How Should Units Allocate Popcorn Sales for Store Front Sales

Parents from around the country have ask me. “What is the best way to allocate the sales from the store fronts?” My answer has been “It Depends.”

The two main considerations when determining what method your Unit should use. The first is your Council Incentive Program. Many Councils around the country have incentives based on either the number of containers sold, number of customers which bought, or particular dollar amount sold. If containers or customers are the main incentive criteria then the Unit will want an allocation system to account for this. If dollars are the incentive, then finding the best way to split the sales are important. The second consideration is equity. Units must determine the most equitable way to divide the sales while making it easy to track.

Below are a few ways I have seen allocations for Store Front Sales with some advantages and disadvantages:

Direct Scout Allocation

This method is exactly as it states. The Scout gets credit for the actual product he sells. This format is easiest when there is only one Scout selling at a store front. If there is more than one Scout at the store front, then have the sales alternate between the Scouts. One Scout gets the first sale then the second Scout gets the next sale. As far as Military Donations goes, as soon as you reach the appropriate dollar amount to place a Military Order, the next Scout places the order on his order form. It is his sale and the next sale goes to the next Scout. The easiest way to track this is using the order form. As they make the sale, write it on the form. It is import to make sure the total dollar amount per Scout at the end of the shift is similar so it is equitable for all concerned. I have found that dollar amount tend to be within $5 of each other. If it is not then even it out.

Advantages

• Easier to track every item sold and apply it directly to a Scout
• Easier to track inventory
• Better salespeople get credit for their effort

Disadvantages

• Sales can vary between shift, location, and date of sale
• Better salespeople do better

Scout Hours Worked

This method is based on giving all Scouts credit for the number of hours worked. Units take the total product sold for all store front locations and divide it by the total number of man hours works. For example, if the Unit sells four days with 8 hours worked each day and two Scouts selling at all locations you have 64 total man hours. Let’s say the Units sell $3200 total product at all location sites. Using this example, each Scout would receive a $50 credit per hour they worked. If a Scout worked more hours than others, they would get the appropriate credit for the number of hours they worked. Remember, it is important to keep all Military Donations separate, divide them up appropriately and place the orders.

Advantages

• Do not have to track sales by shift or day
• Easier to track inventory
• There is no advantage to which time slot or day a Scout sells

Disadvantages

• Better salespeople do not get more credit
• Scouts do not know how much they are credited until the end of the sale

Modified Sales Tracking

Just as it states, this method is a combination of the two methods above. Usually this takes one item into consideration to give more credit to higher performing Scouts. As an example, Units can take the Scout Hours Worked method and track this by shift or day. For example, If you had 4 two-hour shifts at a location with two Scouts per shift and you sell $1600, then those Scouts would get $100 per hour. If on the next day using the same shifts and location the Unit sells $800 then those Scouts that sold on that day would get $50 per hour. The split can be done by shift, day, or location.

Advantages

• Better sales people get credit for their effort

Disadvantages

• Sales can vary between shift, location and date of sale
• Fewer Scout sign ups later in the sale
• Often have to create a separate Unit spreadsheet to track sales

Every Unit has different needs based on Council Incentives and what makes it easiest to track. Units should make their determination based on their needs and how detailed they want to get when giving credit to Scouts.

Why the Scout Should Finish the Sale

An interesting thing happen to me this last weekend as I went to the grocery store after church. I found a great teaching moment for all Scouts. Before I tell you what happened, let me tell you more about the normal experience at Show and Sell.

We have a standing policy in our household which we have had for the past 17 years. I will buy popcorn from every Scout in a well-kept uniform who asks me. I have announced this at Council Kickoffs, Committee Meetings and other Scouting functions throughout the country. I find it amazing that I have never had a Scout knock on my door to sell me popcorn. But, I digress.

I expect when I go to a grocery store over the weekend during the Popcorn Sale, I will see a Scout at the door and I plan to buy. I acknowledge the Scout by saying ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Afternoon’, and I expect them to do the same. I do this to help the less experienced Scout build confidence. Oftentimes, a Scout feels more confident about selling to a person they know than a total stranger. For many Scouts a simple ‘Good Morning’ is enough for them to feel they know the person.

If they ask me to buy popcorn as I am walking in the store I tell the Scout to ask me as I leave. The main reason is I do not carry much cash on me and I am not prepared to buy at that point. I will get cash back in the store. In addition, it is important to teach the Scout to be courteous to all the customers entering the grocery store. We want to be able to use this same location next year. Many stores have a policy that customers can only be asked by a not-for-profit as they leave the store so as to not make their customers uncomfortable. Check with your particular location.

I always ask the Scout several questions. I ask what the money is for and what his goal is. I feel it is important for him to know why he is selling popcorn. I then ask what his favorite item is. This tends to get them talking more and again builds their confidence. Finally, I ask them if there is something they would recommend. I typically buy an item between $10 and $20 dollars based on how well they answer the questions.

