One way to use Local Lead Finder. Local Lead Finder is a $10 Google Sheets template I built that turns any Google Maps search into a lead list: every business, with phone, website, rating and reviews. This post is one use case for it: getting junk removal jobs. I’m not a junk hauler; this is the playbook I’d follow if I were, run for real with the template. Other ways to use it are listed at the end, or see all 18 lead generation ideas.
You’ve got a truck and you can haul. The hard part is getting junk removal jobs that keep coming back, not one garage cleanout and then nothing. Search “how to get junk removal jobs” and page 1 is Reddit threads saying post on Facebook Marketplace with before and after photos, apps that let you apply to join and accept the jobs they send you, job boards for working for someone else’s crew, and bid sites for hauling leads. Nobody tells you who has junk to haul every single month.
So here’s exactly what I’d do this week if I were starting junk removal in Minneapolis. I ran it for real with Local Lead Finder, a $10 Google Sheet I built that pulls every business on Google Maps into a spreadsheet. By the end you’ll have 255 property management companies, the 35 rental and apartment managers to call first, the suburbs to work, and the message I’d send them.
TL;DR
- One search across 87 Minneapolis areas found 255 property management companies, and 35 manage rentals, apartments or housing by name.
- Call the biggest rental managers first, like RENOSY with 1,718 reviews, because more tenants means more move-outs.
- Don’t search before Find Areas finishes, because mine started at 87 areas and grew to 150 after I’d searched.
Who this is for
- Junk removal business owner: you get the property managers who need cleanouts every time a tenant moves out, not one-off homeowner jobs.
- Someone starting a junk removal business: you get 255 names to call this week instead of waiting on Marketplace posts.
- Hauling contractor with a truck or trailer: apartment move-outs are steady hauling work, and this finds who books it.
- Handyman: the same rental managers who need a unit cleared out often need small repairs before the next tenant moves in.
- Move-out cleaning service: you get the same rental managers, and you can pitch the cleanout and the clean together.
Before you start
- A Google Places API (New) key
- Local Lead Finder set up in your Google Drive
- Local Lead Finder itself
- Your region, like Minneapolis, Minnesota
- A flat rate per unit you’re happy to quote
- A short outreach message that asks one question
Don’t have a Places API key yet? How to get one free. Haven’t set up the sheet? Setup takes 5 minutes.
The run
Region: Minneapolis, Minnesota. Find Areas filled the AREAS tab with the suburbs and neighborhoods around the city, every one ticked.
One thing I got wrong: Find Areas writes the first batch, then keeps working in the background. I searched when 87 areas were in the tab, and it finished at 150. Everything below is from the 87. Wait for it to finish before you search.
Then Search in All AREAS with one keyword: property management company.
I added a tab with a few formulas to count what came back.
255 property management companies. Here’s what’s in the list:
- Median 25 reviews. 160 have fewer than 50 reviews.
- 35 are rental, apartment or housing managers by name.
- 106 are outside Minneapolis and St Paul.
- 43 have no website listed on Google.
- 81 are rated 4.5 or higher, and 85 are rated under 3.5.
Why property managers mean junk removal jobs
Every time a tenant moves out, someone has to clear what they left behind. The couch, the mattress, the bags in the closet. The property manager has to get the unit ready for the next tenant, and they can’t rent it with a couch in it.
A homeowner calls you once. A property manager has move-outs every month, across every building they run. Win one manager and you can get a cleanout every time one of their units turns over.
Why here the big rental managers are the best leads
This is the opposite of what I’d do for lawn care. In the landscaping version of this list, I said skip the big names at the top and start with the small managers, because the big ones probably already have a landscaping vendor.
For junk removal I’d start at the top. More units means more move-outs, and more move-outs means more cleanouts. A lawn is one contract a season. A big rental manager has units turning over all year, and even if they already have a hauler, a second one who can come the same week is useful when the first is booked.
Sorted by number of reviews, the biggest companies come first:
=QUERY('property management company (AREAS)'!A1:J256,"select A, D, E, B, J where A is not null order by E desc limit 20",1)
The ones I’d call first:
- RENOSY by Renters Warehouse: 1,718 reviews
- Housing Hub: 1,522 reviews
- KRC Apartments: 1,104 reviews
- Mauzy Properties: 874 reviews
Reviews of property managers are mostly written by tenants. That’s exactly why a big review count is a good sign here: lots of reviews usually means lots of tenants, and lots of tenants means lots of move-outs.
The 35 rental and apartment managers
Not every property manager runs rentals. Some manage HOAs, condos or offices, where nobody moves out on the 1st of the month. So I matched names for rental, apartment and housing, and got 35.
That’s your first call list. Start with the biggest, then work down.
It’s a name match, so it misses some. Mauzy Properties doesn’t say “rental” in its name, and it’s one of the big ones. Read the full list of 255 for names you recognize from apartment signs around town.
Then the suburbs
106 of the 255 are outside Minneapolis and St Paul.
