How do you set up your
sale area?
Make
sure your scouts are in their uniforms, and the adult leaders should also be in uniform.
First
you need to understand that you are responsible for setting up your sale area, not the business that is allowing you to use
their property. You should bring a table large enough to display your products
and small enough not to block the traffic flow to and from the business. Please
do not use the businesss equipment to set up your sale. If they are asking you
to use their table in an area that they have set up that is different.
You should have enough room
to display the product, and do your business. I would also recommend that you have prices posted with your product display.
This is to make it easier for your scouts to remember especially the Tigers and Wolves, and your customer will know up front
what it costs. I also put the cost per ounce on the tag, it makes it much easier to upsell from $10.00 to $18.00. You
also should have a donation can, box, or jar, whatever works best at your table. Now you can display a donation container
but please do not ask for donations. We are selling popcorn not pan-handling,
we accept donations but do not ask for them.
Have a table-tracking chart
so you can keep track of what has been sold and an accurate record of inventory. Have labels or stickers with a thank you
and phone number on it to put on the product once it is sold. If your customer wants more he will know how to contact your
unit. My scouts put their name on the sticker so when the customer calls they will get the credit for another sale.
Now that you are set up lets
do business. Remember that this is business and that you are setting up in front of a business. There should be two adults
present; this includes the Boy Scout side, 2 adults supervising the youth. The key here is supervising; the Scouts should
be doing the selling, and if they are old enough managing the money, at least taking it from the customer and counting back
change. The adults should also be supervising behavior. Please see the selling manners page.
These are a few of the things
that make me cringe when I walk past a poorly run sale table, and the things that will have a business not inviting us back.
The social hour table; there
are at least four adults sitting around the sale table gabbing to each other and blocking customers from seeing or reaching
it. Meanwhile the scouts obviously unsupervised are running a-muck, or are trying desperately to get an adult to move so they
can make a sale.
The day at a beach table;
lounge chairs about, cups and drinks all over the sale area, a scout hops off a chair as the customer comes near and practically
chases her down to try to make a sale because he didnt greet her as she passed the table.
The swarm; there are four
or more scouts surrounding the table, when a potential customer exits the door they all attack, or they are standing in wait
in a group so the customer sees a gang of boys blocking the exit.
PLEASE avoid these situations
at your sale table, it reflects badly on all of the Scout Units.
