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!