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2014 Popcorn Kickoff. WELCOME NEW KERNELS!. Let the Adventures Begin. 2014 Bucks County Council Popcorn Sale 101. Popcorn Basics for New Kernels. Why Sell Popcorn? Having a Successful Sale Goal-Setting Three Ways to Sell Take Order Sales Show & Sells Online Sales
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2014 Popcorn Kickoff WELCOME NEW KERNELS! Let the Adventures Begin.
Popcorn Basics for New Kernels • Why Sell Popcorn? • Having a Successful Sale • Goal-Setting • Three Ways to Sell • Take Order Sales • Show & Sells • Online Sales • Which Method is Best? • Questions • Points of Contact
Why Sell Popcorn? A very effective fundraiser for local scouting • 70% back to units and Council • Little or no risk to the unit: Order what you think you can sell or have already sold. Return what you don’t. Great learning opportunity for Scouts • Learn confidence and presentation skills • Learn to set goals and reach them • Take responsibility for success of their units • Salesmanship Merit Badge
Why Sell Popcorn? Fun incentives for Scouts • Prize program • Fill A Sheet rewards • Trail’s End Scholarship Program This is really good popcorn! • Many repeat sales because of product quality • Yes, it is expensive, but that is because so much is a fundraiser!
Three Steps to A Successful Sale Step 1: Plan Ahead! Step 2: Be Prepared! Step 3: Stay Organized!
Three Steps to A Successful Sale Step 1: Plan Ahead! • Know when you are training your scouts, how you will incentivize them and how you will encourage parents. • Review your orders from last year and order product accordingly. • Determine whether you will accept credit cards (Square, PayPal, etc.) • Publish dates well in advance – and give yourself wiggle room! Good planning helps parents support the sale!
Three Steps to A Successful Sale Step 2: Be Prepared! • Know the products • Know how you will handle sales: Take Order, Show & Deliver, Show & Sells, Online Ordering and various combinations • Have written instructions for parents and scouts
Three Steps to A Successful Sale Step 3: Stay Organized! • Schedule Show & Sells well in advance • Coordinate Take Order neighborhoods, especially if more than one unit is selling • Make it easy for the parents & scouts: clear instructions, Take Order street listings, Show & Sell signups, order placement & fulfillment • Distribute envelopes so that scouts can collect all money in advance • Regularly communicate with scouts and parents
Having a Successful Sale Planning • Know when you are training your scouts, how you will incentivize them and how you will encourage parents. • Review your orders from last year and order product accordingly. • Determine whether you will accept credit cards (Square, PayPal, etc.) • Publish dates well in advance – and give yourself wiggle room! • Good planning helps parents support the sale! Be Prepared! • Know the products • Know how you will handle sales: Take Order, Show & Deliver, Show & Sells, Online Ordering and various combinations • Have instructions for parents and scouts
Having a Successful Sale Planning • Know when you are training your scouts, how you will incentivize them and how you will encourage parents. • Review your orders from last year and order product accordingly. • Determine whether you will accept credit cards (Square, PayPal, etc.) • Publish dates well in advance – and give yourself wiggle room! • Good planning helps parents support the sale! Be Prepared! • Know the products • Know how you will handle sales: Take Order, Show & Deliver, Show & Sells, Online Ordering and various combinations • Have instructions for parents and scouts
Having a Successful Sale Organization • Schedule Show & Sells well in advance • Coordinate Take Order neighborhoods, especially if more than one unit is selling • Make it easy for the parents & scouts: clear instructions, Take Order street listings, Show & Sell signups, order placement & fulfillment • Envelopes so that scouts can collect all money in advance • Regular communication with scouts and parents Use Technology to your advantage! • Find resources and training at www.trails-end.com • Use the Popcorn System for ordering, also at www.trails-end.com • Use sites like volunteerspot.com and signupgenius.com for Show & Sell sign-ups • Use Excel for order tracking & calculations
NEED TO GET YOUR INITIAL LOGIN INFORMATION? FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD? Contact Antoinette Layton at the Scout Service Center 215 348 7205 Antoinette.layton@scouting.org
Teaching Goal-Setting Why are goals important? • Key to success – in scouting and in life • Give us clear direction • Drive us forward • Make us accountable – to ourselves and others In scouting: • Advance in rank • Complete service projects • Earn belt loops • Learn skills
Teaching Goal-Setting And in popcorn: • Scouts who set goals: Average sale of $626Scouts with no goal: Average sale of $304 • Units that set sales goals sell twice as much as units without goals Only 44% of parents said their sons set sales goals
Your Unit Goal Determine your budget for the year & what will come from popcorn sales Simple equation: Fundraising Dollars You Need % Commission = Popcorn Sales Goal $8,000 40% = $20,000 Determine Your Per Scout Goal: Popcorn Sales Goal # Scouts = Per Scout Sales Goal $20,000 70 = $286
Teaching Goal-Setting To Scouts Use Unit Goal as an example Help scouts set individual goals • Dollars sold (Prizes desired) • # customers • # hours • # houses/asks Help them plan to reach their goals • # bags of popcorn • # houses to visit • # Show & Sell hours Celebrate milestones along the way
Three Ways to Sell • Take Order • Scouts go door-to-door, take orders and collect money • Scouts submit order sheets to Unit Kernel • Kernel submits order to Council • Unit collects popcorn, distributes to scouts and scouts deliver • Show & Sell • Kernel arranges for locations and submits order to Council • Kernel opens up time slots for scouts to staff • Scouts arrive and sell popcorn • Online Ordering • Scouts create account at trails-end.com • Scouts email friends and family • Orders are shipped directly to purchasers
Take Order Sales • Establish your dates • Scouts may begin when they have the order forms in August • Most start after Unit kick-offs • Require forms and money in at least one week prior to Council deadline • Set up sales territories • Keeps scouts and parents coordinated, within your unit and with other units • Allows you to reassign neighborhoods • Very effective for sales totals • Two out of three people will buy when asked. • Less than 20% of households have been contacted to purchase popcorn to support Scouting.
