Everyone take a deep breath and give yourself a pat on the back for surviving the initial order phase of our council’s cookie sale. You’ve been championing your girls throughout the sale and teaching them important skills like business ethics, money management, and customer service.

Mission accomplished, right?

But what if your troop (or daughter) hasn’t reached her cookie goal yet? How can we encourage our girls to go beyond the initial order taking and really stretch to reach the goal they set at the beginning? We’ve got some great tips to help you reach for the stars (and your cookie goal) this cookie season. When girls put their minds to it and work together they can do anything!

1. Ask. Then ask again. Ask at delivery. Ask two weeks after delivery. According to Little Brownie Baker’s advice on How To Sell More when customers are asked multiple times, they buy multiple boxes. Maybe Aunt Jane only wanted 4 boxes when you asked her in January but a week after cookie delivery your cousin may have eaten all of her favorites before she got to them and she really needs some Thin Mints.

2. Try Digital Cookie. This was a pilot this year and there were some issues that have been worked out as the sale goes on so if you were hesitant to test it out, now is the time to reach out to grandma in Florida! Girls can take girl delivery orders until March 14, 2016 and shipped/donated cookies through March 27, 2016. If you haven’t gotten your Digital Cookie email, contact the Customer Care Hotline at 1-888-350-5090 or email us at customerservice@gswo.org.

3. Sign up for a Cookie Booth! You can sign up for a council-sponsored booth on eBudde or you can try a non-traditional cookie booth and set up a non-council sponsored Cookie Booth. Need more information on booths? Check out page 21-22 of the 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Book.

4. Bling that Cookie Booth! Already got your booth set up but unsure how to really get people to notice it? Have no fear, we’ve got some great ideas from Little Brownie Baker that can really help you make that booth pay off. If you take a photo and upload it to Girl Scouts of the USA Facebook page your troop might even win $250. See page 18 of the 2016 Cookie Book for more information.

5. Bundle the cookies! Tie several kinds of cookies together with ribbon and make it part of your sales pitch. Say things like “would you like to buy 4 boxes of cookies for $20” or “3 boxes for $12”. You can even give your bundles fun names like the Chocolate Lovers Trio (Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and Samoas) or the Girl Scout Classics Bundle (Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, and Thin Mints).

6. Encourage Gift of Caring. Who doesn’t get a warm fuzzy feeling when they give to others? Share that feeling with your customers by promoting a Gift of Caring option. You can put together a troop Gift of Caring donation by choosing a charity or community group and letting customers know any boxes donated to that group your troop will deliver to them. Not ready to set up your own Gift of Caring? Promote Operation Cookie, where girls collect donations of cookies for military personnel serving overseas. By selecting “Cookie Boxes Donated” on their cookie donation order form, people can offer a taste of home to military members and their families stationed abroad. They donate the cookies and then we work with Heroes in Action to finalize the logistics and get the cookies delivered to grateful soldiers. Don’t forget to make booth signs that tell customers about this choice.

Feeling ready to dive back in and help your girls reach those cookie goals? Use our tips and you’ll be a cookie goal getter pro!