Selling Girl Scout cookies

[nchulka]

I'm wondering how girls sell massive amounts of cookies DD10 is determined to sell 1,000 boxes this year. Sales started 2 weeks ago. We have spend each weekend (this is the 3rd) walking door to door in several neighborhoods. Each Saturday we have walked a solid 6 1/2 hours (10-1,lunch from 1-2,2-5:30), each Sunday we have walked 4 solid hours after morning church and lunch until evening church. We're currently at 693 boxes. I know there are girls who sell several thousand, I'm just trying to figure out how they do it! Her troop will have a booth in March when the cookies come in but each year we only seem to sell about 75 boxes at the booth and that number is divided by all the girls who work it so she only gets about 15 boxes that count toward her total at the booth. She's in 5th grade and this is her last year in scouts and she REALLY wants to get to 1,000! I even ordered magnets with a cute picture of her in her uniform and all of her contact info. We left those on doors where people were not home the first 2 weekends, we only got 2 calls total from that!

 

[Mom_Rides]

I know the girls I was in scouts with (way back when...) who sold tons had parents who worked at large factories.

I think it's fantastic, BTW, that you are going everything you can to help your DD accomplish her goal!

 

[ceecee]

I am a former GS leader and my DD always sold at least 500 (she wanted to get into the 500 club that our council had). She did door to door without much luck, I had to drive her around to deliver them when they came in. One girl's dad worked at a factory and would sell close to 200, one girl's mom sold them on Ebay by the case and did quite well (she didn't know it wasn't allowed!). Most of my girls sold the most at booth sales (Walmart was the big one in this area) and I would divide what we sold at the booth sales by the girls who actually worked them. DD and I did a credit union and did really well like 120 boxes in 4 hours (this was after the cookies were delivered. I was also the cookie mom and had a garage full. We had a flag on the car that said Ask me about GS Cookies and sold some that way as well. One girl went to a gun and knife show and sold some there. If you have two parents who work they can sometimes sell a lot at work. One of my girl's older brothers sold tons to his HS friends...we made him an "honorary Brownie".

 

[crisi]

I know people who do a dozen booths a year. They'll also find opportunities to do "non troop booths" like selling at their church. They'll go to high school sporting events and sell in the bleachers.

 

[mebbradley]

I used to sell over a thousand as a GS.

My mom took the order form to work [private boarding school with no other girl scouts or parents of any] and my aunt would take the form to bingo.

I never ever did door-to-door. I would call my family and go to church and take it with me everywhere.

Now, as a Student-Teacher....I bought 22 boxes this year from my students. I have a policy that if a student asks me to buy cookies or other items like this, I will buy some. I bought 2 from each student!!! :suspect

 

[cinderella97]

I'm the leader of my daughters troop. She sold over 1000 last year. We did booths at the grocery store every weekend. We also did drive thrus. I'm not sure if she will reach that this year. Our council raised the price to $4, the council next door is $3.50. Plus Kroger has us only allowing to sell 2 weekends.

 

[mcraige]

We went to an outdoor mall yesterday, and a lady was pulling a wagon around selling cookies out of it. Not sure how many she sold. Today, I saw a stand outside a drug store, and what looked like a line of people buying them.

Personally, I try to purchase from every Girl Scout that asks me, but ONLY if it is the Girl Scout and not a parent/leader that does the asking. I saw a form at work on Friday, but refused to buy any there since it was the parent trying to sell them.

 

[ktlm]

The girls around here that sell a ton do it by getting permission to set up tables outside of Walmart, grocery stores, book stores etc. There is also one group that set up a table in a parking lot at a busy street corner and held up signs just like kids who do car washes. Those kids sold an absolute ton. Usually a troop or several girls get together and do it and split sales.

 

[beansmom]

i bought cookies today at a 'drive thru' some GS had set up in front of the local bank. Bless their hearts, it was 10* out there today. I bought 5 boxes--i thought those cold souls deserved all my cookie allotment this year.

 

[RachelsMommie]

Post your sales pitch on Facebook...is that allowed? I have friends doing that for their daughters.