SchedulingShow & Sells • Many stores will allow scouts to sell popcorn… • but many will not. • Local stores are often best! • Contact the store manager to make arrangements. • ShopRite, Wal-Mart & Sam’s Club all coordinate their schedules internally. • Contact at least 2-3 weeks ahead; some months ahead • If a store is not in your hometown: • Ask the manager if any other scout groups are scheduled. • Check with that troop/pack to ensure you are not double-booked. • This is particularly important for big stores in big shopping areas that draw shoppers from many towns.
SchedulingShow & Sells • Wawa schedules Show & Sells over ONE SINGLE Weekend. • They have specific requirements, which we will disseminate. • You may not contact your local Wawa to schedule a Show & Sell independently.
Show & SellLogistics • When assigning: • No more than 2-3 scouts per shift • Parents need to attend • 1- or 2- hour shifts • Publish the schedule to the parents • Make sure they have what they need • Popcorn! • Do not open microwave boxes • You can split Cheese Lovers and Sweet & Savory Collections • Use past experience to estimate product needed • Change, Square/PayPal (if accepting credit cards) • Table, tablecloth, flyers, signs, bucket for Military donations
After Show & Sells • Leave No Trace: leave it better than you found it • Apply donations received towards Operation Popcorn • Divide up sales equally among scouts • Use total sales for the day, including military donations • Scout A’s hours Total Scout Hours = Scout A’s % of the sales • 4 Scouts: 2 worked 1 hour each, 2 worked 2 hours each = 6 Scout-Hours • Those who worked 2 hours get: • 2 hours 6 hours = 1/3 • Those who worked 1 hour get: • 1 hour 6 hours = 1/6
Online Sales • Scout parents need to be involved in email sending • Can send using trails-end.com templates or cut & paste links into emails • Watch out for missing elements, like scout # if sending outside of system • Online sales receive same commission and are reflected in invoices • Need to download online sales totals to include in prize calculations
Sale Timing Which Method Is Best? More consumer “yes” Higher $ per container More sales per hour
Which Method Is Best? Units who do both Show & Sell and Take Order average 56% HIGHER sales than Units that just use one method of face-to-face selling. Consumers buy more $25-$50 items during Take Order. Take Order is actually PREFERRED by Scouts and their families over Show & Sell due to higher profits. Online ordering is easier for scouts and families, but should only be used to supplement sales.
Stay Tuned for the Popcorn Kickoff • Timeline • Commission Structure • 2014 Product Line • What’s New? • Growing Your Sale • Scout Sales Incentives & Training • Best Practices • Questions
Important Dates June 11 Popcorn Orientation August 25 Show and Sell Orders Due September 5 Show and Sell Sorting September 6 Show and Sell Distribution September/October WaWa Weekend (date TBA) October 27-31 Show and Sell Return Dates October 31 Final Orders Due Online November 14 Popcorn Sorting November 15 Popcorn Distribution November 22 Prize Orders Due December 1 Popcorn Payments Due December 8 Popcorn Late Fees Go Into Effect
Questions? Adrienne Rubin Bucks County Council & Mercer Area District Popcorn Kernel Princeton Troop 43 Assistant Scoutmaster adrienne.rubin@gmail.com Tips and training for scouts selling popcorn are available at boyscoutpopcornsale.blogspot.com
Points of Contact Council Support: Adrienne Rubin, Council Kernel adrienne.rubin@gmail.com, 609-252-9129 John Erskine, Council Staff Advisor John.Erskine@scouting.org, 845-702-3332 Antoinette Layton, Council Office Support Antoinette.Layton@scouting.org, 215-348-7205
Points of Contact District Kernels: Hunterdon Arrowhead – Steve & Lisa Waddell: j2coolcomchar@gmail.com, 908-713-6322 Lenape – Barry Sokolowski FS8638@aol.com, 215-518-4243 Mercer Area – Adrienne Rubin: adrienne.rubin@gmail.com, 609-252-9129 Pennsbury – Joel Perkins: Joel.perkins@scouting.org, 215-348-7205 Playwicki – Tyler Yankey: Tyler.yankey@scouting.org, 215-348-7205 Tophendel – AJ Esposito: a.j.Esposito@scouting.org, 215-348-7205