Table of Contents  |   Trail's End Home  |   Scouts  |   Families  |   Councils  |   Leaders

Trail's End is adding important new features to orderpopcorn.com, the site where consumers order their favorite Trail's End products and have them delivered straight to their homes. Using emails, a Scout can direct friends and family all across the country to the site, and give them his Order Key to use when purchasing popcorn. The Order Key is a unique I.D. code assigned to just that Scout. When consumers enter the Scout's Order Key, he receives credit for their purchases. Using online sales a Scout, and his Pack or Troop, can add measurably to their popcorn sales totals. Scouting has already realized more than $1-million of income for its programs from the sale of popcorn at orderpopcorn.com.    The following features are now available. Order Key has its own space.    On the end panels of the new Trail's End microwave popcorn cartons, there's a spot where a Scout can fill in his Order Key before making deliveries. This is a handy way of disseminating his Order Key to customers so they can purchase popcorn at orderpopcorn.com.        Boys should be reminded to add their Order Key to the microwave carton end-panels prior to making popcorn deliveries. Now, you can buy just one. Or many.    Customers can now purchase Trail's End products in any quantity they choose; in prior years they could only buy in case lots. The ability to buy one, two or three of their favorite products is sure to increase sales for Packs and Troops that include online sales in their popcorn strategy. Customers have new options.    If orderpopcorn.com customers want to buy popcorn, but they don't have a Scout's Order Key to enter while making the purchase, they can simply use a drop-down menu on the site and choose a Scout Council to receive credit for the sale. [ Download a printable PDF of this story ]

Thirteen year old Anderson currently holds Star Scout rank and is in Troop 71. He began participating in the Trail's End sale as a Wolf Cub and has increased both his total sales and his sale per customer each year.    Anderson has made all his sales going door-to-door. Just when we thought we had reached our maximum with the Take Order method we learned about the Show-n-Deliver method. Having the product in hand to show the customers increased sales dramatically! And there was no delivery of huge quantities at the end of the sale.    When the sales promo sheet comes out each year, Anderson sets his sales goal based on the prizes he wants to earn and calculates how much he needs for at least 10% increase over the prior year. Each day of the sale he plots his progress on a chart on the wall. He figures out how much he would need to sell per day to make his goal and won't stop until he's on track.    In addition to the great hints I've seen listed by Trail’s End in the past (knowing the products, prices, etc, wearing the uniform, being polite), Anderson has some unique sales techniques that have worked well for him. Getting out there early in the sale is critical to beat the competition. Last year he sold over $1,200 on the first day! But, he never hurries making the sale, and spends time getting to know his customer.    Anderson has a list of all previous buyers so he can remind them what they bought in the past. This seems to make a very strong impression on buyers, and sometimes it persuades them to buy when they appear to be on the brink of saying no, initially. His customers are very loyal and feel a part of his success!    To promote bonding with the customer, he always gives them a thank you note with phone number in case there is any problem, or if they would like to buy more popcorn during the sale.    This year he plans to approach some local businesses as an opportunity to increase sales. Thanks, Linda [ Download a printable PDF of this story ]

Table of Contents  |   Trail's End Home  |   Scouts  |   Families  |   Councils  |   Leaders