Girl Scout Cookie Sales Get A High-Tech Twist

The wind was blowing so hard it sent checks and dollar bills flying down Fort Hunt Road, but Girl Scout Brownie Troop 915 persisted, putting their face-to-face retailing skills to the test outside the Hollin Hall Variety Store on Saturday.

“We are raising money for a camping trip,” said Katie Whalen, who helped her mom, Donna, set up their booth, as posters flapped and the plastic tablecloth whipped around.  “It’s really fun,” added Alison Cooke, age eight.

Nan Goodwin of Hollin Hall stopped by the table “because I’m no good at resisting,” she remarked, as she bought two boxes of Thin Mints.

“Who can resist cookies?," explained Margie Perscheid of Stratford.  "It’s un-American not to buy them.  Plus, I was a Girl Scout once.”

Mount Vernon area Girl Scouts are selling outside area stores this weekend and next.  They did their door-to-door sales in December.

The cookie flavors are the same as last year, but the sales techniques have a new high-tech twist.  For the first time, Scouts can send emails and create e-cards seeking customers.  (Girl Scout rules stipulate that all transactions and deliveries must be made in person so online transactions are barred.)  Also new this year is a free mobile app for iphones and android phones to locate cookie booths.  Also, potential customers can set their phone to be notified when nearing a booth sale or set it for twice-weekly updates on booths’ locations.

Every troop can make “gifts of caring” by taking donations and giving the cookies to a “local hero.”  McNamara’s troop will give theirs to United Community Ministries or Mondloch House.  Scouts can also send cookies to people in the military, but they must have the specific name of a person.

Troop 915, which has several girls in the Waynewood school district, sold 29 boxes that they will donate to Children’s Hospital patients.  The troop’s “top cookie,” third grader Kelly Riley, sold 230 boxes, a statistic boosted by one annual customer who buys 25 boxes for his office, she explained.
 
Troop 4750 had an afternoon shift at the Variety Store.  Led by Joanne Masterson and Natalie Conte, the troop has 17 teen and tween girls, ages 11 to 13 who attend Sandburg Middle School, Stratford Landing and Hollin Meadows Elementary Schools.  They sold 1,714 boxes and will use the proceeds to attend a high-adventure camp where they will learn rock climbing, caving, kayaking, and outdoor cooking. 

Troop 446, led by Carrie McNamara, set up their booths at Beacon Mall.  Troop members, 11 fifth-grade girls, attend Waynewood Elementary and live in the Collingwood, Fort Hunt and Hollin Hall communities.   McNamara ordered 1,300 boxes. Their top seller sold 225 boxes. 

Out of the $4.00 for each box, the local troop gets less than $1.00 a box.  It’s not the economics that have driven this 80-year-old tradition, it's team-spirited entrepreneurship, say troop leaders.

“They can work toward a goal as a troop, set something they can achieve, work as a team, learn how to motivate each other,” said Carrie McNamara. "They love the booth sales.  It develops their marketing and pitching skills.  They learn how to talk to customers, how to thank, how to be respectful, how to deal with difficult people, and how to understand your market.”

Editor Clarification:  Cookie booth sales in the Fort Hunt and Mount Vernon area will last through March 27th.  You can find booth sales by entering a zip code in their cookie locator.