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ANGELA Welcome everyone! 1
SLIDE 2 ANGELA Introduce myself and tell why I’m here.
- Name, district, unit and how long I have been Unit and Council Popcorn
Kernel.
- Story of becoming Popcorn Kernel and our sales before and after.
DISTRICT POPCORN KERNELS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES
- Name, district, unit and how long been Unit and/or District Kernel. Mention
who DE is. 2
SLIDE 3 DISTRICT POPCORN KERNELS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES
- Name, district, unit and how long been Unit and/or District Kernel. Mention
who DE is. 3
SLIDE 4 DISTRICT POPCORN KERNELS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES
- Name, district, unit and how long been Unit and/or District Kernel. Mention
who DE is. ANGELA Introduce Trail’s End Sales Rep Adam Hall Kelsey Valier We are all here to share some of our best practices, answer questions and, hopefully, inspire you to make this your unit’s most successful popcorn season ever! We do ask though that you hold all questions until the designated times. 4
SLIDE 5 RICHELLE Ice Breaker: Tube Socks
- Who knows the significance of tube socks as it pertains to popcorn?
- [Throw out a few pairs of tube socks as people answer. ]
- In 1980, the Scout Executive of Evansville, IN (Bill Spice) and his lead
volunteer were looking at their budget and realized that they were not going to balance it. So, they decided to try a product sale, something that had not been done before. The National office was completely against product sales and threatened to terminate Bill if he continued with the product sale. Bill decided that the health of the council (a balanced budget) was more important, so he continued on with the product sale. There were two products that they were looking at: 1) Trails End popping corn in a bucket or 2) Tube Socks. Fortunately for all of us, Bill partnered with Trail’s End. Evansville did balance their budget and Bill kept his Scout Executive job with the
- council. The next year, 7 councils sold popcorn, the following year 13,
and today around 220 councils sell Trails End popcorn. Since 1980 Trails End has returned over $4 Billion back to scouting throughout the
- US. So, it could be worse, we could be selling tube socks!
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SLIDE 7 JANA Selling popcorn is not just about fundraising, although we will discuss the benefits of that in just a moment. Selling popcorn is so much more! Ultimately, it is a learning
- pportunity for our Scouts.
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SLIDE 8 VICKI [In the slideshow, bring up each word and ask someone to define it, throw them a piece
- f candy or little doodad, then reveal and explain the definition.]
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VICKI [Point out the Sept. 11 date to help sort and pick up product and that they need to check with their District Kernel; not all districts do this.] 15
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VICKI [Emphasize the NOTE at the bottom of the slide] Pick up district distribution centers can be found in the leaders’ guide or on Council’s popcorn webpage. We had the question, “Why does the sale run so long?” Obviously, want to give Units every opportunity to sell as much popcorn as possible. But it is up to each unit how long they want to sell. For example, if only want to sell after have Show & Sell popcorn in hand, and stop when run out, that’s fine. 16
SLIDE 17 ANGELA If you believe the Scouts in your Unit cannot reach the Council specified sales number, you are right; you will NOT reach that goal. However, if you believe they can, they will believe they can…and they will! There is a Troop in Anchorage, Alaska that made a mistake when they placed their order with the
- council. They ordered in cases when they meant to order in containers (bags). So, for example,
they wanted 10 containers (bags) of caramel corn but ordered 10 cases which equates to 120 containers of caramel corn! The Troop wanted to order roughly $10K worth of product, but actually ordered over $30,000 worth. The Troop decided that this was their mistake and that they were going to take the responsibility. The unit leaders met with the boys and asked the boys what they wanted to do. Most of them had never been on a plane before so they decided that they wanted to go to summer camp someplace else. The unit leaders figured out that if they sold all of the popcorn, with the commission earned, they could go to camp in Juno, Alaska that
- summer. The leadership then comprised a plan with site sale locations, blitz days, and other
selling tactics to sell all the product and accomplished the goal of the boys and the Troop. So, all
- f the boys boarded a plane that summer and went to Juno for camp. Unfortunately, what they
didn’t know is that the lake the camp utilizes gets run off from a Glacier and the water was 50 degrees! During the swim test at camp, one of the boys said “we should really do this someplace warm next year!” At that point, somewhat jokingly, a leader said “How about Hawaii?” The boys decided that this is what they wanted for next summer, so the leadership got together, figured out the cost and told the boys that instead of $30K in sales that they would have to sell $90K in order to go to Hawaii. Well, the boys set goals and worked hard and the following summer they all went to summer camp in Hawaii! Every year this Troop comes up with a new “BIG THING” that the boys decide on and they use the earnings from popcorn to get there.
