Longs Peak Council 2017 Leaders popcorn Jake of Pack 65, sold $17,270 last year. Enough to pay his and his dad s fees for summer camp and so much more! Updated 7/21/16
Welcome The Longs Peak Council has partnered with Trail s End popcorn for over 30 years. Our focus has been to increase the return of net profit to units and the council. With all of the new and unique products for 2017 Scouts will be excited to sell and consumers will be anxious to receive these products for their donations. Visit scouting.trailsend.com and longspeakbsa.org/popcorn for your tools for the popcorn sale. 2017 Steps for Success 3 Important Dates Add to your calendar now. 4-5 Unit Commission and Scout Bonus Earn bonus money for going above and beyond 6-7 Sales Management Training, Online Sales and Show & Sell 8 Frequently Asked Questions 9 Payment Options Each page of this guidebook is dedicated to helping you and your Scouts have a successful popcorn sale. 2 Tips 10-13 Methods of Selling Popcorn 13-17 Scout Bonus Rewards 14-17 2017 Products & Sales Sheet 18 Tips for Sales Techniques 19-20 Unit Kickoff Helps Resources 21 Scout Advancement Opportunities 22 2016 Top Sellers 23 Unit Master Record Form 24 Unit Order & Settlement Form 25 Prize Order Form 26 District Popcorn Contacts 27 Popcorn Checklist 28 Your Mission
Important Dates Enter these dates into your calendar NOW! If you miss a submission deadline, your unit will forfeit any earned bonus. August 28 Popcorn Orders due for first pick up (see pages 6 & 7, frequently asked questions) September 9 Popcorn Sale BEGINS September 9 Popcorn Pick up #1 September 16 Popcorn Pick up #2 October 14 Popcorn Sale Ends October 21 Return left-over popcorn inventory Only full cases in correct case boxes - NO CHOCOLATE PRODUCTS October 25 Final Orders Due with all paper work (see pages 27-29) November 11 Popcorn Pick up #3 - final pickup December 5 Popcorn Money due (see page 8-9) 2017 Top Sellers: IMPORTANT DATES Isaiah (Pack 341), Jake (Pack 65) and Kolbe (Pack 188) 3
UNIT Unit COMMISSION Commission Unit Commission Units opting for the prize package will receive back 29% Units opting for the cash back option will receive 33% UNIT BONUS AWARDS: Receive more cash back credited to your unit account (LPC Finance will credit bonus money and online sales commission to the units accounts the end of December, after deposits and unit balances have been reconciled.) +3% - If your unit increased sales over last year use these guidelines: A. Sell 20% more than last year if you sold less than $10,000 OR B. Sell 10% more if you sold less than $19,999 but more than $10,001 OR C. Have an increase in sales if you sold more than $20,000 OR D. Units selling for the first time average $650 per member with 50% of registered scouts participating in the sale. (If you would like to negotiate your goals for 2017 please work this out with your District Professional prior to September 30, 2017 -no adjustments will be made after this date) +1% - Has your unit sold popcorn for at least the past 5 years? THANK YOU! You will receive 1% bonus because you have remained loyal to the program of Scouting. ONLINE SALES from August 1 to October 14 receive automatic bonus. Your unit will be credited 50% of online sales. Online sales count towards prize totals and towards scholarship and Scout bonus prizes. UNIT POPCORN CHAIR BONUS: achieve your unit popcorn sales goal and submit all forms and payments on time and receive a Family 4 Pack to any of the 3 Colorado Eagles Popcorn games (includes game, hot dog, and drink for 4). Submit On Time! Watch your Due Dates Submit your unit s popcorn and prize orders by October 25th to your district (see page 31, back cover). And, prior to December 5th, make your final deposit to USbank (see page 8) or submit one (1) unit check for your balance due to your district office on or before Dec 5. Submitting multiple checks and/or cash constitute LATE payment. If you miss a submission deadline, your unit will not earn any bonus. Note Pre-Orders (for show n sell or show n deliver): returning 20% or more will result in a restocking fee of a 1% commission loss. For example, if your commission is 29%, you will only receive 28%. 4
