pchadbo Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 "In order to make that particular pitch, you need to first hook the customer. At $10 or more entry level cost, it becomes difficult to get the person's attention for long enough to hook them." What, cubbies or even older scouts in uniform asking "would you like to but some popcorn today to support Scouting?" wouldn't at least "hook" them? I agree if you stand at a table with a price list posted you will miss out on LOTS of sales. If the scouts ask politely and unobtrusively and say "thank you" to those passing on the chance, you will greatly increase your numbers. But that is why it is called sales and MARKETING you have to give them a reason to WANT to buy it. The uniforms, politeness and what it will support goes a long way to "setting the hook". Get the boys to do more than sit at a table and watch what happens to your sales numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Amen, brother. The P/C is way overpriced, and only for the good of the organization will folks buy it. If one WANTS popocorn, one goes in the grocery, if one WANTS cookies, one LOOKS for a Girl Scout. That said, my local CPack sold over $26,000. of P/C this year. One Cub did over $1,000. by hisself. Or his family? This is one reason why the related STroop does not sell P/C, but Christmas decor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadenP Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Just got stopped today at the grocery store by Campfire hawking their stuff. The candy is up to $5 this year as are the two small cans of nuts. These were the little tykes so I bought a can of the nuts. All this makes me wonder what are we really teaching the kids forcing them to sell this stuff, and what message are we truly sending to them and the public at large. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASM162 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 "Then change the perception. Point out that (in our council any way) 70% of the cost of popcorn purchase stays within the council (or state in our case) Most people will look at the price of that $10 bag of pocorn differently if you explain $3.50 stays within the state and $3.50 stays within the pack (our council YMMV)" You say change the perception - OK then where to you draw the line? I mean can you sell popcorn for $20 a bag? $3.00 to Trails ends, $8.50 to council and $8.50 to the unit. $30.00 per bag, $40.00 per bag? Will people still purchase popcorn at this price, even though you are informing them of just how much money stays local? When people start to make significant donations, they are going to want a receipt for tax purposes. We currently do not provide a receipt for purchases of popcorn. As someone mentioned before, it is easier to sell 10 reasonably priced items and make a dollar profit on each, that it is to sell one overpriced item and make a $10.00 profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pchadbo Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Just wanted to clarify something here. I am with the majority here. The popcorn IS overpriced and a lower price point would definitely increase sales. I was just trying to offer some suggestions and work-arounds to help. I knkow this can work and money can be made. We have a pack of 30 boys and sold over $22,000 in popcorn this fall. and yes it was the BOYS selling and parents coordinating. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 As one who is trained in Lean Manufacturing, I can assure you that work-arounds do not solve the problems. Solve the problem and you don't need bandaids and binder twine/gum to get by. As long as young boys go out and sell regardless of the obstacles they face, i.e. high prices, wrong packaging, etc. there will never be enough discomfort at the National level to solve the problem. A good National marketing strategy would work wonders for popcorn sales and if the boys don't have to work-around everything, they might be able to sell twice as much popcorn and build a larger customer base. Compare the customer base of the GSUSA cookie customers and compare it to the customer base of the BSA. BIG difference. I have been buying GSUSA cookies for 40 years and I go looking for girls selling every year! I can't say that for the BSA process. Your mileage may vary, Stosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pchadbo Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Stosh, Not arguing that point but should we stop selling popcorn just to "send the message" or work from within trying to improve the system. The former sounds like cutting off our nose to spite our face and the latter works better when we can say: Well our pack sold 35-40% of the pocorn in the district and we think. . ." Which would get a better response not selling in the first place or saying we would like to change these things or we might stop selling? The loss of funds will get more attention then not having them in the first place. (This message has been edited by pchadbo) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutNut Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 >>"A good National marketing strategy would work wonders for popcorn sales" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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