By Amy Vitale, Product Sales Manager

Who can resist our esteemed sweet treats when a Girl Scout is at their front door with their favorite cookies?! Not me! Door-to-door sales remains one of the most effective ways to sell cookies. In a recent national study, 78% of those customers who were not approached during a cookie sale stated they would have purchased 2-4 boxes if asked.

Problem solved. Girl Scout Walkabouts to the rescue!

What’s a Girl Scout Walkabout? What are other ways to sell in my neighborhood?

Keep reading to learn more….

• Walkabouts – A Girl Scout(s) or Girl Scout troop walks the neighborhood selling cookies door-to-door in a residential area with adult supervision.
• Rolling Sale – Pile up cookies in a wagon and sell directly to customers in residential areas with adult supervision.
• Cookie Stand – A “lemonade” type stand a Girl Scout can set up on her own property (i.e., in front of her house) to sell cookies. Helpful hint: check with home owners’ associations for any needed permits.
• Caravan – Girl Scouts sell door-to-door in a residential area while supervising adults follow in a car with the cookies.

Decided on your strategy for selling directly – now what? Here are our answers to some frequent questions:

Can I have a Rolling Sale, Walkabout, or Caravan in a shopping center, park or other public area? No. In order to maintain good relationships with property managers, stores, and to be fair, only booth sales are allowed in non-residential areas. All booth sales must be coordinated through your Booth Manager.

Can we do a Rolling Sale, Walkabout, or Caravan as a troop at one of our meetings? Yes! What a fun outing for your troop and a great way to help girls reach their goals!

Can we do a Walk-About, Rolling Sale, Cookie Stand, and Caravan as a family? Yes! Girl Scouts embraces family involvement.

Now that you are ready for your Walkabout, let’s make the most of it!

• Map out neighborhoods for your Walkabout and check them off as you walk them.
• Decorate your wagon or cart for your Rolling Sale to create excitement in the neighborhood.
• Decorate a Cookie Stand with posters, balloons, and other eye catching items.
• Decorate your Caravan with washable markers to let everyone know it is an official Girl Scout Cookie Car!

To kick off Girl Scouts – NC Coastal Pines’ 2015 Cookie Sale , we are hosting Walkabout Week January 17-23. In addition to an awesome Walkabout patch available in our council shops, we will be hosting a Walkabout Week Contest on our council Facebook page. Five $20 Cookie Dough cards will be given away, so don’t forget to visit our Facebook page during Walkabout Week!