RE- BONUS AWARDS LONGS Peak council ALL SCOUTS Sell $650 and choose one Z-Curve Bow OR Camp Cooking Set SCOUTS...EARN BONUS REWARDS Sell $650 choose from one of the $650 prizes above and get the SELLERS CLUB segment for your 2017 Popcorn Patch. BONUS Sell $1,000 get the TOP SELLER pin for the 2016 Popcorn patch and and additional $25 gift card! Eagles Hockey sell $1500+ in the Council and you and a guest will receive tickets to 1 of 3 designated Eagle Hockey games. Your tickets will include a free meal and you will be recognized as a special guest of the Colorado Eagles. 2017 Dates: Saturday January 12, Friday January 26 or Saturday January 27 5
GET TRAINED! Take the time to review the training videos once you log into scouting.trails-end.com You will learn how to s and receive helpful suggestions. 6
Popcorn System: scouting.trails-end.com Use the PSS for helpful suggestions on incentives, unit trainings, and help in using the new system. ONLINE sales will automatically receive 50% commission (online sales will not be used for giving BONUS commissions, but can be used for a Scouts Total Reward) Ordering product from the Scout s Take Order Forms. Product is ordered through the Popcorn System, which is accessible through scouting.trails-end.com If you do not have your Popcorn System sign-in information, contact your Council. View the Ordering Trail s End Product tutorial on scouting.trails-end.com for step-bystep instructions on how to place your order based on the Scout s Take Order form sales. Viewing online sales. You can use the same username and password you use for your Popcorn System account. All online sales beginning August 1 through October 15 count toward Scout Rewards (prizes and scholarships). Download the Scout Sales Report to view each Scout s online sales that count toward Scout Rewards. Receive emails from Trails End When creating your account on sell.trails-end.com make sure to check the box to receive emails from Trail s End. Trail s End sends several emails about website updates, online sales, additional tools for your sale and more. SHOW AND SELL How do I divide the group sales? One proven example. Track the total dollar amount of popcorn sold during the day. What you checked out minus what you checked back in. Track the total number of hours each scout actively works selling popcorn. Figure out the hourly amount of popcorn sold (sales per hour) by; Adding together all of the hours worked by the scouts Divide the total dollar amount sold by the total hours worked $1200 / 24 = $50 per hour Total Sales / Total Hours = $ per hour Billy worked 4 hours; credited $200 to his sale total Multiply the sales per hour by the time worked by each scout. On the Scouts Sale Sheet, write in Booth Sale date $ in sales 7 Sales management
Help on this page FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Website for popcorn forms: www.longspeakbsa.org/popcorn What forms are required for final checkin day: Unit Master Form (page 27) Unit Order and Settlement Form (page 28) Prize form (page 29) Please include Scouts FIRST and LAST NAMES. We verify Scouts qualifying for prizes only if they are currently registered. If not registered, they do not qualify for bonus prizes. Do not just print out the sheets from trails-end.com, as they do not give us the information we must have. Printing out these pages will not count as forms turned in. Work with your District Popcorn Kernel on acceptable spreadsheet alternatives. What is a Blitz day: Help can be found on the websites above. Schedule a Saturday for the entire unit to start out, map out areas, split up and sell for a couple of hours and then meet up to give out awards for top sellers and enjoy a picnic. Can we use Credit Cards: YES! This is up to each Unit. It does help to increase sales. Where can I find the worksheet for the Ideal Year (figuring out our Pack/Troop goal)? www.longspeakbsa.org/popcorn Your popcorn Thumbdrive What size of car do I need to pick up popcorn? A general guideline: Midsize car = 20 cases Jeep Cherokee = 40 cases Mini-Van = 60 cases The above is just a guideline. The total amount that will fit into a vehicle depends on the type of products ordered, as each case has a different area. If our Pack/Troop opts for cash instead of prizes, do the Scouts still receive the BONUS AWARDS? YES! Be sure to order these along with your patches. Are Trails End awards cumulative? NO! If your unit is opting for prizes (keeping 29% commission) Scouts may chose a prize from the category which his total sales equals. For instance, if your Scout sells $1,000 he may chose 1 prize from Level Nine at the $1,000 level. Or he may chose 1 from Level Five at the $250 level, and 2 from Level Six at the $375 level = $250 + $375 + $375 = $1,000. Choosing the multiple prizes negates a prize from Level Nine. CHOCOLATE IS AVAILABLE, BUT Chocolate products CANNOT be returned (Chocolate Lovers, Chocolatey Caramel Crunch, and White Chocolate Pretzels). Because the quality of the popcorn can be adversely affected by heat and freezing, it is the unit s responsibility to maintain the quality of ALL products through proper storage and handling. Customer complaints and resolution are the responsibility of the unit. 8
