team runs tours and intake. Leads can start within days, but intakes take longer to complete. Plan in weeks, and track each group of leads from inquiry to intake.
Should I advertise all my openings at once?
Only if they share the same hours, ages and location. Different openings often need different messages. A morning center opening and an after-school in-home opening reach different families.
What if I have openings but no staff to cover new clients?
Then staffing is the constraint, and more family leads won't help. Fill the BCBA or RBT hours first. Relay includes recruiting support when hiring limits growth.
Do qualified leads mean the family's insurance will cover services?
No. Qualified means the family named a plan your clinic accepts. Your team still verifies their individual benefits.
Put the plan to work.
Relay turns your service priorities into videos, social content, paid campaigns, email, and search pages. For clinic engagements, we also call leads, check practical fit and book the agreed visits. Your team handles clinical decisions, benefits and intake.