Girl Scout Product Sales!

Product Sale Information

To participate in product sales, your troop needs to be registered (this includes the Leaders, Sales Manager, and every girl selling). The Troop Sales Manager needs to attend one of the trainings, no matter how many product sales trainings they have attended in the past. See our council's product sales pages for details about the sales and about training.

Visit the

Take 5 Proven Steps to Product Sale Success!

(from a Little Brownie pitch at a Product Sales Managers Conference a few years back)

Set - and Share - Troop/Group Goals
Set - and Share - Personal Goals
Hold a Family Meeting
Sell Beyond Family and Friends!
Check Your Progress One Week Into the Sale

How can these help? (Our comments again, not Little Brownie's)

If the troop has a goal, it's easier to work up enthusiam
If the girl's buy into the troop goal, it's far easier to set a high personal sales goal.
Consider a personal non-sales goal:
- I will call on four neighbors I don't know (following the rules in Safety-Wise, of course!)
- I will make at least five telephone calls to try to get pre-orders that way (many girls -- and adults! -- find this very difficult.)
Family Meeting -- two senses here. The girls' families should know what's going on, and their involvement can be more than just signing the permission slip. They can suggest other people their daughter might try to sell to, and can help out at store sales. The troop cookie "mom" should meet with the parents and make sure they understand all the rules/details.
Selling beyond family and friends -- no one has gone door-to-door in my neighborhood for years! If I weren't a "cookie mom", I'd be starved for Girl Scout cookies!
By checking the progress of each girl one week into the sale, she can be reminded of the sale -- many of them don't enjoy the selling part very much, and would just as soon forget about it. Once started, they do well. Also, problems can be caught early this way.

A "Cookie Mom's" Tips for a Successful Product Sale

or

How Not to Get Stuck!

On Pre-orders...

Check to see that each order has some sort of address -- is it a real order?
Question large orders to one person or to the girl's family -- they may be picking up product on speculation. (Are they really PRE-orders, or are you or they risking getting stuck?)
Don't give out all of the pre-orders at once if a girl has a lot -- get some money back first (Pay as you go!)

If you're having one sale...

Use council records to see what the sales rate is likely to be -- order light!
Schedule your sale for the first weekend -- this gives you time to make adjustments
Consider not distributing all of your pre-orders, particularly your own -- you can sell them if necessary, and make it up at the cupboard (No, they won't run out of product
Schedule a second sale, and cancel it if you sell out. (Helps in case it rains on the first sale!)

If you're having several sales...

Use council records to determine the likely sales rate -- don't be optimistic!
Order only enough for the first sale -- you'll have the opportunity to restock at the cupboard (No, they won't run out of product!)
Taper off before the end of sales.

If the worst happens...

CALL YOUR GEO EARLY! -- S/he may know who needs more product.
Call the Product Sales Manager at the council office (X-209) -- believe it or not, she's seen your situation before, and may have suggestions that wouldn't occur to you.
Keep on top of it -- you should know if you're going to be in trouble after the first weekend. (Again, be honest, not wildly optimistic!)
Get rid of excess at the cupboard before the second weekend. You can always get more there later, and it will be easier to get rid of them then than later in the sale.
At the cupboard, you'll have to trade them Troop-to-Troop -- the cupboard won't take them back. Let the workers at the cupboard know you've got cookies to get rid of, and they'll steer people to you first before filling orders from the cupboard.

...and now a word from our council...

Store Sale Tips

Train the parents who will be working at the store sales
Girls should be in uniform or wearing Girl Scout pins
No eating while selling
No tagalongs (except cookies, during a cookie sale!)
Bring a cash box with enough change for each door
Check out the store site ahead of time
Bring a table and chairs for each door
Bring worksheet for tracking amount of product sold
2 adults and 2 girls per door
Only approach customers to buy on their way OUT of the business
Yes, accept donations -- but don't solicit them
Adults should handle cash boxes
Have other adults on hand to pick up more product from the cupboard if you run short during the store sale. Also have an adult available to bank large amounts of cash you receive at store sales.
Is there an overhang in case of rain? Make sure you protect the product. You might want to bring tarps or plastic bags for covering the product during the sale and while loading and unloading from car to store sale.
Clean up and take empty boxes with you -- don't leave them at the stores, or fill the store's trash containers with them. The cupboard can always use empty boxes, and most cities in our council recycle them.
Thank the store manager when your sale is over.

Alternate Product Sale Plans

Sell door-to-door with product in hand. (This can be done as an alternative to store sales with a "supply mom" driving door-to-door)
Sell at churches. Check with the pastor ahead of time and share the time slots with other troops at the church
Sell additional boxes at work with product in hand
Sign up for extra store sales ahead of time in case of rainout -- and cancel them if you don't need them!

Be creative!

Be resourceful!

Share your ideas!