Girl Scout Cookies are absolutely delicious, but there’s so much more to it than that! Girls participating in the Cookie Program learn five critical skills: Goal Setting, Decision Making, Money Management, People Skills and Business Ethics. Our objective is to teach girls financial literacy so that they: Learn to use money wisely to reach both current and long-term goals; Become educated consumers who can assess advertising claims and sales pitches; Develop business skills necessary to succeed in the workplace; and become independent women who can support themselves and give back to their communities.

Cookie booths are an awesome way to put these skills into practice! Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you are making your sales:

1. Greet customers with a smile: Pull your customers in with a great display and a big smile that says “I’m here to help!” This sets the stage for a pleasant interaction between you and your customers.
2. Let them know what they are getting: Since there are two bakeries, some customers might not be familiar with our cookie names. Be prepared to explain each cookie variety, and also be able to answer questions about nutrition. Click here for a cookie nutrition cheat sheet!
3. Pre-Bundle: By bundling several packages together with themes like Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Happy Holidays, Chocolate lover’s Combo, Peanut Butter lover’s combo, traditional 5 flavors, etc you can encourage customers to purchase more cookies and make their purchasing decisions easier. Use pretty bows and ties to make them even more appealing to customers!
4. Say thank you: This is a simple but important step in business. Let your customers know that you appreciate them and that they are helping you achieve your goals. If you’re participating in the online sale, you can even have thank you notes on hand with the link to your online sale so they can easily purchase more cookies later!
5. Utilize the element of surprise: With the holidays coming up, consider handing out recipe cards with your cookies. This will let your customers know that you care about their business and are serious about meeting your goals. Customers will be pleasantly surprised when they see that you have gone the extra mile.

Want to boost your online sales? Consider making a video like this one by GSCM Cookie Boss, Morgan!

Don’t forget, there are still rewards available to girls (and adults) who meet cookie boxes sold requirements.

Did you know?

Many of today’s successful women got their leadership starts by selling cookies. In fact, over 60 percent of women leaders in the United States were once Girl Scouts! News anchor Katie Couric, labor leader, Linda Chavez-Thompson, and Mrs. Fields® Cookies founder Debbi Fields are but a few on the long list of amazing women who were part of this longstanding tradition.