How To Get More Dumpster Rental Leads And Jobs With Dumpsters.com

Introduction

Host: What’s up, guys? This episode of Rolloff Rundowns is a special one. It was filmed at our booth at the Waste Expo show with our new partner, Dumpsters.com. We sat down with Taylor, who’s the Chief Logistics Officer of Dumpsters.com, to talk about this new integration as well as ways that Dumpsters.com can get your dumpster business more rentals.

There’s a little bit of background noise because we’re on the show floor, but I know you’re going to love this episode. So let’s jump right in.

Discussion with Taylor

Host: All right, to kick things off here on the trade show floor of Waste Expo, let’s start with the basics. Can you give listeners a quick overview of what Dumpsters.com is?

Taylor: So, yeah, Dumpsters.com. Our company essentially started in 2009 as a third party, essentially a managed service provider or a waste broker. We worked with local haulers in the Cleveland area market, started brokering out dumpster rental services through Cleveland, and have since expanded. Since then, we rebranded into Dumpsters.com in 2014 and unified as that’s our only brand, our core brand. Just recently, we’ve aligned all of our brands into Dumpsters.com.

For we deal with residential customers, contractors at the local, regional, national level, and we’re a managed service provider for dumpster rentals, portable sanitation services, storage containers, and temporary construction. We work with customers of all sizes based on their individual project needs. And then, on the other side, we work with local hauling companies or site service providers to facilitate those orders and deliver.

Host: Very nice. Why does someone—our customers are rolloff folks—why would they work with you?

Taylor: So, a lot of our customers, or I’m sorry, partners that we work with, vary in size just like our customer base. We work with startup rolloff companies all the way up to the big four national companies. A lot of them, just based on the lead generation that we have through our marketing efforts, our SEO, our paid media efforts, and also our outbound sales efforts. We have a pretty robust sales and marketing team generating a high volume of demand in the individual markets again locally, regionally, and nationally.

So a lot of the way we talk to our partners is to look at us as an extension of your sales or marketing team to help drive a consistent volume. We do it as one seamless customer through that calling company, one simplified billing experience with us. They have a dedicated support team on our end that’s working with them on a day-to-day basis, and we really work to eliminate a lot of the administrative waste that they would otherwise deal with.

Administrative Waste and Integration with Docket

Host: Administrative waste—that is something I’m really excited about talking about. Not administrative waste, but I’m excited because Docket and Dumpsters.com just integrated with each other. We’ve been working on this for a while, and that makes it so much easier to get rid of some of that administrative waste. Can you talk about what it would be like if you didn’t have Dumpsters.com and Docket connected versus having that connection?

Taylor: Yeah, we’re super excited about the integration. It’s been great working with the Docket team and with some pilot calling partners that are mutual partners of ours and customers of Docket. Just starting with the order entry process, we communicate our service request needs through an email communication that has a purchase order attached to it. On the hauler side, they receive that order via email, and then they’d have to go do the manual data entry into the Docket system. From there, they’d assign it to drivers for day-to-day order management.

So, up front, it eliminates that data entry on the order entry side. Then, on the day of the service, it integrates. As the hauling company fulfills that service, it communicates status updates directly back to our system, eliminating the need for a person on their team to communicate it to us or for our team to reach out to inquire about the status. Closing the loop on the back end, upon removal of that service, they can submit invoices, document the weight, any weight tickets, and any other documentation or pictures. All that information is fed seamlessly through the integration into our systems, eliminating the manual nature of all that work on both sides—the hauler side and then on our side.

A lot of benefits, especially for partners that we do more volume with.

Host: But I’m sure that you still want more phone calls, right? Like, “Hey, the dumpster’s there. Hey, the dumpster’s not there. Hey, another email.” So, I’m obviously joking, but this is such a cool thing because automatically you’re going to get those updates without anyone picking up the phone or writing an email. You know that job’s been completed, you know that it’s time to bill, and off you go, the job’s completed.

