2018 Popcorn Kickoff

Why Popcorn?

• To Provide a Quality Program and The Experience of a Lifetime.

• Parents Must Understand What’s In It For Them

How to prepare:

• Set Goals Based on Your Budget

• Plan Your Kickoff and Ask Your Scouts What Unit Incentives They Want

• Communicate and Recruit Some Helpers

In tonight’s awesome adventure, you will

learn...

How to train

• Scouts Must Be Prepared and Know What to Say When Speaking With Customers.

• Trained Scouts Are More Likely to Hit Their Goals and Get More Yeses.

How to sell

• There Are So Many Ways For Scouts to Reach Their Goals.

• Start With Family and Friends, Add a Couple of Show-N-Sell Shifts, and Make Sure Each Scout Canvases The Neighborhood.

In tonight’s awesome adventure, you will learn...

Program + Popcorn =

Character Development

Gain Confidence

Goal Setting

Money Management

Life Lessons

Public Speaking

Does popcorn drive your program?

OrDoes your

program drive popcorn?

The answers are Yes & Yes!

• No out-of-pocket-expense to enjoy 12 months of Scouting activities

• Do one fundraiser a year; more time enjoying Scouting

• Scouts ...

– Earn their own way

– Learn life lessons and responsibility

• All Scouts will enjoy the Unit’s program

• Consumers are motivated to purchase based on the cause

• We should ask our youth and parents to go out and be confident that our communities WANT to support Scouting. They will IF we ask them to.

Message to Scout Parents

We are selling adventures!

NOT popcorn

Consumers are 2x more likely to

support a cause they believe in!

1. Plan your Scouting program at least one year in advance– Always get input from Scouts and families

2. Create a budget that captures all costs of the program3. Determine how much fundraising is required to cover the cost of

your program– Set fundraising goals (per unit, per Scout)

4. Create a fundraising plan– Determine key dates, incentives, amount of popcorn to order,

show-n-sell locations– Recruit a popcorn team to help share the load– Arrange for popcorn pickup / distribution

5. Host a fun kickoff to communicate your fundraising plan and goals6. Check-in with Scouts and parents weekly on their fundraising progress7. Hit your fundraising goals8. Have a fun and adventurous year in Scouting!

• What is your Ideal Year of Scouting?• Popcorn fundraising goals should be based on

your budget to fund your unit’s Program Plan with one fundraiser.

• How much popcorn will each Scout sell to earn their way?

Scout Goal of $1,000

Your Scouts should sell $1,000 and earn an entire year of fun filled Scouting programs with only three easy steps:

1. Scouts work four 2-hour solo Show n Sell shifts. Scouts average $100/hr.

$800

2. Scouts sell door-to-door to their neighbors for about an hour.

$100

3. Scouts record online orders from family and friends, where on average, Scouts recorded $165 in 2017!

$165

Goal Achieved $1,065

Unit Goal of $30,000

A Unit with 30 Scouts should sell $30,000 in Popcorn.

1. Book two stores for Show n Sells Friday’s, Saturday’s, and Sunday’s throughout your sale. This will provide more shifts than you need, allowing some Scouts to be Top Sellers!

2. Scouts each sell door-to-door to their neighbors for about an hour. Tip: Scouts that have popcorn with them (Show & Deliver, or “Wagon sales”) sell more popcorn in less time!

3. Scouts sell to friends and family online. The average online sale is over $65! It only takes two sales per Scout to make a big difference in your sale. There’s new online incentives too!

• Scouting activities that SCOUTS planned

• Experiences – field trips, weekend getaways, sporting events, etc.

“Little Things” for selling $100, $200, $300, etc.

• Fishing poles and gear

• Camping equipment

• Video games / small dollar gift cards

• Pizza party & Ice Cream socials

• Pie in the Face

Ask your Scouts what they want… you might be surprised!

• The Kickoff Party is a great opportunity to present a lot of important information

• Utilize the communication tools on sell.trails-end.com

• Send weekly or bi-weekly emails to families with timely information

• Talk popcorn at all Unit and Den/Patrol meetings throughout the sale

• Post a sale tracker / thermometer so everyone can see sale goal status

• Keep momentum going and provide encouragement

▪ You can do this on your own, but it’s not a good idea

▪ Ask your fellow leaders and parents to help you with…

▪ The Kickoff Party – look for someone with enthusiasm

▪ Distribution – to pick up and transport the popcorn

▪ Communication – to keep everyone informed and motivated

▪ Storefront Sales – to book and coordinate storefront shifts for your unit

▪ Popcorn Chief (a Scout) – ask your top selling Scout to serve as your Co-Kernel

• Visit sell.trails-end.com after this Kickoff for more good ideas and resources!

– Download and Customize the following:

• Program Planning Spreadsheet

• Scout Incentive Handout

• Unit Kickoff Presentation

• Parent Handout

• Product and Promotional Images

• Selling Tools – Posters, Scout Sales Script, Safety Tips Cards, etc.

– Also available…

• Training Videos

• Trail’s End Scholarship Information

• Frequently Asked Questions

• The single most important thing is…

ENTHUSIASM!

• If it’s not you, then find that person!

• Dress up the room, pop popcorn.

• Have games for Scouts to play the minute they walk in the door.

• Role play a “sale” either at a storefront or at the neighbor’s door.

• Families should walk out excited, informed, and ready to sell.

• Hi, my name is _______________ (say first name only).

