Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Doomsday

The champion!

It's been a long time since I've had to do something I really, really didn't want to do. Therefore I was less than thrilled when I was told at troop meeting that it was time for the annual fundraiser: selling Girl Scout cookies. Before the troop does booth sales, they start with door-to-door sales. In this day and age, the girls have to have an adult go with them, which means that I got the dubious honor of participating with Sammy. Sammy: excited. (See above). Mom: nervous. (No picture).

Door-to-door sales falls slightly below telemarketing on my list of "Jobs I Would Least Like to Do." Multiple social interactions and lots of rejection? No thank you. And yet, I wanted Sam to build character and earn her own money for camp, so off we went.

Of course, as with all things that make me nervous, I prepped a ton beforehand. I worked with Sammy on her sales pitch, had her watch videos on the different types of cookies, taught her how to answer a variety of questions, from "What's your favorite cookie?" to "Where does the money go from sales?", bought her the optional Brownie acorn hat to increase her cuteness appeal, got a clipboard set up, and planned our route. The dreaded day came, and we set off onto the cold streets with one excited Brownie and one apprehensive parent.

Sammy sold cookies with rousing success. I don't think it could have possibly gone better. She did so well pitching to people, answering questions, and doing math, and in just two outings totaling 3 hours, surpassed her goal of 100 boxes sold. Her rejection rate was incredibly low, (1 in 20 houses) but she handled it gracefully. (We ignored a bunch of "No Soliciting" signs, not sure whether that was good or not, but they all bought lots of cookies). I was impressed with how many people like Girl Scout cookies--it was nice for Sammy to be selling something people actually wanted. I don't think I'll ever stop dreading cookie sales each year, but I overcame my fears this year and built lots of character. Sammy too, of course.


My little Brownie! 


3 comments:

Charity Z said...

Way to go Sammy! We need a picture of the acorn hat!

Charity Z said...

Way to go Sammy! We need a picture of the acorn hat!

Unknown said...

I agree! Congrats and let's see the hat.
Thin mint cookies are THE BEST!!!

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