A. Unit Checking Account: Deposit all funds collected into your own unit s checking account. Make your payment to Longs Peak Council by December 5th with ONE unit check for the entire amount due. Customer checks can be made to your unit. B. USbank: (Preferred Option) Have checks made out to the Longs Peak Council (LPC) or Boy Scouts of America and your Unit (i.e., BSA/Pack 99; LPC/Troop 99). All checks deposited into USbank (NOT Wells Fargo this account is CLOSED; do not use any of the OLD deposit slips) account must have your Unit number and the scout s name listed in the Memo Box. This helps us greatly with returned checks! All Wells Fargo deposits must be made by 3PM 12/4/17. How To Make Deposits to USbank Use the COUNCIL ISSUED DEPOSIT SLIPS ONLY (do not use generic deposit slips from the bank). Each Unit will receive four (4) deposit slips to make deposits (1 for each week). There is no limit to the number of checks deposited per slip. With each deposit slip, attach a separate listing (print out) of checks you are depositing. Keep a detailed record of the checks you deposit; we recommend you create a spreadsheet with the selling scout s name, check number, account holder s name, and dollar amount. This will help you locate a discrepancy in deposit amounts. USbank Customer Checks: customer checks must have the check writer s name, address and phone number printed on the check. (Mandatory) When To Deposit- We strongly recommend that you deposit customers checks within a week of receiving them. Ask your TOP sellers to turn in monies received weekly. Additional slips upon request. Why To Deposit Using Council Slips: 1. Frequent deposits will help you avoid lost checks or misplaced cash. Payment options 2. If a customer check is short (bounces), the bank fee will not be charged back to your Unit. (The Council will cover the fee when you use the Wells Fargo account.) Deposit Less Commission: avoid waiting for Council Issued Refund Checks. 1. If your Unit is getting prizes, deposit 71% of sales. 2. If your Unit wants to keep commission instead of prizes, only deposit 67% of sales. 3. Helpful Hint: Deposit customer checks into the Council USbank account and put cash collected into your unit checking account. 9
Sell Online! trails-end.com Scouts will need to REGISTER an account, reach out to additional friends and family when asking for support on trails-end.com. 70% of all online sales goes to local Scouting, your unit will receive 50% directly back from any online sales. Create personalized Scouting profile you can customize your sale with downloads from Trails-End.com. Scouts can now sell from any mobile device; import their popcorn client address book. Benefits of online selling: All online sales from August 1 through October 14 count towards Scout Rewards. Less inventory. Online orders are shipped directly to the customer, so you don t have to worry about extra product to deliver. 50% back to the unit How does online selling work? Scouts create their own accounts to sell online and contact customers to make online purchases on their behalf. Leaders create their own accounts to view their Scout s online sales. Once signed into your account, you can view online sales by Scout. Our website is safe and secure: 100% COPPA compliant (Child Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998) for Scout safety. 100% PCI compliant (Payment Card Industry) for consumer credit card security. Receive the ONLINE segment for any online sales: 10
