By Jenny Taylor, Communications and Public Relations Intern

Can you believe it is almost cookie time again? We are so excited about the 2015 Girl Scout Cookie Sale here at Girl Scouts – NC Coastal Pines and can’t wait to see what goals our girls will reach this year. To kick off the season and help girls get inspired to give their best this year, we talked to two of last year’s top sellers to get their advice on what it takes to be a super seller.

Xena G. from Wake County sold 4,750 boxes last year and increased her sales by 56% in one year! Xena’s advice to her fellow Girl Scouts is to remember to SMILE. It sounds simple, but her success is proven. “If you look happy, they will buy from you,” says Xena. She also suggests pairing up younger Girl Scouts with a more experienced cookie seller as a mentor at the cookie booths.

Taylor W. from Wake County sold 3,803 boxes last year and sold the most Operation Cookie Drop boxes last year. Taylor’s advice is to ask everyone to purchase boxes for our service members. Even people who don’t want cookies might be willing to purchase some for service members, so don’t hesitate to inform them about Operation Cookie Drop and just ask. Taylor echoes Xena’s great advice to smile and be happy and enthusiastic about selling. She promises that will help you sell more cookies.

Emerson F. from Pitt County sold 4,005 boxes last year. She may be only 7 years old, but she is fearless in her efforts to sell cookies and promote Operation Cookie Drop. Emerson suggests asking customers to donate their spare change for the donation program. In her experience, most will donate some change and even small amounts help. Another key to Emerson’s success is selling to local businesses, especially banks. She asked her mom to drive her and she would go in and turn on her charm, selling to both employees and customers of the business.

Way to go Xena, Taylor, and Emerson! We hope everyone is ready to put these terrific tips into practice and have an awesome 2015 sale and another successful Operation Cookie Drop. Good luck, Girl Scouts!