Taylor: Yeah, and at the end of the day, like most of us personally, think about when you order something off Amazon or any company, you’re expecting the status updates along the way. Those are automatically delivered to you, so you have full visibility. That’s no different for dumpster rental customers. The end customer benefits from real-time status updates as well. So, it’s not only a benefit to our company and our team to eliminate administrative work on our end, but on the hauler’s side, there’s huge value to automatically input that information. They don’t have to field all of the requests, and it syncs over to us. It’s definitely a benefit all the way around the cycle.

Working with Smaller Haulers

Host: Nice. When you’re starting out as a hauler, one of the most common search terms is “dumpster rental leads” in this industry. You guys have relationships, and I think that’s what a lot of people don’t understand about brokers is you’re working with larger construction firms or whatever that want to deal with a single point of contact and not have to deal with someone for their fencing, someone for their dumpster, someone for their portable sanitation. So, they come to you, and you can feed leads through that relationship to haulers.

Let’s start with someone smaller. Let’s say I’m opening up in the Austin area. I’m opening up in the Austin area and need some business. How would a broker help me with that?

Taylor: There are a few different ways. It starts off with the company either inquiring or reaching out to us. Many callers find us through SEO efforts, just like you described from the customer’s perspective. Reaching out, we have a dedicated partnership team that will work with that hauling company to understand what they’re looking to do and what their goals are for their business. Whether they have one truck and 30 dumpsters or 10 trucks and 300 dumpsters or even beyond, we try to understand what their goals are and how we can support them.

If they’re looking to grow and capture new residential work or get into contractor work or more commercial related work, our team will work with them to understand where they want the work, what their capacity is, and then we’ll work with them on a pricing structure that we believe can send the volume they’re looking to attain. Once that gets into our system, that’s how we can seamlessly send to that.

Pricing Structure

Host: Pricing is something that comes up a lot. Can you say more about how the pricing structure is agreed upon?

Taylor: It all depends, and it starts at the market level. Wherever the hauler is, their disposal capabilities are it’s a split between they either pay a flat rate by yard at the disposal facility or they pay a per ton rate. Understanding where they’re disposing their material starts the conversation. From there, we move into a customized approach that gives our company the flexibility to drive the volume that the hauling company is looking to work with.

For a residential customer, we might structure the pricing to that customer a little differently than larger PCs going through a commercial project with multiple swaps a day. It really is customized down to that individual market level and based on what the hauler’s capabilities are.

Handling Seasonality

Host: What about seasonality? There are times when it’s harder to get leads, harder to get business, and from a hauler’s perspective, you could be small or large and still suffer from the seasonality aspect of this game. Can you talk about how Dumpsters.com can help haulers keep things more even during those slow times?

Taylor: I think the whole country definitely had a harder Q1 this year with the winter weather, and it’s changed versus the past five to ten years of winter weather we’ve experienced across the country. This year is a perfect example. Previous years have been more consistent and smoother weather throughout the year. Based on the customer base we’ve set up, we really have diversified.

Because of our diversification, we go with the ebbs and flows of the business volume. We’ll have permanent customers with warehouses or manufacturing facilities needing consistent service weekly, regardless of weather. Then we’ll work with residential customers doing spring cleaning, fall cleanup, or summer renovation projects. Maybe a slowdown in the winter. Based on the variety of customers and larger distribution centers, Amazon builds, and targets, those different construction projects take place throughout the year, lasting anywhere from six months up to 36 months. Those have a consistent stream of work and needs for dumpster services throughout the year.

Ultimately, our diversification of our customer base helps keep a consistent stream of business throughout the year.

Building Relationships with Large Companies

Host: You brought up Target there, and I want to double down on, to get that kind of relationship if you’re a smaller business with 50 cans or even 500 cans, it’s still very hard. That’s another example of how business could be steadier throughout the year because you’re using a broker with those established relationships. So, I think that’s really neat.

Taylor: Absolutely. And you also mentioned winter weather this year. We’re recording this in May 2025 in Las Vegas. It’s not snowing, so that’s a good thing. But this year has been pretty weird. What are some of the trends you guys have seen so far this year?

Trends and Challenges

Taylor: Going back to the beginning of the year, early January started smooth, but there was that frost and freeze that essentially hit across the entire country. We saw the second or third week of January on the west coast, and it made its way all the way to the east coast going into early February. That definitely had an impact and a slowdown on projects of all sizes. That was a bit of an outlier for us compared to previous years.

