Girl Scouts bring in business strategies to sell famous cookies

It’s that tasty time of year again. Girl Scout cookies have arrived in Danville.

Booth sales began in earnest this past weekend and will run through March 31. A shipment of more than 17,500 boxes of cookies arrived in Danville on Feb. 7 for the city’s nine troops to distribute as they raise money for various trips or projects.

Despite the cold and windy weather, girls in Cadette Troop 152 waved and danced to passersby driving in on Riverside Drive. The three girls, ages 11 through 13, now have several years experience selling cookies and strategized how to rein in customers.

Don’t let their youth and playfulness fool you. These girls know how to close a sale.

“And we look adorable,” 13-year-old Mae Gayle Dalton, of Danville, said.

That’s part of the strategy for Mae Gayle, 11-year-old Olivia Roberts of Pittsylvania County and 12-year-old Lauren Jones of Danville. Lauren couldn’t make the booth sale in front of Betsy’s Place on Saturday.

They dress in colorful, bright clothing for easy spotting by potential customers. Empty cookie boxes are fastened on top of their headbands. Most importantly, they smile and remember to wave.

A series of road signs instruct drivers where to go to buy cookies. Once a driver pulls in, the girls swoop in to provide car-side service.

For customers unsure of what to get, Mae Gayle and Olivia make recommendations based on bestsellers. If a customer looks at a particular box, they’ll tell him how best to eat it, like freezing Thin Mints or making s’mores with the Thanks-A-Lot, which are shortbread cookies with chocolate on one side.

In fact, they remind customers all cookies are freezable if they want to stock up, as sales are for a limited time only.

Oh, and not having cash on hand can’t be an excuse. That’s thanks to a debit and credit card swiper for cell phones and iPads Troop 152 started using this year.

Along with the order, the girls hand out small fliers to show how the $4 a box helps their leadership development and community service projects. It also asks customers to “like” the troop’s Facebook page.

“You can actually see what your money is doing to help us,” said Mae Gayle.

Lastly, they place boxes in plastic bags saved up over the year and thank customers for supporting the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council.

The strategy comes from lessons learned and from working with Andrea Burney, who runs a public relations firm and works as Danville Community College’s director of public relations. (Girl Scouts often seek out community mentors for projects.)

Eventually, the girls would like to develop and distribute an annual survey to local Girl Scouts so the community can understand what they’re doing in a measurable way, said mom Susan Dalton. This could also help if the local Girl Scouts ever need to apply for grant funding.

The Girl Scouts started cookie ordering on Jan. 1, but now the booth sales are in full swing, said service unit cookie manager Melinda Dalton, no relation to Susan. Residents can spot sales every weekend at Walmart and other key locations.

One troop, Troop 305, ordered 41 percent of the shipment in February for booth sales, she said. While cookie numbers are down this year because of fewer girls selling, Dalton expects them all to sell.

“Oh, yeah, they’re not going to have any trouble with selling them,” she said, adding customers know this is the only time of year they can get them.

For details on locations of cookie booth sales, visit www.gsvsc.org or call Melinda Dalton at (434) 429-5026.

Tips

Girl Scout cookie-selling tips from Mae Gayle and Olivia:

» Wear bright clothing and use neon signs to attract people and stand out.

» Always smile and wave.

» Stay in touch with regular customers.

» Give recommendations on what to buy or how to use cookies, like making s’mores with Thanks-A-Lot.

» Say thank you and tell how Girl Scouts are using the money, like with a flier.

What are the bestsellers?

» 25 percent: Thin Mints

» 19 percent: Caramel deLites

» 13 percent: Peanut Butter Patties

» 11 percent: Peanut Butter Sandwich

» 9 percent: Shortbread

(Source: www.girlscouts.org)

By the numbers

Danville Girl Scout cookie season

» Jan. 1 to March 31

» 17,580 cookie boxes to sell

» $4 a box

» 9 Danville troops

» 135 Danville Girl Scouts

» 2012 is the “Year of the Girl” as Girl Scouts of the USA celebrates 100 years.

(Source: Melinda Dalton, local cookie manager)