I want to spend some money....

4 replies
Let me give you a brief backstory. I own a dog training company in Utah. We train a lot of dogs, amongst them, service dogs for kids with autism, diabetes, and more.

The biggest barrier to the sale is always the price. There are tens of thousands of parents who would like a service dog for a child but can't afford the $15,000-$25,000 price tag that goes with it.

I think we've solved that biggest barrier. We've partnered with a woman who specializes in finding funding for kids with disabilities.

So now we've got to tap into this market on a national level. The challenges are:
1- We've got to find the right kind of family. The kind who is going to do the work of the fundraising that our partner will put them through.
2- A family who is going to take care of a dog how a dog needs to be taken care of and treat the dog as both a member of the family but also a working animal that needs maintenance training.
3- A family who is willing to put up a small amount down, usually $2,000-$3,000.
4- A family who is committed to the process

Easier said than done. I went ahead and promoted this offer to my list. I got about 15 applicants and we've accepted only 2 of those. Not bad numbers, We'll help two families a lot and we're looking at some nice revenue. But I found that just wanting a service dog wasn't enough. NOt everyone is committed.

The thing is, though, with current staff I could handle 2-3 of these a month. At that level we could scale easily and be handling 10 a month within a year or two.

So now the challenge is getting this opportunity in front of the right people.

I've exhausted my own list. I've played around with Facebook ads (I suck at Facebook advertising). I've spoken with a few PR people. I'm not sure where to go.

So I'm ready to spend some money to create good leads. Right now I could be spending $1,000-$2,000 a month to test the market. With positive results I could scale that to $5k per month or more in spend. But I don't know where to put the resources?!?!

I need help either brainstorming or pointing me towards warriors that can help. If you were in my boat and needed to speak to this demographic would you:

- Use Facebook ads?
- Adwords?
- Hire someone to do PR work?
- Partner with associations?

What would you do and what resources would you point me towards?

Thanks!
#money #spend
  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    There are tens of thousands of parents who would like a service dog for a child but can't afford the $15,000-$25,000 price tag that goes with it.
    Are they in a database somewhere or is this an estimate?
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    • Profile picture of the author TyBrown
      Originally Posted by Brent Stangel View Post

      Are they in a database somewhere or is this an estimate?
      This is just my estimate. You take the millions suffering from diabetes, the millions suffering from autism, etc. I simply have extrapolated that there are thousands wanting service dogs.

      Not very scientific, I know. As long as I've been in the industry, though, I'd bet money on a market size at least that big if not much, much bigger.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    How are you pitching this?

    I've done a boatload of ghostwriting for developmental professionals regarding the autism spectrum disorder... And I'm really familiar with the end user demographic.

    I can tell you that a ton of times the parents are literally HUNGRY for developmental programs that can actually help their child's development, happiness and general quality of life.

    You might try to pitch your services from that angle.

    "Imagine if our therapy dogs could improve xyz AND the quality of life for your autistic/diabetic/xyz child?"

    Lots of potential there.

    As far as WHO to pitch it to...

    If you want to go the FB PPC route - Definitely play around with "Special Interests", and hammer in on "adult" age groups, locations, and income. (Maybe try mid-upper income).

    Another thing you might consider, is find current developmental centers for diabetes/autism and then pitch your service to them as a vendor. (Offer them a commission in exchange for access to their end users).

    Just thinking out loud and brainstorming with you.

    Wish you the best
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    • Profile picture of the author TyBrown
      Originally Posted by Sarevok View Post

      How are you pitching this?

      I've done a boatload of ghostwriting for developmental professionals regarding the autism spectrum disorder... And I'm really familiar with the end user demographic.

      I can tell you that a ton of times the parents are literally HUNGRY for developmental programs that can actually help their child's development, happiness and general quality of life.

      You might try to pitch your services from that angle.

      "Imagine if our therapy dogs could improve xyz AND the quality of life for your autistic/diabetic/xyz child?"

      Lots of potential there.

      As far as WHO to pitch it to...

      If you want to go the FB PPC route - Definitely play around with "Special Interests", and hammer in on "adult" age groups, locations, and income. (Maybe try mid-upper income).

      Another thing you might consider, is find current developmental centers for diabetes/autism and then pitch your service to them as a vendor. (Offer them a commission in exchange for access to their end users).

      Just thinking out loud and brainstorming with you.

      Wish you the best
      Thanks for the ideas.

      Any thoughts on a warrior who could start finding me qualified leads from Facebook at an initial buy-in of $2k a month?
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