Girls Scouts and Used Cars

Last week the Traub family became proud owners of Blueberry. She had some frostbite and lost a bit of her ears this winter b/c of some neglect but she's a keeper. We just dropped a few hundred bucks getting her back to health but based on my kid's reactions it was a good investment. On our way to the Humane Society we stopped by Wal-Mart to get the basics, food, litter box, a few toys etc. As I unloaded my son from the car I heard a little girl screaming at the top of her lungs. She wasn't being hit by a car, she was selling Girl Scout cookies.

I'm a Thin Mint guy myself, the wife is a Carmel Delight fan. We had just purchased four boxes of cookies that morning after a friend of my wife posted on her Facebook page that they would be camped out at the local grocery store hawking their treats. But, I would have bought more cookies from the little screaming girl IF she hadn't scared me away. Here's what her sales pitch sounded like.

"GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!! GET YOUR GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!"

one second pause...

"GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!! GET YOUR GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!"

Hey, I know she's not a marketing genius or anything but this is a BAD way to sell something. Funny thing happened when I heard her screaming. That "pay attention to me because I'm the loudest" tone reminded me of so many marketers who try to be the loudest in order to get attention. There's a hot dog restaurant in my town (yeah, all they sell is hot dogs) and their marketing revolves around making "below the belt" innuendos to hot dogs. Their "loud" is being crude. No thanks guys. How about being the best instead of being the most immature.

Back to Wal-Mart... I wanted to be critical but maybe she learned it from car commercials that ALL do the same thing. Be loud = sales? Girls scouts and car commercials have it wrong. It's not about the item...it's about the result of the item for the consumer. So here are the best lines to sell girl scout cookies.

"College prices are ridiculous! Send a girl scout to college!"
"Stop feeling guilty, just buy a box!"
"Supply and demand at it's finest. Cookies only available for two weeks. Buy some cookies!"

You get the idea.