2014 Popcorn Sales
The 2014 Pop Corn sales are open. Popcorn sales fund a large portion of Packs expenses and are a positive experience for the Scouts –and of course the get prizes. In addition to the prizes found on the Take Order Forms (found below) every Scout who sells $600 receives an additional bonus prize – this year pedal powered “Skylight Rockets”:  Vic Schubert is managing the Pop Corn Sales and can be reached at vjs3@yahoo.com Types of Sales As a reminder, there are four ways that the popcorn is sold (…each with its own Scouting terminology...which you do not need to know):
QFC Sales September 19-21 & October 4-6 Our pack sells in front of QFC over two weekends. Last year, QFC sales were our largest source of sales, was fun for the Scouts and made a positive showing of the pack in the community. I have created a sign up for two hour slots – up to 4 Scouts for each slot. We need two parents to be at the site for each two hour slot, per Scouting rules. Sales are divided between each Scout who sells during a time slot. The sign up for these slots is here: Take Order Forms I’ll be handing out the traditional order forms at our first meeting. However, your Scout can begin taking orders now if they so choose. Take order forms must be submitted to Vic Schubert by October 19th. The order form, and description of products (as well as prizes), can be downloaded here: The ordered product will be delivered to us in early November for distribution. Scouts can either take payment at the time of order or at the time of delivery – you are responsible for payment if an order is made. Watch the following training video with your Scout for ideas on door-to-door sales: Online Sales Online sales makes it possible to grab relatives and friends out of state to buy Popcorn. Last year our Pack had no online sales (even from my own family – who have been threatened with ex-communication if they do not purchase this year). Your Scout sends an e-mail with a link to the customer. The customer then orders online and your Scout is credited for the sale. Online ordering does require the customer to pay for shipping. To do this requires that your Scout set up an “account” with the Pop Corn Company directly. Setting up the account will require the parents e-mail. Setting up your Scouts account now makes it possible to sell popcorn throughout the fundraiser – and hopefully it’s more convenient to do now rather than when we all get busy as school begins. Here are the instructions for setting up that account (slightly modified): Go to www.trails-end.com Click on "Scouts" in the upper right (its bright red) On the next screen, click "Scout" in the drop-down box in upper right that says, "Create Account". From there, follow the steps to create their accounts enter their birthday (as any Scout under 13 will require their parent's permission to activate their account because of the Child Online Privacy & Protection Act). a. You need to know that you are in the following group: b. Council name - Chief Seattle c. District - Alpine d. Pack 738 2. Suggestion: Send one of the pre-written emails to your own email address. When you receive it, hi-light the link and copy it. 3. Write your own, customized email that explains what YOU are doing in scouting this year, what your goal is, etc. PASTE that link into this email. Include a picture of having fun at camp, for instance. Then, send it to all of your out-of-area family, friends, and relatives. This way, the email comes from you (not a website) and is less likely to end up in spam folders and more likely to be meaningful to the recipients. When your recipients click on the link, they'll be taken to the Trail's End site and can buy, supporting your Scout because that link used to get to the site has your Scout's identifier hard-coded into it. 4. Lastly, the Scouts who sell $2,000, $3,000 + in online each year all tell us that a big key to their success is following up about 4-5 days later with each person you sent the original email to who has not yet bought. Again, the fund raiser is not just about getting money – it’s a good experience for the Scouts themselves. One former Scout posted “10 Reasons (Other than Money) Why Your Scout Should Sell Popcorn” – if you have the time, I recommend having a look: …and don’t forget to watch this super-cool-slow-motion video of a popcorn kernel popping: | Parent Action Items Popcorn Sales Begin September 1 Order Forms Due October 19th Order Pickup Early November Show and Sell Dates September 19-21 Fri, Sat, Sun QFC October 4-6 Fri, Sat, Sun QFC |