• I’m a Scout with Pack/Troop/Crew _________ here in

_________ (city/town).

• I am raising funds to earn my way to Scout Camp next

summer (or other big adventure).

(Hand the customer the order form and a pen, and point

out your favorite flavor. Consider recommending a $20

or more item.)

• You’ll support me, won’t you?

Practice, practice, practice!

The most successful sellers can recite this in their sleep.

1. Line your Scouts in two long lines facing each other and give each pair a ball.

2. The Scout with the ball will deliver a sales pitch while their partner listen.

3. When they are done, have them pass the ball to their partner so they can practice too.

4. Walk around while this is happening and give constructive criticism and praise.

5. Repeat and have fun!

Popcorn Blitz DayPick and promote a weekend blitz day at your Popcorn Kickoff

Set a unit and per Scout fundraising goal for the day

As a group, canvas a large neighborhood in your area

Once goals are reached, have an ice cream or hot cocoa party in a nearby park

Pre-Made Popcorn Kits Assemble kits of popcorn that equal the retail amount of desired goal

Retail dollar amount based on a selling goal ($1,000)

Give one kit to each Scout family to sell by a given day

Advantage: Sell Door-to-Door with product in hand – no return trip needed

Little Red Wagon!Don’t get stuck with leftover product at the end

If all else fails, load up the products in a little red wagon

Walk neighborhoods, local fairs, tailgates, mall parking lots, local businesses

Take the order form to work– If not allowed to solicit at work, ask if putting a form in break room is acceptable

Create a map of your area– Print off Google Maps of your area, and give to Scout families– Ask Scouts to mark houses that did and did not purchase– Use year over year to help save time– Encourage Scouts to ask for phone numbers & email

addresses

Assign Scouts selling territories– Sets expectation – takes out the guess work for

Scouts and parents– Helps prevent duplication of efforts

Always save copies of order forms– Give your Scouts a copy of their previous year’s

order form at the kickoff– Always require Scouts to turn in their

order form, even if they don’t sell• Prevents submission of late orders

Mystery Houses– Give higher level prizes to three or more random houses in your community– The first Scout to knock on the door of each mystery house wins the prize

Make account registration part of your kickoff• Pick a location that has access to Wi-Fi and ask

parents to bring a tablet or smartphone (have extra laptops available if possible)

• Walk parents through the quick steps of registration, and run through the ways to share the personalized fundraising page

Host a text messaging blitz campaign• Pick one meeting night to hold the blitz• Give parents ample notice for the event• Send each Scout’s personalized fundraising page to

friends and family via text message

Many businesses in your community are willing to support you

– Corporate gifts for clients– Holiday gifts for staff– Staff purchases

Follow these steps:– Scouts should lead the sales pitch and dress in

Class A uniform– After school before 5pm– Look for strip malls or office parks with many

businesses in close proximity– Start at the top! - Always ask for the owner

or manager– Bring several paper order forms, pens,

and a way to accept credit cards– Always leave customers with a way they

can purchase again• Print off homemade business

cards with your email address / contact info• Include link to your Trail’s End

online selling account

Earn Money for College!Online Prize Program

• Chocolate Lover’s Tin Collection - $60• Support Our Troops Gold Level - $50• Cheese Lover’s Collection - $30• Support Our Troops Silver Level - $30• Salted Caramel Corn Tin - $30• Chocolatey Caramel Crunch Tin - $30• Kettle Corn Microwave - $25• Premium Caramel Corn -

$20• Unbelievable Butter

Microwave - $20• White Cheddar Cheese Corn - $15• Classic Caramel Corn - $10• Popping Corn - $10

w/Prizes Cash OptionBase Commission 33% 37%

• Focus on selling more $ than 2017.

• Awesome name brand prizes that motivate Scouts.

• $750 Sales earns Daisy BB Gun, or Crusader Fiberglass Archery Box

• $1,000 Sales earns 2 tickets to The LEGO Movie 2 special screening.

• $1,800 Sales earns LEGO Super Heroes Kit

• Units can get a Credit Card Reader that they can use to collect payments.

• Easy for Customers• Easy for Units• Great way to build

the sale• Complete form

tonight to register your card reader/s

• Units keep their commission and submit a post-dated check (12/7/18).

• Undamaged “non-chocolate” product must be returned by 10/24/18, after this date units are charged for all product they have checked out.

• Units may return 20% of their product on 10/24 with no penalty. A 10% charge will be applied to returns above 20%.

• Credit Card sales will be deducted from what is owed to the council.

• Warehouses in Bloomington, Lawrenceburg, and Seymour.

• Kernel Journals sent electronically weekly.

• Prizes sent to Unit Popcorn Kernel’s home.

• Place order through thePopcorn System online.

• Questions?• Popcorn webpage: https://247scouting.com/web_admin/BSA145/742

8/7 Popcorn In-depth Training East, 7:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, 240 Poplar St. North Vernon

8/9 Popcorn In-depth Training West, 7:00pm, St. Paul's United Methodist Church 4201 W Third St. Bloomington

8/24 Show & Deliver Orders Due to Council9/7 Show & Deliver Order Product Delivery 9/7 Sale Begins10/21 Sale Ends10/24 Popcorn & Prize Orders Due to Council,

along with post-dated checks due from units.

11/9 Take Order Product Delivery12/7 Post-dated Checks are Deposited

Let’s Build an Adventure Together!