Five best way to sell Five Best Ways to Sell the Adventure We want to ensure that you sell safely and learn important life skills like goal-setting, public speaking, teamwork and much more. The five best ways to sell, safety tips, selling script below will give you everything you need to sell like a pro. To have product available for your sale, your Unit Popcorn Kernel should visit scouting.trails-end.com by August 28th to place your order for inventory pickup on September 9. 1. Take Order This is the most traditional way to sell; going door-to-door with the take order form. Customers choose the products he or she wishes to buy and writes the order on your form. You will collect the money when you deliver the products to your customers a few weeks later. Advantages: Provides a personal connection with your customers. Higher dollars per customer than storefront sales. Call on your relatives and family friends 2. Show and Deliver This method is similar to Take Order, except you carry Trail's End products with you to show to your customers as you visit them. The customer is able to select the products he or she wishes to buy from your product selection. You then hand over the product and collect the money right then and there. Advantages: No return trip required for product delivery and money collection. Selling door-to-door with product in hand. Scouts deliver the product and collect the money on same visit. Customers spend more at home ($16) vs. storefront ($7.45) Save time! Most productive use of a family s valuable time Spend more time selling and less time delivering & collecting 3. Show and Sell Your den, pack, or troop gets permission to sell in front of a retail store or in the local mall. Set up a well organized display with products for people to purchase as they walk by. Have plenty of products on display for people to buy. Advantages: Gives access to a large number of potential customers and promotes the Boy Scouts of America in the community. Contact location for show and sell to get permission (use your Charter Organization instead of your unit number to help the location avoid confusion over Packs and Troops) Ensure leaders and Scouts are in uniform with a neat and clean appearance Ability to provide a fun atmosphere for the group Ideal opportunity to teach selling techniques 11
4. Selling Online This is the best way to sell to your friends and family who live out of town. Send emails to your customers asking them to purchase Trail's End products online. Customers click on the link in your email and can begin shopping right away. They order products online and pay with a credit card, and Trail's End ships the products directly to your customers. Advantages: No product delivery or money collection. Ability to sell popcorn year-round and reach your friends and family who live far away. Benefits include not handling any inventory or product yourself 50% commission automatically 5. Selling at Work Parents can take an order form to the work place. Co-workers write their order on the order form. Your mom and/or dad deliver product and collect the money a few weeks later. Advantages: Expands your customer base, and offices often need snacks and gifts. Ordering Popcorn Inventory to have during the Sale: Place your FIRST order by August 28 by going to www.trails-end.com and then call your district Popcorn Kernel for a September 9 pickup time. Missed the August 28 order deadline but still want to pickup on September 9? Email your order directly to Dawn T-Baumgartner, dawn.baumgartner@scouting.org by September 5. For the September 16 pickup (#2), place your order by Tuesday, September 12. Email Dawn T Baumgartner, dawn.baumgartner@scouting.org with your order. Units are encouraged to order 50-70% of the previous year s sale Find out how much you ordered in 2016 by asking your professional for a copy of last year s final invoice. Compare number of selling scouts last year to number you expect to sell this year. Involve your unit s committee to approve the order. Ask you District Popcorn Kernel to review your inventory order; a sanity check is helpful! At the end of the sale, fill your scout s Take Orders from existing inventory before computing your unit s final order. Return all whole cases on October 21st. All popcorn must be in full cases, in like product boxes (butter in butter, etc.). Helps to keep a few empty case boxes, of each type, during the sale. Clearly mark the OPENED case with your unit number. Unopened (factory sealed) cases do not need to be marked. Please remember that Chocolate cannot be returned. These are Chocolate Lovers, Choc. Crunch, and White Chocolate Pretzels. 12 Five Best best Ways way to Sell to sell
