During this year’s unprecedented pandemic, Girl Scouts in Middle Tennessee are adapting to sell cookies in innovative ways. Troops are still able to set up in-person cookie booths while following all COVID-19 Cookie Booth & Cupboard Guidelines and GSUSA Safety Tips, and many are even working on ways to ensure customers have a fully contactless experience.
Booth sales officially open on January 31, but to keep your momentum from paper orders, we’ve gathered some top tips from cookie sellers just like you!
- Host a Facebook Live event with your family and friends. This will help to get local and non-local sales!
- Drop an order card to your local Senior Living Centers. See if the facility manager can take orders and payment for the troop ahead of time. Then go back to the location to fill the orders and leave a card for the people in the facility!
- Host a cookie booth in your neighborhood or apartment complex so neighbors and friends can drive by to purchase cookies.
- Host a trunk sale in a busy area – just make sure you have permission to be on the property! Pop your trunk, place a sign, and wait for cars to stop or drive-thru to purchase cookies.
- Partner with a local restaurant and see if you can add cookies for the to-go orders. The business can pre-buy cookies and offer them on their take-out menu.
- Partner with a local flower shop to offer cookies with flowers for Valentine’s Day! The shop can pre-buy cookies or the troops can be there that day as a pop-up booth.
Cookie Program Sales Resources
- Cookie Door Hanger Template
- Cookie Business Card Template
- Tips for Hosting Private Facebook Live and Instagram Live
Cookie Program Sales Tips
- Online Sales
- Share your online SHIPPING ONLY order link and promote that they can order cookies, pay for shipping and receive their cookies in a short time. Shipping ranges from $11 to $60 depending on the area and amount of cookies ordered. If you haven’t received an email (check spam too!), email our team at productprograms@gsmidtn.org and they will get you set up!
- Create a Google Form and share your GIRL-DELIVERED order form with your friends and family, or have them email you with their order. For a fully contactless experience, you can do a porch drop-off of the order, and customers can leave the money in an envelope or pay through Venmo or credit card processing services.
- Booth Sales
In-person booth sales are a great way to increase your troop’s success!
- Possible high-traffic locations include grocery stores, malls, and parks. Remember you must have the appropriate permission from authorities and council before the booth sale, and everyone involved should follow all COVID-19 Cookie Booth & Cupboard Guidelines.
- Create a fully contactless booth experience by offering mobile credit card processing and allowing customers to handle their own box of cookies.
- Help customers find cookie booths nearby by directing them to gsmidtn.org/find-cookies.
- Telephone Sales
It’s fast and easy to sell Girl Scout Cookies® by phone!
- Girls can review order cards from previous years and contact these customers again.
- Once cookies have been delivered, girls may want to call customers, thank them for their orders, and ask if they need additional cookies.
- Try a text-a-thon! Girls may want to text their friends and family to let them know it’s cookie time and to ask for orders.
- Workplace Sales
Girls can contact business owners or managers to request permission to sell Girl Scout Cookies at a workplace.
- Girls can either make a quick “sales pitch” at a staff meeting or make sales calls around the office, depending on the wishes of the business.
- Once employee sales are completed, the business may allow girls to leave an order card in a visible spot or send out a company-wide email. Leave a note from your team outlining their goals and plans for the cookie proceeds. (Remember not to list the girls’ last names or phone numbers on the order card or note). An adult at work may oversee the card, but it is the girl’s responsibility to fill all orders, write thank you notes, and oversee delivery.
- Girls should establish a date and time to pick up the order card and deliver the cookies.
It is not too late to start your cookie program! Email Product Programs