Thinking. About Business.
Make Them Buy From You
Lessons from a twelve year old
By David Newman
It’s Girl Scout Cookie time in our part of the world. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the sights, tastes,
and overall experience of helping your daughters sell Thin Mints, Samoas, and Do-Si-Do’s, you’re missing a
fundamental and wide-ranging education about the dynamics of networking.
Here are some points I’ve garnered while helping my daughter, Rebecca, age 12, and Troop 3129, make their
sales numbers. These pointers are hard-earned, field-tested, and as applicable to you and your company as they
are to Rebecca and her cookies.
1.
It’s who you know and who knows YOU. It’s true: the cookie business is a relationship business. Our
next-door neighbor bought 9 boxes—Bam! Neighbors on the other side, 2 boxes, then 3, then more.
Why? Because Rebecca had something to sell. What’s your personal brand doing these days? Would
people buy from you JUST BECAUSE IT’S YOU?
2.
It’s not about the product. It’s time to get the lawyers upset. Ready? Girl Scout Cookies, for the most
part, taste terrible [Thin Mints are the one exception, in my humble opinion]. And they have enough fat,
calories, and cholesterol in them to power a small Japanese alternative fuel vehicle. You want good
cookies? Buy Oreos, Mallomars, Ginger Snaps, or Nutter Butters. Yet Girl Scout Cookies sell like crazy,
year after year, donating millions to the bottom line of Girl Scouts of the USA. Lesson: You definitely
don’t need the “best product” to sell like crazy—you do need a reputation.
3.
It’s not about price. Girl Scout Cookies cost $3.50 a box. The smallest box, by weight, is 7 oz. and the
largest is 10 oz. By comparison, most retail cookies come packaged in a “small” size of around 12 oz.
and cost about $2.49. Girl Scout Cookies give even the premium brands, such as Pepperidge Farm, a run
for their money when it comes to high cost. Did I mention one of our neighbors bought 9 boxes at a
clip? So forget about having the best rates in town or negotiating away your profits. That’s not the path
the Girl Scouts take.
4.
It’s not about need. Face it, nobody NEEDS Girl Scout Cookies. In fact, when the girls were out doing a
“Cookie Shop” at a local hardware store (local merchants, malls, and grocery stores allow Girl Scouts to
set up a table for sales on their premises to support the cause), the #1 objection we heard was “I already
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have some Girl Scout Cookies at home—more than I need!” Why do you suppose they bought more than
they needed? Because they had a relationship with their cookie salesperson that was more important
than their need, desire, or use for the actual product. Hey, did you know that Girl Scout Cookies make
great gifts, freeze really well, and are only sold for a short time each year? Can you learn from this and
apply the lesson to YOUR networking interactions?
5.
It’s not about competition; it’s all about contacts and referrals. So who is selling to all those customers
who “have Girl Scout Cookies at home—more than they need?” Naturally, it’s their Girl Scout. What are
the chances of Rebecca selling a box of cookies to someone whose daughter is also selling the same
cookies for the same price? You got it: less than zero. Is Rebecca going to bang her head against the wall
bemoaning those lost sales? Of course not. She’s going to tap into her network of networks—neighbors,
cousins, kids and parents at the YMCA where she plays basketball, Rebecca’s babysitting and pet sitting
clients (talk about cross-selling!!). Do you know how to fill your company’s pipeline when things
seem dry? Do you know how to move your prospects along to becoming customers, satisfied
customers, and then customers-for-life—not of the product or service you’re selling today, but of YOUR
COMPANY and whatever value proposition you might be offering now and in the future? Are you
great at creating a network of networks?
6.
When times are tough and the economy’s bad, that’s the time to push harder than ever. Cookie sales
end at a certain time each year. About two weeks away from the ending date, there are Girl Scout
Cookies being sold everywhere you look. We’ll probably have 10–12 boxes left over by the time the
deadline comes. Are we depressed that we didn’t meet our goal? Are we failures as salespeople? Only if
we quit when it’s over. Newsflash: as soon as everyone else stops selling, stops marketing, and stops
with the “Cookie Shop” setups—these cookies move up from a commodity to a valuable asset! It’s the
same thing with your products and services: when the market is down, your competition has pulled
their ads, it’s “hunker-down” time, get back to basics, and cut, cut, cut! However, that’s the worst time
to cut—you have everyone’s attention! There’s actually much less noise out there for your company’s
message to compete against. Push now, network, and you’ll be heard loud and clear!!!
What does this all mean to you and your company?
It’s simple—now is the time to get back in the saddle and ride your networking activities harder than ever.
For free resources to help you lead smarter and sell more, visit David’s website www.UNINSIDER.com.
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