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JANA [Rally emphasize the drop (red numbers) in 2014’s sale. Also point out the number of units and scouts NOT selling.] 25
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JANA Evansville and Fort Wayne are the closest and most comparable councils to our council. [Emphasize here that it isn’t the number of scouts you have, it’s how well they sell.] 26
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TRAIL’S END REP 27
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TRAIL’S END REP For quality control purposes, Council will not be accepting ANY chocolate returns! 29
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TRAIL’S END REP 30
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TRAIL’S END REP Chocolate Products Again, no chocolate returns. 31
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TRAIL’S END REP Already Popped Cheese Flavors Again, no chocolate returns. 32
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TRAIL’S END REP Again, no chocolate returns. 33
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TRAIL’S END REP 34
SLIDE 35 ANGELA Trail’s End boasts an extremely generous average 73% return to Scouting on all their products. While they offer their products as a way for the Scouting community to raise funds to offset the cost of Scouting, they (like most businesses) are in business to make money themselves. They have to set a price that will cover their operating and production costs and make a profit as well. Add to that the 73% return to Scouting and you have a very inflated price. But before you blame the “greedy corporation,” let’s look at an example and breakdown a few
- numbers. One of the best seller’s is the 18-pack of Microwavable Unbelievable Butter. It retails
for $20 and Scouting receives 72% commission. That’s $14.45 to Scouting and $5.55 to Trail’s
- End. Let’s look at it another way. You can purchase a 6-pack of Pop Secret Theater Butter
Popcorn for $3.99 at a grocery store. To purchase 18-packs of Pop Secret Popcorn would cost $12, $8 less than buying Trail’s End 18-pack of Unbelievable Butter. So, for $20 people are purchasing 18-packs of gourmet microwave popcorn and donating $8 to Scouting. Which brings me to my final point; it is important to keep in mind that Scouts are not just selling gourmet popcorn. They are selling the Scouting experience. They are selling customers the
- pportunity to invest in a Scout. And it is his job to convince the customer he is worth investing
in! The popcorn is secondary; it is a token of appreciation for the customer’s investment.
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SCOTT How many Units here do not already have a Popcorn Kernel? If your Unit does not already have a Popcorn Kernel, you are already behind the curve and you need to get one ASAP!!! 38
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ANGELA Hopefully, at this point, your Unit has already planned its 2015-16 scout program. If it has not, you must do that first. Without a program and budget, you do not know what your goal(s) should be for popcorn sales. BSA has a great website to learn how to plan your Unit’s year of activities and create a budget. 43
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ANGELA Once you have determined your Unit’s budget for the year, you need to determine how much popcorn your Unit will need to sell to cover its budget. 44
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ANGELA Breakdown Sales Goal into the smallest increments possible. It makes the Unit Sales Goal seem more manageable and less overwhelming. 46
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ANGELA Scholarship—Really talk this up with especially Tiger parents! 51
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ANGELA This year, Trail’s End is giving away a couple extra bonus prizes. Scouts that sign up or log into their Trail's End online selling account by September 30, 2015 will be entered to win 1 of 500 $10 Amazon.com Gift Cards! 52
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ANGELA Additionally, units that sell $2,000 or more online will receive a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card. 53
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SCOTT Please check with you employer before soliciting at work. Some employers no longer allow it. 74
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SCOTT a. All Cubs should be accompanied by an adult. b. Parents should be encouraged to practice a “sales pitch” and discuss the different products with their Scout so as to familiarize him with what to say. c. Have the Scouts do the selling. Parents should stay close and be observant, but only step in when boys stumble with answers. This should be a positive experience for the Scouts. d. Group sales with Den or Pack competitions and/or “Mystery House” e. Having product in-hand improves the chance of making a sale exponentially! f. Positive presentation—each Scout is representing himself, his Unit, and Boy Scouts of America. [Skit with Josh and Vickie’s son] g. Again, not just selling popcorn! Scouts are selling the scouting experience. i. Example: “Would you like to help me pay my own way to Resident Camp?” 75
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ANGELA 1. Store Sales a. Schedule them in July and early August. b. Think outside the box—does not have to be Kroger and Walmart, or even a store for that matter. Anywhere people go! c. Limit the number of Scouts per session. Keep each session to a maximum of 2 hours. d. Well organized display of products. i. Not crowded and thrown together on a table. e. Again, positive Scout presentation! Not just selling popcorn! [Tell story of Jack and Ryan selling to another Cub Master] 76
SLIDE 77 ANGELA Have 3-5 Lt. Kernels who are dedicated to table sales support. Have them be responsible for: i. Picking up product from the Kernel. ii. Getting product (and display items) to and from stores.
- iii. Train and answer questions of volunteers manning the table.
- iv. Collecting money at the end of each sale.
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SLIDE 78 ANGELA Clearly define the expectations for the people selling at store sales. i. How the total sales will be split between the sellers. ii. Where tables must be set at the stores.
- iii. How the product will be delivered and picked up from the store.
- iv. Who will pick up money at the end of the sale.
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SLIDE 79 ANGELA a. Trail’s End i. Create an account for your Scout, email or text to friends and family, and orders are mailed directly to customer. ii. All online sales are tracked by the Popcorn Kernel through the “Leader’s Account.”
- iii. Scouts are credited for online sales.
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SLIDE 81 SCOTT Create a system to accurately track both money and product. The last thing you want is for your Unit to have to pay for unaccounted inventory. Council determines what your Unit owes them by calculating what inventory you were given minus what you returned. It is not Council’s issue what was lost, stolen, not returned, or unpaid! Use spreadsheets to track inventory given to Scouts.
- Include dollar amounts and money turned in.
- Examples on Council’s Popcorn page.
Use sign in and sign out sheets when giving out or receiving inventory from Scouts. Be sure to give a receipt when receiving money from a Scout. 81
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VICKI Detailed instruction on how to install and use the Intuit GoPayment card reader are found in the Leader Guide. 85
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