 

[anniemck]

Post your sales pitch on Facebook...is that allowed? I have friends doing that for their daughters.

GSUSA says no to Online sales.
My daughters sold over 1000 boxes two years in a row, we set up a drive through in our own driveway and we put signs up at major intersections near the house. This was when we live in Georgia in the 90's. We did troop sales with the whole group when we could get booth time, however that was put together by the service unit, it was a lottery for which store you could get and when, that was such a pain.

 

[mistysue]

Try setting up a booth at a local college or university. My DH says every year there is one at UofM that is so big it looks like one of those fireworks sales tents... and they sell out fast.

The video at the cookie rally this year was about a troop in Ohio who sets up a drive-through in a busy parking lot and sells about 10,000 boxes.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Way back when I was a Girl Scout we didn't do booths that I remember, but the last year I was in we set up a table in the departures area of the airport and sold out in less than an hour! I'm not sure in the post 9/11 world if that's an option, but it worked well.

 

[mjmartin01]

I was very disappointed with the prizes this year and that our council had changed the way you could earn the prizes. Last year it was by how much $ you sold and this year it was by how many boxes you sold. To me, it seemed the prizes were not that easy to get.

I am proud of my daughter because her goal was to sell $500 and she sold $735

 

[crisi]

GSUSA says no to Online sales.
My daughters sold over 1000 boxes two years in a row, we set up a drive through in our own driveway and we put signs up at major intersections near the house. This was when we live in Georgia in the 90's. We did troop sales with the whole group when we could get booth time, however that was put together by the service unit, it was a lottery for which store you could get and when, that was such a pain.

Personal social media is fine according to my council. But since your daughter can't have a facebook account until 13, it leaves social media to the older girls.

 

[MomToOne]

When DD was in Girl Scouts, the only girl in our troop who sold that many did so by selling to private businesses. The businesses would buy a bunch of cases, then give them out to their customers as "customer appreciation" gifts. I think a car repair shop and a real estate office bought most of her cookies from her. Maybe try hitting up a few local businesses with that idea?

 

[richmond282]

I don't think posting on FB would be considered an "online sale" either. You still have to meet them face to face to deliver cookies and receive payment. I'm sure they are referring to craigslist and ebay type sales.

 

[descovy]

I don't think posting on FB would be considered an "online sale" either. You still have to meet them face to face to deliver cookies and receive payment. I'm sure they are referring to craigslist and ebay type sales.

Yup, this is pretty much it.

We sell from ABC bakers. They actually have a whole Flickr account dedicated to FB buttons and cover photos about the sale. Obviously directed at the parents (Buy girl scout cookies from my daughter before I eat them all, for example)

I am a leader/cookie mom/ Service Unit cookie manager. The way I directed folks was to remember still to keep it girl led. For example, you may say on FB "If you are interested in cookies, let me know. I'll have my daughter call/email you."

We have a girl in our Service Unit (of 72 troops) that has sold 3200 boxes just in her initial order. I asked how she does it. Both her parents work from home, so sending it to the office is not in the cards. Honest to goodness, just a lot of foot traffic. She really truly goes door to door, street by street. She keeps track of houses she missed and goes back. Also she keeps her order form from last year and calls old customers up to get their orders. She's in 6th grade, and while her parents are obviously supportive... this is HER hard work and initiative.

I have 3 dds (gr 3, 5, 7) They have lofty goals every year, but every year they go out and they get cold, tired, want to do something else, etc, etc.,

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

You may wish to try large medical office buildings, like medical, dental, and such.

 

[nchulka]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful advise! I especially like the idea of contacting local businesses. I was thinking of collecting donations also that we will take to our local USO. Usually while we are delivering we get individual donations. At every house the person ask how much they owe and DD says something like "your total is 10.50 but if you'd like to pay for an extra box we are donating them to the USO". One year we donated about 70 boxes. Maybe we could do more by combining businesses with the donation idea. Does anyone know if GS cookie donations are tax deductible? When it's just individuals donating one box each it has never come up, but if a business wanted to donate a few cases....