Scout Rewards - over $5,000 more back to Scouts! 1. $1500+ Seller: will be invited to attend a special Colorado Eagles Hockey game. You will have 3 dates to choose from and will receive 2 tickets and a hot dog meal voucher. Scouts will be recognized during the game! 2. Top three (3) total sellers in the Council will receive their choice of an ipod or Kindle Fire or $500 Gift card. The next 7 top sellers will receive a $100 gift card! 3. $650 Club: Receive a Z-Curve Bow with 2 Firetek Rockets or Camp Cooking Set with Utensils. Unit Leaders will have access to these for instant recognition of $650 in sales. 4. $1,000 Sellers: receive a $25 gift card from your choice of Walmart or Amazon and the SELLERS CLUB segment for the 2016 Popcorn Patch. 5. $1,000 Sellers: receive the TOP SELLER pin for the 2017 Popcorn patch. Sell at least 1 Military Donations and receive the MILITARY segment of the 2017 Popcorn patch. and OR $1500+ Scouts will receive 2 free tickets to a Colorado Eagles Hockey game (January 12, 26 or 27). 6% of your total sales each year is invested in your own scholarship account REWARDS **Prizes earned are based on the dollar amount of popcorn sold. Prizes are not cumulative. A scout has the option of choosing prizes in various categories to equal the amount sold. For example, a scout sells $850; prize can be 1 item from the $850 category OR two items from the $250 category and an item from the $350 category (total combined categories are equal to or less than $850). DO NOT COMBINE SCOUT SALES TO ORDER ADDITIONAL PRIZES. If you would like to purchase additional prizes, call Dawn T-Baumgartner for prices. 970-584-2203 or dawn.baumgartner@scouting.org 13
Selling your adventures Remember to sell your We are selling the Scouting Remind Scouts to tell everyone Program, not Popcorn. Selling popcorn as a fundraiser enables a unit to have the funds to deliver their program. We are selling Scouting, and people will buy if asked. 82% of the public has never been asked to buy popcorn from Scouts. People need to know why Scouts are selling popcorn...what is the reason? Inform Scouts and their parents how the popcorn sale directly benefits individual Scouts and their families. Hand out a printed calendar and unit budget which will help educate parents and Scouts on plans for the upcoming year. The popcorn costs too much. Surveys indicate people will buy from a Scout, if asked, and if they hear how it will benefit the Scout. This is a unit fundraiser...not a bargain sale. It is not about popcorn, it is about program. Sell the Scouting Program Our pack, troop, crew, or post has another fundraiser and we do not need to sell popcorn. Then consider offering credits equal to the unit commission to go directly into a Scout s award account to be used for weekend campouts, field trips, day camp, etc. Many units find the Popcorn Sale as adequate for both their Unit and individual Scout annual needs...parents appreciate not having to come up with funds (dues) every week, month, etc. So..what do I do now? As the unit popcorn chair, log on to scouting.trails-end.com and place your order for popcorn product by August 29 for pickup on September 10. Contact the store, event or location to get permission to sell popcorn. Plan a well organized unit popcorn kick off. Be sure to cover HOW TO SELL techniques with the Scout Encourage Scouts to contact family and close friends and past customers, canvas your neighborhood beginning September 9th. 18 about the unit s program and why they are selling popcorn. Tips for a Successful Sale 1. Take advantage of all sales methods to earn more money (Show and Deliver, Show and Sell, Take Order, and Online selling). 2. Sell throughout the sale and to continue selling to the last day of the popcorn sale. 3. Write everything down and hand out receipts!! Give a receipt when money is turned in from a Scout and his family. Receipt all popcorn handed out and returned. Give receipts to the customer to remind them when their order will be delivered and a unit contact number. Don t assume that you will remember. 4. Ask parents to be the first to buy popcorn, and then ask other relatives. 5. Ask neighbors, if a neighbor is not home the first time, go back later. If you sell popcorn to a neighbor early in the sale, call on them before the sale is over to see if they need more product before next year. 6. Record email addresses so that you can do follow up sales via email.