Now to what happened this weekend.

My family walks up to the grocery store after church in our ‘Sunday Best’. At the front entrance was a Tiger Scout and his father with a small selection of items on a table. I say ‘Good Morning’ and the father nods his head. The Tiger Cub did not know I was there. That is to be expected as it was probably toward the last half of a shift and Scouts at that age do not typically have a long an attention span. We went into the store to buy what we needed before the football game started. I got cash back so I was prepared to buy an item as we left.

As we walked out the door, I looked at the father and son directly in the eye waiting for them to ask me to buy popcorn. However, neither of them said a thing. I hesitated to give them a second chance, but the father just nodded his head with is hands behind his back behind the table. The Tiger Cub just stood there. My wife asks them how they were doing and the father said “OK.” That was it. Neither one ask us to buy popcorn. I looked at my wife and we went to the car to go home.

The moral to the story is the Scout must ask for the sale. It is not enough to just show up and expect things to happen. One must make things happen. Most sales training seminars talk about finishing the sale by “Making the Ask”. Even the most experienced sales person will not get the sale if they do not ask for it. A Scout needs to finish the sales process and ask for the business. For ideas on how to ask, please read my previous blog. Good luck and finish strong.

What Units Should Do Halfway Through Their Popcorn Sale

For many parts of the country, the Popcorn Sale is in full force. However, it is important to see how things are going with the Scouts in the Unit. Here are few reasons why people should follow the sale and ways to keep the sale going.

Momentum – For those that had statistics in high school or college, you may be familiar with an inverted bell curve. With Popcorn Sales, this refers to Scouts selling a lot of popcorn at the beginning of the sale, not as much in the middle of the sale, and then ramping back up to sell more at the end to get that final prize they want. It is important to have a mid-sale incentive to keep Scouts on track and avoid the big dip in the middle of the sale.

Inventory – It is important to have a good record of your inventory throughout the sale. People tend to buy different items as Scouts go Door-to-Door then if they see the Scout in front of a store. In addition, Units need to know if they need more or less inventory than they currently have on hand. Units also need to know that all of the larger priced items they ordered are going to be sold. I recommend delivering larger priced items as soon as possible. It makes the customer feel special that they received their popcorn early.

Payment – If your Unit takes checks as payment, it is important to get the checks in the bank as soon as possible so that the checks can clear. In addition, if there is not sufficient funds in the customer’s account, there is still significant time to collect these funds.

Ideas to help your Mid-Sale Push:

Prize for hitting the Mid-Sale Goal by a certain date. If your Unit’s per Scout goal is $500 then have a small prize for hitting $250 by the second week of the sale.

 

Prizes could include:

• Small item like a special neckerchief slide or mini-flashlight
• Activity like going to a pumpkin patch or corn maze
• Drawing for only those Scouts that reach the Mid-Sale level
• Ice Cream Social

Hold your Blitz Day in the middle of the sale instead of at the beginning. A Blitz Day is a coordinated day for the entire Unit to sell. Have this be in a location other than the neighborhood the majority of Scouts live so they are not hitting the same houses. Set a Unit Goal for the Blitz. Reward all the Scouts that participated if the Unit reaches the Goal like a pizza or bowling party.

I hope these suggestion spark an idea to help you as your Unit continues to sell popcorn. Good Luck!

Door Hangers to Help While Going Door-to-Door

As my son and I were delivering popcorn this week, I realized that I had not shared with everyone a key piece of information.

Several years ago, we created a quasi receipt to give to customers. It included not only the product they ordered and the amount it cost, but a phone number and website address for them to order more with a deadline. We taped this receipt to every container delivered. We wanted to give customers that bought the opportunity to buy more for family or friends. By having the deadline date we were still able to get the order in before the due date and deliver the product.

The next year we were trying to deliver product customers ordered and found many not home. We realized we needed to leave them something to let them know my son had tried to deliver their popcorn but they were not home. So we created another 'door hanger' to leave at the door. It included a date we would come and try again to deliver the product and if they still owed money for the product. This form reduced the time it took to deliver the product which helped us out tremendously.

This year, as my son and I were going door-to-door, we found more than half the houses had nobody home. In the past we had tracked which houses these were and went back another day. He has a higher personal goal this year so, he decided to change his tactic. This year he left a door hanger letting the household know he had stopped by and if they wanted to buy popcorn to just give him a call. I was surprised to the number of households that actually called.

Because of this, I have added another web page with a link to these three "Door Hangers". There are two different versions: One for Units that take credit cards and one for those that do not. We have found that printing these door hangers in different colors on slightly thicker paper or card stock helps them stay in the crack of the door and give a better perception of what is being sold. Below is a link to this page to download these door hangers. Good Luck!