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Selling Girl Scout CookiesŪ is exciting—it's
like having a troop business. And this business-training activity can be a lot of fun.
People in business often use a "portfolio."
A portfolio is a place to keep notes, charts, plans, and other business materials. As you complete this Try-It, you can fill
your "portfolio" with each activity. Your Brownie Girl Scout Cookie activity portfolio could contain:
· A list of
troop goals
· A list of
personal goals
· An appointment
book that includes your customers' addresses and phone numbers
· Notes and
charts
· Girl Scout
Cookie order form
· Cookie descriptions
· Your selling
pitch
· Thank-you
cards
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1. Create a Cookie Portfolio 1-8-08
You can use a see-through plastic case, a zippered case, a folder you decorate, or
even a box. Make sure it is big enough to keep your Girl Scout Cookie order form in it.
2. Planning Your Girl Scout Cookie Adventure
Girl Scout Cookie time is a busy time. How will you get everything done? Close your
eyes and take a few minutes to think about all you want to do. What about selling cookies will be the most fun? Now, write
about or draw a picture of your own cookie adventure story with yourself as the main character. Then talk with your Girl Scout
leader, other girls in your group, or a family member about how you can make that happen. You can title your story: "My Brownie
Girl Scout Cookie Adventure…"
3. Making Your Sales Pitch
A good businessperson knows her products well. Do you know the Girl Scout Cookies
you're trying to sell? Can you describe them?
How can you make a cookie sound so yummy that your customer can't help but buy at
least one box? Have a cookie-tasting meeting! As you taste each cookie, fill in a chart like the one below with a "sales pitch."
A sales pitch has words you would use to get people excited enough to buy your product. Below are some phrases that may describe
the cookies you like. Choose a column to write them in. Then, in your own words, make each cookie sound yummy. Ask two friends
to fill in the chart with you.
melt in your
mouth |
yummy for the
tummy |
chocolaty sweet |
crunchy delicious |
smooth as satin |
rich & gooey |
Name of Cookie |
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You |
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Friend #1 |
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Friend #2 |
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Now, role-play your "sales pitch" with a partner. One person is the customer. The
other is selling cookies. The seller should try to make the cookies sound so good that the customer wants to buy some boxes.
4. Finding Your Way Through the Safety Maze
Everyone who has a business knows it is important to stay safe. When you sell Girl
Scout Cookies, you need to make sure you stay safe.
Seana, Rosie, and Aunt Mary are on their way to sell Girl Scout Cookies. They have
a lot of decisions to make. You can help them make decisions.
1. Seana, Rosie, and Aunt Mary have to cross
Main Street, a busy street. Should they: A. Go out of their way to cross the street at the light? B. Save
time by crossing in the middle of the street when the traffic slows down?
2. While walking along Main Street, they
see a dog tied to a pole. He is angry and barking and straining to get loose from the rope around his neck. Should they: A.
Run past the dog? B. Cross the street at the nearest light to avoid the dog?
3. Seana, Rosie, and Aunt Mary have only
three more neighbors to sell cookies to but it's getting dark. Should they: A. Continue on until they are finished
since they only have three left? B. Return home immediately before it gets dark?
4. They have done so well, and it's still daylight. They want to sell cookies in a neighborhood they don't
know very well. What should they do? A. Since it's daylight, they should continue selling cookies. B.
Because they are strangers in the neighborhood, they should go home. Aunt Mary can find out about the new neighborhood for
them.
Talk about the choices you made. See answers at end.
5. Contacting Potential Customers
Plan a schedule for your customer visits. Use a notebook to keep track of addresses
and phone numbers. Create a section in which to write notes about the phone calls and visits you make. Make at least two appointments
to begin your book. Make notes after each appointment. Talk about what happened at your next troop meeting. Everyone can learn
and improve their sales pitch by these group discussions.