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Cub Scout Advancement Opportunities 21
CONTACT INFORMATION Contact Information For information or help related to your Unit s Popcorn Sale, call the following District Popcorn Chair or your District Executives: 3 Rivers Tabitha Vonfeldt Michael Turner (H) 970-352-4796 (W) 970-584-2219 tvcar@comcast.net Michael.Turner@scouting.org Cache la Poudre Michael Baker (W)970-584-2208 Michael.Baker@scouting.org Frontier Lyssa Bartels Carey Anson (H) 307-630-6575 (W) 307-258-8146 lyssabartels@yahoo.com Carey.Anson@scouting.org High Altitude Lyssa Bartels Carey Anson (H) 307-630-6575 (W)307-258-8146 lyssabartels@yahoo.com Carey.Anson@scouting.org High Plains Bryan Davidson (W) 970-580-4738 bryan.davidson@scouting.org Rocky Mountain Audri Smith Tyler Miller (H) 970-405-1397 (W) 970-584-2227 audloveskids@yahoo.com Tyler.Miller@scouting.org Indian Peaks Scott Jacobs Sara Moore (C) 310-628-1882 (W) 970-584-2171 sjacobsisc@earthlink.net Sara.Moore@scouting.org Mountain View Paul Link John Eastman (H) 720-339-2698 (W) 970-584-2170 prlink74@gmail.com John.Eastman@scouting.org Tri Trails Bryan Davidson Joyce Sinner (W)308-632-4179 (H) 308-630-1260 Bryan.davidson@scouting.org joycesinnerjoyce@hotmail.com Longs Peak Council Inc., Boy Scouts of America 2215 23rd Avenue - Greeley, CO Phone: 970-330-6305 or 800-800-4052 Fax: 970-330-7961 www.longspeakbsa.org Dawn T-Baumgartner, dawn.baumgartner@scouting.org 970-584-2203 Ben SanMiguel, Council Popcorn Chair den2bensm@yahoo.com 303-748-6133 26
Final Checklist Edit your scouting.trails-end.com site including your popcorn chair name; be sure to select cash or prizes. If entering by scout, did you approve ALL Scout orders online? ( Place order in FULL CASES only; double check your math; know how many containers are in a case. You are responsible for your order. List popcorn chair and unit information on the settlement form. Did you order patches? Double check your prize order for accuracy; your unit will be charged for additional prizes, if needed. Exact amount due is listed (do not round amounts up or down). List all scouts selling $650 and above; give name and dollar amount sold. Boys who sold $1,000 and $1,500 or more, remember to order their bonus gifts. Boys who sold $2,500 or more, and boys already in the scholarship program, attach the scholarship information form. (You may submit scholarship forms after October 25.) Turn in Unit Master Record form with the Unit Order & Settlement form. Computer generated versions are OK if formatted like standard forms and minimum 12 pt font. Turn in the Prize Order Sheet. If you opt to just print out your prize oder sheet from the trails end site, then what is listed is what you get. We will not have paperwork to compare as to what should have been ordered. Turn in the prize form in order to guarantee your full prize selection. Tips for Sales Techniques Final checklist Hi, my name is _Jake (first name only!) and I m a scout with pack/troop Pack 65_ (your unit number). I m earning my way to summer camp and selling popcorn to help raise money for our Pack/Troop. You can help us by buying some of our delicious popcorn. What can I get for you? 27
Kernal s Korner Commit to sell Trail s End Popcorn this fall. Create your Ideal Year of Scouting. Establish an activity plan and budget. Set a Popcorn Sale Goal. Use the Ideal Year, break goal down to a Per Scout Goal. Have Scouts go Online. Scouts create a Trail s End account, sell popcorn online. Attend your district or Council Popcorn Kickoff. Get the information you need to hold a successful kickoff for your unit and Scouts! ADVENTURES OF A LIFETIME START HERE!