How to Sell Girl Scout Cookies
Get your cookie materials., Set goals., Know the cookie-selling rules and safety guidelines, as well as general courtesies., Be prepared to answer questions., Wear your Girl Scout Uniform., Find a clipboard and a pen.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Get your cookie materials.
These usually consist of a few "cookie sheets" (big charts with columns for a buyer's info and each type of cookie, including nutrition facts, used to mark down sales), a prize sheet that shows the incentive prizes and how many boxes you must sell, and you may also wish to receive the requirements to earn a cookie pin.
Cookie pins are diamond shaped pins that go on the uniform, and every year, there are different guidelines to earn one
- taking the cookie sale several steps farther, as one might say. -
Step 2: Set goals.
After looking at the incentives, pick a realistic personal goal (face it, 3000 boxes for a computer probably won't happen), and help pick a troop goal.
Decide what you'll do with the money (donate to a charity... go on a big trip... fund a service project...), and write your goals down on your cookie sheet. , While these are often revised every year, and have probably been changed recently due to the introduction of the Ambassador scouts, the gist of them stays the same.
Do not sell before the sale starts.
The sale in your area should have an official "start date"
and you usually can't sell before 12:01 on that day.
Even if you get your selling materials before then, do not sell a single box before the agreed time and date.
You will get in trouble if busted for this, and may even be banned from selling.
Sell cookies only at the price on the cookie sheet.
In the past, some clusters have had issues with troops adding a few cents or dollars to the cookie prices so as to make more money (troops already get a percentage of the money from sales, but it's only a few cents a box).
Don't do this, as your troop can be banned from selling, and it's unfair to other troops and your customers.
Stay safe.
Scouts from Daisies to Juniors should have parental supervision at all times while selling.
Cadettes to Ambassadors should at least have some kind of adult supervision.
Never enter a house when invited unless you know the person well, and don't walk up to cars to sell on the street.
Stay in "your" territory.
If many scouts live in your neighborhood, stay on your street and the ones near it, provided none of the other scouts live there
- don't go out the first day and hit the whole neighborhood.
Don't sell in other neighborhoods, either, if another scout lives there (an exception being if your parents have a good friend or two who lives somewhere else... sell to them, but not their whole street). , Know how much the cookies cost per box, what cookies are available, be able to give a general description of each cookie to a first-time buyer, know which cookies are new, which ones are fat- or sugar-free, low sugar, don't contain chocolate, etc.
You'll also need to know when the cookies will come in, about when you'll be picking them up, and when you plan to deliver them.
Know how to fill out the cookie sheet.
Many first-time buyers have trouble with this
- more than you might think.
You, yourself, may not actually know what all the boxes are for.
On a typical cookie sheet, there are horizontal rows and vertical columns.
Each person has their "own" row, with columns for their name, address, phone number, each kind of cookie, the total number of boxes, how much they owe, and a box to check off whether they've paid or not.
Use numbers in the colored boxes, not tally marks, as those can get squished together.
Check and double check all the numbers and totals. , This shows that you're actually a girl scout, makes you look more "professional"
and, in the case of little kids, increases the "adorable" factor, which will reel most adults in.
In lieu of a uniform (you don't have one, you lost it, it's filthy... whatever excuse you may have), a Girl Scout t-shirt and nice pants and/or your pins (the piece of felt with your Girl Scout and World Association pins on it) will suffice.
Wearing an outfit that matches your friends' or leaders' attire will create a nice look. , While not "required"
under any circumstances, it's a good idea.
People won't have to write against their door frames or walls, you'll have a writing implement on hand, and all of your materials will be in one place.
You may even wish to tie the pen to the clipboard, to ensure that you don't lose it. -
Step 3: Know the cookie-selling rules and safety guidelines
-
Step 4: as well as general courtesies.
-
Step 5: Be prepared to answer questions.
-
Step 6: Wear your Girl Scout Uniform.
-
Step 7: Find a clipboard and a pen.
Detailed Guide
These usually consist of a few "cookie sheets" (big charts with columns for a buyer's info and each type of cookie, including nutrition facts, used to mark down sales), a prize sheet that shows the incentive prizes and how many boxes you must sell, and you may also wish to receive the requirements to earn a cookie pin.
Cookie pins are diamond shaped pins that go on the uniform, and every year, there are different guidelines to earn one
- taking the cookie sale several steps farther, as one might say.
After looking at the incentives, pick a realistic personal goal (face it, 3000 boxes for a computer probably won't happen), and help pick a troop goal.
Decide what you'll do with the money (donate to a charity... go on a big trip... fund a service project...), and write your goals down on your cookie sheet. , While these are often revised every year, and have probably been changed recently due to the introduction of the Ambassador scouts, the gist of them stays the same.
Do not sell before the sale starts.
The sale in your area should have an official "start date"
and you usually can't sell before 12:01 on that day.
Even if you get your selling materials before then, do not sell a single box before the agreed time and date.
You will get in trouble if busted for this, and may even be banned from selling.
Sell cookies only at the price on the cookie sheet.
In the past, some clusters have had issues with troops adding a few cents or dollars to the cookie prices so as to make more money (troops already get a percentage of the money from sales, but it's only a few cents a box).
Don't do this, as your troop can be banned from selling, and it's unfair to other troops and your customers.
Stay safe.
Scouts from Daisies to Juniors should have parental supervision at all times while selling.
Cadettes to Ambassadors should at least have some kind of adult supervision.
Never enter a house when invited unless you know the person well, and don't walk up to cars to sell on the street.
Stay in "your" territory.
If many scouts live in your neighborhood, stay on your street and the ones near it, provided none of the other scouts live there
- don't go out the first day and hit the whole neighborhood.
Don't sell in other neighborhoods, either, if another scout lives there (an exception being if your parents have a good friend or two who lives somewhere else... sell to them, but not their whole street). , Know how much the cookies cost per box, what cookies are available, be able to give a general description of each cookie to a first-time buyer, know which cookies are new, which ones are fat- or sugar-free, low sugar, don't contain chocolate, etc.
You'll also need to know when the cookies will come in, about when you'll be picking them up, and when you plan to deliver them.
Know how to fill out the cookie sheet.
Many first-time buyers have trouble with this
- more than you might think.
You, yourself, may not actually know what all the boxes are for.
On a typical cookie sheet, there are horizontal rows and vertical columns.
Each person has their "own" row, with columns for their name, address, phone number, each kind of cookie, the total number of boxes, how much they owe, and a box to check off whether they've paid or not.
Use numbers in the colored boxes, not tally marks, as those can get squished together.
Check and double check all the numbers and totals. , This shows that you're actually a girl scout, makes you look more "professional"
and, in the case of little kids, increases the "adorable" factor, which will reel most adults in.
In lieu of a uniform (you don't have one, you lost it, it's filthy... whatever excuse you may have), a Girl Scout t-shirt and nice pants and/or your pins (the piece of felt with your Girl Scout and World Association pins on it) will suffice.
Wearing an outfit that matches your friends' or leaders' attire will create a nice look. , While not "required"
under any circumstances, it's a good idea.
People won't have to write against their door frames or walls, you'll have a writing implement on hand, and all of your materials will be in one place.
You may even wish to tie the pen to the clipboard, to ensure that you don't lose it.
About the Author
Stephen Jordan
Creates helpful guides on creative arts to inspire and educate readers.
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