Lessons from Selling Girl Cookies

As a second year Daisy, our daughter participated in selling girl scout cookies.  Our daughter could have made sale by just being cute. She's a good natured seven year old and all the neighbors think she is adorable, which she is.  However, we used the opportunity for teaching her some life skills.  Although there was signficant resistance at first, our daughter did take our guidance and probably ended selling more cookies.  Here is what she learned:

Prepare a good sales pitch.   Our daughter's sales pitch was, "Do you want to buy some Girl Scout cookies?"   We coached her to introduce herself, explain why here troop was selling cookies and the ask about buying cookies.  Her final sales pitch was, " Hi, I'm (Name).  We are trying to raise money for a camping trip.  Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?"  We practiced the line a few times with her and then visited 3-4 houses an evening.

Thank the customers.  Since the customers were supporting the Girl Scouts, our daughter thanked them twice:  once after the order and once after the delivery.

Make timely deliveries.  Our daughter started delivering cookies soon after receiving them.  She called each customer to schedule a delivery, leaving messages  for those that weren't home.  Some customers called back and for the others, our daughter made a followup calls as needed.

Overall our daughter sold a little over 50 boxes of cookies.  A good showing for her first time.  In addition, she started learning some communication and selling skills.

For more on Crossing Generations, check back every Thursday for a new segment.

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