Preparing for Cookie Season

Take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves and get ready for COOKIE SEASON! It’s time to get the girls EXCITED to sell cookies!

My first troop cookie sale was January 6, 2010. My daughter learned how to speak to her customers, take cookie orders, deliver cookies and receive payments.

These learned life skills make the largest girl-led business in the world extraordinary. As an adult volunteer you provide the girls with training, sale strategies and safety guidelines for successful cookie sales.

Be sure to ASK your service community, troop and Citrus Council for support or assistance throughout the cookie sale. Experienced Cadette/Senior/Ambassador Girl Scouts can attend your troop meetings to help teach the girls cookie basics.

We need to teach our girls to be safe and prepared during cookie season. It’s a good idea to discuss why the Girl Scout Cookie Program Safety Guidelines are important during your troop meeting…and believe me they are.

Have the girls read, accept and sign the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge and Girl Scout Digital Cookie Pledge.

Then, be sure to…

Buddy Up
Partner with Adults
Sell in the Daytime
Have a plan to Safeguard the funds generated
Girls Wear Uniform, its all about presentation

And always remember to…

Protect the Girl’s Privacy
Be Safe on the Road
Be weary of “Do Not Enter” signs
Be Streetwise- corners give you access to two lanes of traffic flow

Setting Goals

Before the cookie sale begins the girls need to set cookie sales goals. Girls need to know how to set and reach goals, not only for the cookie season but to succeed in school, in jobs and in life.

Setting individual girl cookie goals are important to reach your troop goals. When girls set an individual cookie goal you typically see an increase in the number of packages your troop sells overall.

Set goals that are realistic to achieve (they have to learn how to set and keep their own goals). Set mini cookie deadlines on the girls calendar to make regular progress on her goals.

Leverage Resources

Leverage the cookie incentives (patches, stuffed animal, tickets, electronics, etc) to set goals. This will give them something to work towards. You could also select the number of boxes or cases to sell. Have each girl determine their individual cookie sale goals during a troop meeting.

Parents or co-leaders can help the girl set reasonable goals by setting deadlines, “I’m going to send 25 emails to my family and friends by the end of the first week of cookie sales.” Track the goals on a spreadsheet or cookie goal chart.

Whether this is your first cookie sale or you are a cookie expert prepare your girls for the best cookie sale in Citrus Council history!

Online Cookie Resources