How to Sell Girl Scout Cookies

The annual Girl Scout cookie sale happens just once a year: Stacks of colorful boxes, a freezer full of Thin Mints and happy little capitalists in green and brown uniforms bloom like May flowers. Here's how the cookie crumbles. (Sorry, only Girl Scouts need apply.)

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Posters
• Tables
• Hotline
• Canopy tent

1. Follow the guidelines set by your troop and local Girl Scout council (girlscoutcookiesabc.com). Pay particular attention to the safety tips when setting up teams and cookie spots.
2. Encourage your sales force to set goals for themselves ("I will sell more boxes than last year and win a badge.") and their troop ("Together we will make enough money to go on a field trip.").
3. Find a high-traffic area (a grocery store's parking lot, a library, a popular park or community center, a mall, a bank on Friday) and get permission to set up a cookie stop there. Make posters to advertise and place them in highly visible locations the week preceding your sale.
4. Schedule girls and parents to work the cookie stop in shifts. Make sure everyone is clear about how to handle money and when to transfer funds to a parent so there's not a brimming cash box in full sight.
5. Be innovative. Some troops set up cookie hotlines to take phone orders (later confirmed by an adult), others set up a drivethrough cookie sale by erecting a canopy tent. Challenge your troop to come up with a great sales plan, and work together to make it happen.

What to Look For:

• Guidelines
• high-traffic area

Tips & Warnings

• There are songs about every variety of Girl Scout cookie on the Internet. Learn a few and liven up your cookie sale.
• E-mail everyone you know and tell them about the sale.
• Remember that safety is the number one priority. Girls should use the buddy system and be clear about never going in someone's home or following them to another location. Set up cash-drop stops so they're not walking around with a lot of money.
• Adults should always be present when Scouts are selling cookies in a public place.