Benefiting During the Pandemic

Waste360: Over the past several months, we've been reminded how tough yet critical the waste industry is. Apart from the obvious issues around health concerns and dealing with increased residential volumes, what challenges have you been hearing about from your customers during the pandemic? 

In the beginning of the Pandemic, many of our prospective customers were nervous about so much uncertainty.  But, as work from home and social distancing became routine, the value of TrashBolt became apparent.  TrashBolt offers the ability for new customers to sign up and pay for new service(s) without calling in to an office that, in many cases, was closed. 

Our residential hauler and roll off clients had increased demand as homeowners stayed home all while not having office staff in the office to answer the calls.  Call centers, office staff, etc., they weren’t in the office.  So, how could haulers deal with increased demand and sales volume?  This is where TrashBolt became the best solution, allowing customers to simply shop from home without human interaction. 

Of course, our commercial hauler users have challenges based on their mix of essential services customers.  This caused a marketing shift, and a focus on changing their customer base to include those businesses still open.  We offer many ways to identify those clients within defined geo-fenced sales territories, market to them, generate quotes for them, and close new business. 

Waste360: For current as well as new customers, how can your software help a hauler be more efficient or profitable during this tumultuous time?

In so many ways!  First and foremost is by increased sales volume without the need for sales staff.  TrashBolt is the gas station’s equivalent of pay at the pump.  It used to be that you couldn’t buy gasoline after, say, 11pm. The station was closed.  Then, pay at the pump became the standard.  Now you can buy gas 24/7/365.  That’s TrashBolt. 

Customers can buy our client’s wastes services (and other services, like porta potty, etc), 24/7/365.  That, in and of itself, results in more sales.  Customers don’t want to leave a message or fill out a form and wait for a callback.  They want to see their price, sign up, pay, done. 

Think about it.  Would you go to the gas station that made you go inside to pay, or would you go to the other one across the street with pay at the pump?

Secondly, our clients experience about a 50% shift to customer self service.  Their new customers use TrashBolt so signup for new service saving 10 to 15 minutes per incoming call to the sales/office staff.  This time saved can be shifted from the bottom of the sales funnel, closing individual sales transactions, to the top of the sales funnel.  Reallocating existing staff to focus on top of the funnel activities results in more sales coming through the TrashBolt online sales system. 

For example, cross linking to other websites. Let’s say the hauler donates a dumpsters or carts to the local county fair, or Memorial Day parade, or some other community event in exchange for a mention on that event’s website home page, complete with “buy now” capability.  Or, the hauler can connect with local realtors to include a QR code on the realtor’s refrigerator magnet so new homeowners can hover their phones to signup and pay for new service. Or, include TrashBolt’s “buy now” button technology to all social media platforms. 

There are so many ways to shift activity to the top of the funnel which will increase in-route volume.

As for efficiency, getting more sales with the same or even less staff is the very definition of efficiency.  Add to that the ability to move data to billing, operations, and routing systems, and the scalability/efficiency multiplies.  TrashBolt can integrate and move data so human beings needn’t enter data into the hauler’s existing software systems. 

Waste360: Have you seen a spike in new customers since the pandemic – and, if so, what do you think is driving that?

We have seen a definitive spike in business since the pandemic began.  The ability for contactless sales has haulers, at the very least, curious as to how TrashBolt can maintain or increase sales during a time where offices are closing.  In fact, May was our best month in our company’s history.  Sales or our software remain robust. 

There are additional reasons for our success.  We bring success, volume, and very high value to our clients.  This is a quote from Walter’s Refuse and Recycling in Minnesota:

“I loved the TrashBolt concept but was skeptical that it would produce the results as advertised.  To my amazement, we had a completed sale within the first half hour of turning it on.  It started generating profits for us in just the first 5 days.  The software is great, it works as expected, and the support from the TrashBolt team from start to product launch was amazing.  Another thing that was unexpected was the continued support, attentiveness, and responsiveness from the TrashBolt team even after the product launch.

I would recommend it to anyone searching for a great way to engage with your target audience 24 hours a day!”

We deployed Walter’s on April 4^th, 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic’s uncertainty. TrashBolt did exactly what it’s supposed to do: generate sales.  This quote encompasses everything we offer our clients: Unbeatable Value, Excellent Service, Strong ROI. 

Waste360: How soon do new clients typically generate new business as a result of implementing TrashBolt?

It seems impossible when I say it, but often time it’s minutes.  In the case of Walter’s, within 30 minutes. Most new clients, 2 hours. 

Waste360: What role does customer support play in TrashBolt's value proposition?

We know that most haulers don’t have the type of staff it takes to setup and deploy an online sales system as sophisticated as TrashBolt.  So, we offer a completely turn-key experience. Buy the time the system is switched on, it’s ready to go. 

We used to be GarbageMan, Inc.  After the routes, trucks and customers were purchased by Waste Management in 2017, SalesStryke Software was created.  AS a result of our experience services 110,000 customers, we know the waste services industry very well.  Our staff has, collectively, over 100 years industry experience.  That has us offering excellent service and advice to our clients during our setup. 

We answer a hauler’s questions like “where should we expand?” or “where should we focus our density efforts?”, etc. On the sales front, we can establish KPIs that identify closing ratios, move out/move in recapture rates, and other ways of measuring a hauler’s sales and marketing efforts. 

Of course, as Walter’s said in their testimonial, our post-sale support is first rate.  We offer ongoing concierge level service for when a hauler changes a route, needs a price or service change, or any other change that effects what the online system is offering new customers. 

Waste360: For haulers that might be skeptical about the ease of deploying TrashBolt, or think it sounds too good to be true, what would you tell them?

Re-Read what Jeff Newsom wrote for Walter’s.  He’s the sales manager for a well-regarded hauler.  Read some of our other hauler client’s testimonials on our homepage, www.trashbolt.com. 

TrashBolt is the real deal. We have never lost a client.  Once deployed, TrashBolt simply brings too much value to a hauler for them to even consider switching off. 

Deploying TrashBolt doesn’t require any special skills on the part of the hauler.  We do the work.  We setup and deploy the system.  From the hauler’s perspective, it’s easy; turnkey. 

We are a dedicated team that delivers exactly what is promised.  I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished.

Waste360: Do you think the industry needs to use more contactless technology going forward? To gain efficiencies, for safety, etc.? Has the pandemic proven this?

Of course I do!  It’s not just because that’s what we sell; automated online signup.  It’s because this is how shoppers shop.  I’ve said it before: Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world (trading places with Bill Gates for no. 1) because he built a great online shopping cart. 

TrashBolt is a shopping cart built specifically for haulers.  The pandemic has brought what we do into further focus and created more demand for it.  But, even without a pandemic to consider, haulers must not ignore how buyers buy. They must offer the ability to signup and pay for new service on their website.  This is what TrashBolt is all about.