Sample schedule:
ANGELA'S APPOINTMENT SCHEDULE |
Day |
Time |
Business/Person |
What Happened? |
Sat. |
2:00 p.m. |
ABC Cleaners
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Sat. |
Sat. 3:00 p.m.
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Aunt Ruby |
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Sun. |
Sun. 1:30 p.m. |
Delicious Pizzeria |
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Mon. |
4:00 p.m. |
Mr. Gonzales,
Mom's boss |
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6. What Do You Say?
What do you say to your customer? Role-play these
situations with one other person. Take turns being the customer and the salesperson.
What do you say when:
· the
customer is in a hurry?
· you
forget your cookie order forms or can't remember the price per box?
· you
are trying to get people to stop by your booth in the mall?
· the
customer isn't sure which cookies to buy?
· the customer asks you what you will do with the money your troop receives from this activity?
7. Making Change
Did you know that there are 294 ways to make change for a dollar? Wow, that's a lot.
You will have to make a lot of change when you sell cookies. Here's a chance to practice. With a friend or an adult, figure
out at least 10 different ways of making change for a dollar.
8. Talking the Business Talk
Learn the words on this business vocabulary list. Make up a skit where you use most
of the words.
Business Vocabulary List
business: a unit of work planned to meet a goal
or goals; a systematic purposeful activity; an immediate task
portfolio: a portable case
containing business or financial papers (your portfolio might contain your cookie order form, copies of receipts, and a list
of possible customers)
goal: end towards which effort is directed;
what you want to achieve (how many boxes of cookies do we need to sell to reach our goal?)
chart: a diagram, graph, or other display that
presents a set of facts in a specific format
sales pitch: a strong speech
to try to convince customers to purchase a product or service (the talking points you will use when you try to sell cookies
to your neighbor)
price: what the product or service costs
customer: person you want
to sell your product to
product: the item or service you want your customers
to use or purchase (right now, the service you are selling is Girl Scouting and the product you are selling is Girl Scout
Cookies)
OR:
Using most of the words in your business vocabulary list, complete the crossword
puzzle:
ACROSS
1. What you want people to do with your cookies 2. My favorite cookies are Thin
______ 5. A career in selling? 6. The people you sell your cookies to 7. Compliments you get for doing a good job
(rhymes with "raises") 8. Holds notes and information
DOWN
1. Work you do to make money 3. What people want to know when they ask "How much?" 4.
Set good ones you think you can make 6. A graph with information on it
(See Notes for Leaders section for answers)
Notes for Leaders
Smart Cookie, one of the Brownie Girl Scout Try-Its, introduces girls to the world
of business and the fun of selling Girl Scout Cookies. It begins with girls planning their Girl Scout Cookie adventure. The
activities that are part of this Try-It prompt girls to set goals, prepare sales pitches, and think through challenging situations.
They also have an opportunity to "talk shop" with their new business vocabulary and help develop lists of potential customers.
The notes and charts in these activities, along with each girl's cookie order forms
and her appointment book, will become a "portfolio," one of the words girls will learn. The concept of a portfolio can be
made clear by having available a folder of organized materials. Girls will soon discover that this organizing tool will help
them keep track of their customers, cookie orders, and their troop and individual goals.
You can also encourage girls to create charts similar to the one presented in this
award. It is fine to create different types of charts for the entire troop. If the chart is posted on a wall or bulletin board,
girls will have visual evidence of the work they have put into their cookie activities.
Girls can create role-playing scenes that require them to use their new business
vocabulary. In addition to the new business terminology, the skill of keeping an appointment schedule (Activity 5) will be
new to most girls. This is an excellent skill for young girls to learn. They can maintain an index card on each business,
and possibly each individual customer they have. This will help them create a record of their customers for next year.
With adult guidance, and by completing four of the following activities, Brownie
Girl Scouts will enjoy earning their Smart Cookie Try-It.
Answers
#4: Finding Your Way Answers
1. A; 2. B; 3. B; 4. B
#8: Talking the Business Talk Puzzle Solution
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