Do Have Cookie Shops!

Did you know?

• Troops that have cookie shops are almost twice as likely to accomplish their goals than troops that don’t.
• Cookie shops usually require fewer hours of adult commitment than door-to-door selling.
• Cookie shops can help your troop reach more customers and thus give girls more opportunities to practice their people skills.
• Whether your cookie shop is a booth in front of a grocery, in a mall, at a community event, or mobile like a Cookie Caravan, there are steps you can take to ensure that your troop’s efforts really pay off.

Be sure to follow your council’s specific guidelines related to cookie shops/booth sales.

5 Easy Steps for your Cookie Shop

Step 1: Pick a place and time when the most people are likely to pass by. If you don’t know when or where that might be, ask store managers about their busiest times, ask event leaders how many people they expect.

Step 2: Stock up! Have plenty of cookies and take orders if you run out. If you worry about getting stuck with leftovers, consider selling your preordered cookies at the shop. You can reorder to fill door-to-door orders.

Step 3: Advertise! It pays. Get the girls involved. Brainstorm ways to attract customers to your cookie shop. Decorate with posters, goal charts, photos of troop activities, balloons, cookie boxes…Hang posters ahead of time announcing your sale. Post arrows directing people to your location.

Step 4: Recruit adult help. It’s important to have enough grown-ups present to insure the safety of the girls (at least two adults). It’s also important that adults don’t take over. Girls learn by doing! Adults are there to provide support - help them understand their role so girls can get the most out of their cookie shop experience.

Step 5: Be prepared. Think of fun ways to practice selling and telling customers about the troop’s plans and goals. Brush up on money-handling skills. Review safety rules. It will help your cookie shop run smoothly and get the girls excited. If approached, most people will buy Girl Scout Cookies. Demand truly exceeds supply! The challenge is getting Girl Scouts in front of customers. Cookie shops can be a fun and easy solution that is win-win for all. Do have at least one!