=QUERY({ARRAYFORMULA(IFERROR(TRIM(REGEXEXTRACT('property management company (AREAS)'!C2:C256,"([^,]+), MN")),""))},"select Col1, count(Col1) where Col1 <> '' and Col1 <> 'Minneapolis' and Col1 <> 'St Paul' group by Col1 order by count(Col1) desc")
St Louis Park 14, Edina 12, Golden Valley 9 and Hopkins 8 sit right next to each other on the west side. That’s 43 property managers in four neighboring suburbs. Once you have a couple of the big rental managers, these are where I’d fill in the week: short drives between jobs.
The message
Set this as the WhatsApp message in SETTINGS, and every row gets a link that opens with it filled in:
Hi! When a tenant leaves stuff behind, who hauls it? I can do same-week cleanouts at a flat rate per unit, anywhere around [suburb].
It asks one question the manager already has an answer to, and the answer is either a name (your competition) or “nobody good” (your opening). A flat rate per unit makes it easy to say yes without a quote every time.
“The key to life is to give yourself chances.” (Nick Huber, Think slow, work fast)
Every message is a chance, and 35 rental managers is 35 chances, each with another move-out coming next month.
Then work down the list. Mark each one Outreached so it turns green and you never message a manager twice.
Step by step
- Get a Places API key and set up Local Lead Finder.
- Put Minneapolis, Minnesota (or your city) in SETTINGS > Region and run Find Areas.
- Wait for Find Areas to finish before you search.
- Search “property management company” in all areas.
- Sort by reviews and pull out the rental, apartment and housing managers first.
- Call the biggest rental managers first, then the rest of the 35.
- Count managers by suburb and fill your week in two or three neighboring suburbs.
- Set your WhatsApp message, message down the list, and mark each one Outreached.
Common pitfalls
- Searching before Find Areas finishes: it keeps working in the background. Mine grew from 87 areas to 150 after I’d started searching, so wait for it to finish.
- Starting with the small managers: that’s the right move for landscaping, not junk removal. For cleanouts, more units means more move-outs, so call the big rental managers first.
- Matching rental managers by name only: my name match found 35, but Mauzy Properties, one of the biggest, doesn’t say “rental” in its name. Read the full list too.
- Skipping a manager because of a low rating: 85 are rated under 3.5, but property manager reviews are mostly tenants. A low rating doesn’t tell you how they treat vendors.
- Assuming no website means no business: 43 have no website listed on Google. Call the phone number instead.
- Searching a big city without checking the cost: each area is one Google Places request per results page. The sheet shows the most a search could cost before it runs.
- Forgetting to mark Outreached: if you also pitch these managers for other work, Outreached rows stay green in every future search, so you won’t message anyone twice.
Learn the Google Sheets formulas in this post
- How To Sort A Filter: sorting the list so the most-reviewed property managers come first, like the first QUERY does.
- 3 Ways to Count in Google Sheets: the counting behind the summary, like 160 managers under 50 reviews and 43 with no website.
- Use Min and Max for More Average Averages: why the summary uses a median of 25 reviews instead of an average skewed by RENOSY’s 1,718.
- 200 REGEXMATCH Examples in Google Sheets: the kind of name match that pulls out the 35 rental, apartment and housing managers.
- Clean Up Names in a List: tidying text with TRIM, like the formula that pulls the suburb out of each address.
Better Sheets has hundreds more tutorials like these. If you want to get better at Google Sheets, join Better Sheets.
Other ways to use Local Lead Finder
- Property Management Companies in Minneapolis: all 255, ranked by reviews: for landlords, HOA boards and vendors who want the whole list.
- How to Get Landscaping Contracts: 255 Minneapolis property managers: for lawn care and landscaping companies after commercial work.
- How to Get Commercial Cleaning Contracts: property managers and plazas: for commercial cleaners and janitorial crews.
- How to Get Bookkeeping Clients: 25 small plumbers in Boise: for bookkeepers, VAs and answering services looking for small trades clients.
All 18, grouped by who they’re for: Lead generation ideas: 18 local businesses to sell to.
FAQ
How do I get junk removal jobs?
Go to the people who have junk every month: property managers. Every tenant move-out leaves something behind. Around Minneapolis, one Local Lead Finder search found 255 property management companies, 35 of them rental, apartment or housing managers by name.
How do I start a junk removal business and get my first customers?
Pick one city, pull every property manager into a sheet, and message the big rental managers first with a flat rate per unit. One yes from a manager with lots of tenants can mean a cleanout every month.
Why call the biggest property managers first?
More units means more move-outs. RENOSY by Renters Warehouse has 1,718 Google reviews and Housing Hub has 1,522, and reviews of property managers are mostly from tenants. Lots of tenants, lots of cleanouts.
Can I use the same list to find handyman jobs?
Yes. Rental managers need units fixed up between tenants as well as cleared out. Use the same 255 and change the WhatsApp message to say what you fix.
How do I keep track of who I’ve messaged?
Mark each one Outreached from the Find Leads menu. The row turns green, gets copied to the OUTREACH tab, and stays green in every future search.
How much does a search cost?
Each area is one Google Places request per results page, on your own Places API key. Google gives up to 1,000 searches a month free, and the sheet shows the most a search could cost before it runs.
Is Local Lead Finder a scraper?
No. It uses Google’s official Places API with your own key, and writes the results into your own Google Sheet.
Get the sheet
Local Lead Finder is $10, and free for Better Sheets lifetime members.
