1. Prospect: The first step in building strong corporate cookie
connections is to identify prospects. A prospect is a company that is
a potential sponsor for your Cookie Sale. Below are a few prompting
questions and ideas to help you brainstorm cookie sponsorship
prospects.
- What businesses do you frequent?
- Have you seen
businesses highlighted in the local news?
- