Let the Adventures Begin.

Let the Adventures Begin.

2014 Popcorn Kickoff

WELCOME NEW

KERNELS!

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– 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!


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!


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


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

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 Laytonat the Scout Service Center

215 348 [email protected]

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 $626

Scouts 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

Teaching Goal-Setting

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

Your Unit Goal

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

Teaching Goal-SettingTo Scouts

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

$250

$125

$-

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

Sales per Hour

Take Order Show-n-Sell

70%

29%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

% of People Who Purchased


More consumer “yes” Higher $ per container More sales per hour

$17.50

$14.50

$-

$2.00

$4.00

$6.00

$8.00

$10.00

$12.00

$14.00

$16.00

$18.00

$20.00

Average Sale per Container


Which Method Is Best?

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 RubinBucks County Council & Mercer Area District Popcorn Kernel

Princeton Troop 43 Assistant [email protected]

Tips and training for scouts selling popcorn are available at boyscoutpopcornsale.blogspot.com

mailto:[email protected]

Points of Contact

Council Support:

Adrienne Rubin, Council Kernel

[email protected], 609-252-9129

John Erskine, Council Staff Advisor


Antoinette Layton, Council Office Support


Points of Contact

District Kernels:

Hunterdon Arrowhead – Steve & Lisa Waddell:


Lenape – Barry Sokolowski


Mercer Area – Adrienne Rubin:


Pennsbury – Joel Perkins:


Playwicki – Tyler Yankey:


Tophendel – AJ Esposito:


Let the Adventures Begin.

Documents

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