Dive Brief:

• Gopher Leads is immersing itself in the waste industry to test its new digital "lead generation" technology in the U.S. and Canada. The app, intended to help sales and front-line teams (such as truck drivers) work together to bring in new business, enables users to capture new leads through mobile tools as opposed to a pen and paper. Drivers or sales staff then receive immediate monetary rewards through a secure e-wallet during each stage of the lead generation, as reported in a press statement.
• Gopher Leads, backed by Canadian-based Extreme Venture Partners, manages the sales campaign from launch to completion in order to maintain active, current leads. Components are a downloadable mobile application for front-line workers and a browser-based customer relationship management (CRM) system for managers and the sales force. 
• The automated platform will be released to market in May 2016.

Dive Insight:

Securing a sale and holding onto the contract are largely about direct communication with customers, and knowing those customers and their needs. But technology can provide one more tool to land the sale and foster that critical communication. The idea behind Gopher Leads is that the whole team has insight that can benefit a company’s bottom line, including trash truck drivers and sales reps who know the territory.

"[These staff] ... see what's new or changing: a business opening up, or a company that clearly isn't getting good service," said Sahand Sojoodi, Gopher Leads CEO and co-founder, in a statement. "...We created Gopher Leads to make getting solid leads easier for companies. What better way to gain new prospects than by empowering your front-line workforce — the people who interact with customers on their routes every day?"

He added that the technology comes with the benefit of fostering a positive company culture as departments are rewarded for working together.

"No more 'us versus them.' Organizations are now working as one team," he said.