During that time, our teams worked with those customers—projects didn’t cancel; they were put on hold. We stayed in touch with those customers to ensure a seamless startup when the weather cleared up. It was a little bit more of a pent-up demand at that point versus projects being entirely canceled. Based on trends, we’re seeing the volume of bigger construction projects starting to ramp up now—slower than in previous years, but they’re really starting to hit now that the weather across the country is beginning to stabilize.

Host: Got it. Well, thank God for that, because it was a weird beginning of the year.

Taylor: Yeah, very strange.

Success Story

Host: You guys have worked with thousands of customers. What’s a success story that stands out to you?

Taylor: This one will go way back. They’re still a customer of ours. They buy up foreclosed properties, flip and renovate them, and then sell. They need a high volume of dumpsters scattered across several states. Starting with them in the southern Ohio market, by giving them a dedicated point of contact on our side that had an account manager understanding their project needs, we were able to get them done with a quick turnaround because of our networks of partners.

We provided a consistent level of service that allowed them to grow significantly year-over-year. We’ve been working with them for 10 to 15 years, and their volume has only grown because they can rely on us more rather than source hundreds of different hauling companies. We’ve been able to provide a seamless single point of contact and a more touchless order experience for that customer, similar to the integration we’re excited for with Docket for our hauling partners.

Technology Trends

Host: Speaking of technology, we’re excited about this integration. What else are you seeing trend-wise in technology that has helped haulers?

Taylor: As you can see on the floor here, the technology and software companies supporting hauling companies have definitely grown. We’re seeing a lot more software companies picking up—even on the scale side. When drivers go to waste disposal facilities, technology helps automate processes. So, from the hauler’s perspective, many different software capabilities and technology capabilities really help them enhance operations, become more efficient, and more effective. We’re seeing haulers move away from whiteboards, pen and paper, and sticky notes.

But we still travel and meet with haulers operating out there, and we encourage our partners to explore technology opportunities to keep up with the latest trends.

Host: I would expect that when you’re working with a hauler using a lightboard versus software, it’s easier recording-wise and whatnot. Especially if you’re looking at your business with Dumpsters.com for the year or want to grow, it’s really hard to do that with whiteboards and note cards.

Taylor: Absolutely. In fact, we’re a hauling company ourselves in Cleveland, Ohio. We have 20 trucks and roughly a thousand rollout bins. We started with three trucks and 150 dumpsters. We started with software right away. If we hadn’t, trying to implement it later would have been challenging. We still would have done it to scale up. All that paperwork, keeping up the tracking and reporting, and the end customer needing more requests for reporting and visibility into waste management, trying to keep that on a whiteboard or stack of papers can be very challenging.

Broker Relationship Advice

Host: This next question is going to be different for everyone depending on where they are in their business stage, but if you’re just starting out, is it fair to say that having a larger percentage of leads coming from brokers is a good way to jump-start your business? And then, as you grow, is there a percentage that helps keep that seasonality or a steady stream of business? What have you seen percentage-wise of their customers versus leads they get from you?

Taylor: It definitely varies. Just as I described our customer diversification, I think it’s good for all businesses to diversify so they’re not putting all their eggs in one basket. Depending on where they are in their startup phase, we might start with 50 to 75, even up to 90% of their work coming through us. I think as they grow, that probably drops to less than 50% as they build their local brand, attracting local residential or contractors we might not work with as closely. Over time, that percentage might go down, but we’ve seen it across the board depending on what that hauler wants. Many prefer to lean into a third-party provider like us because they don’t want to build up office staff or lack a sales team. No wrong answer there.

Expanding Service Areas

Host: Many dumpster companies grow by purchasing others, and you’re moving into a new area. You guys have quite a footprint. How helpful is it to have a relationship with Dumpsters.com if you’re purchasing someone or expanding your service area? How helpful is it to get a jump start by using you to get those leads?

Taylor: Great question. That’s a frequent conversation with many partners. Going back to understanding a company’s goals and plans for growth, we have lots of data down to the zip code, market, region, and state level. We leverage our data for conversations with companies for a better understanding of the market. We’ve deterred haulers from one market to another based on trends.

The power of our data from demand, customer, and project data helps facilitate conversations. We don’t want to obstruct them one way or another, just support conversations if they’re between decisions. We help jump-start their business quickly or advise if a market requires more work from our marketing or outbound sales efforts to help build that up.

Host: I love that you can leverage data. It’s almost like a cheat code for the hauler to say, “Hey, I don’t have the data to look at if this is a good market to move into,” but you might. That’s a real advantage.

Taylor: Yes. Outside of customer data, our team of strategic partnership managers divides the country into four territories. They understand those territories’ states and markets, the layout of disposal facilities and options. So not only our customer data but a good understanding of what’s going on in that market.

Some franchises are different in states, with some heavily franchised markets only allowing one hauling company. Other franchise areas open it up to any haulers with franchising licensing. Our team is well-versed in that market’s understanding, using those insights to help haulers with decisions.

Partnership Process

Host: If someone doesn’t currently work with you—small, medium, large—how do they get in touch with you?

Taylor: There are several ways haulers get in touch. Many find us online, through referrals by another company or hauler, within or outside their market. These companies have networks of friends or acquaintances with their businesses. We get referrals reaching out to us, and we also reach out to companies in various markets to understand their size, scope, scale, and goals to see if they’re a good fit.

For hauling companies reaching out, our strategic partnership managers review requests, asking questions to better understand the size of the company, its capabilities, and capacity. If the hauling company looks to grow, has the capacity, and commits to an agreement with us, that’s what it takes to proceed with conversations about building the custom arrangement.

We need to understand their service area: list of cities, zip codes, a full county, multiple counties, or a certain radius. We commit to an agreed service area. Then we understand their capacity on a daily basis: one or two orders a day, 10, 30, 50 orders a day. What’s their scheduling availability? Same day, next day, weekend availability. Understanding those, and what they’re willing to commit to. Based on those factors and earlier pricing topics, understand what their disposal capabilities are. Those several factors work towards an agreement, then we work to get them implemented into our system, introducing them to our sales and service teams as an available partner to work with and begin.

Conclusion

Host: Lots of good information so far in this episode. If you want to leave our haulers and our audience with one thought, what would it be? What advice would you give about working with a broker like you?

Taylor: Great question. Very similar to our vetting process and working with haulers to understand if they’re a good fit for us, they need to do their homework on brokers as well. Many brokers are out there in the space; we work with many that have provided a great experience, while some haven’t. What we are as a consistent partner to hauling companies is reliable—from our order management, communication process, all the way through payment.

Do your homework, ask questions, understand a broker’s capabilities, reliability, and commitments when exploring that idea. Other risks associated with working with brokers might go through their heads. Could they generate that business themselves within the market? Generate the business from a regional or national perspective to customers they’re generating. Ultimately, the way we operate is trying to develop a custom agreement that works with you. It comes back to what you’re looking for and how we can be a good fit.

Host: Well, if you’re a hauler thinking about working with Dumpsters.com, check them out. They’re the real deal, super nice to work with. It’s all about relationships in this industry. Taylor, thank you so much for this episode, and we’ll see you in the next one.

FAQ

What services does Dumpsters.com offer?

Dumpsters.com provides managed services for dumpster rentals, portable sanitation, storage containers, and temporary construction, catering to residential customers and contractors at local, regional, and national levels.

How does the integration with Docket help reduce administrative waste?

The integration with Docket automates order entry and status updates, eliminating manual data entry and communication, thus reducing administrative waste and improving operational efficiency.

How can smaller haulers benefit from working with Dumpsters.com?

Smaller haulers can leverage Dumpsters.com’s marketing efforts and established relationships to gain leads and grow their business, with customized support based on their goals and capacity.

What role does technology play in improving operations for haulers?

Technology enhances haulers’ operations by automating processes and providing efficient capabilities, helping them move away from manual methods like whiteboards and paper.

How does Dumpsters.com assist haulers facing seasonal fluctuations?

Dumpsters.com helps haulers manage seasonality by diversifying their customer base, providing consistent work through permanent customers and varied projects throughout the year.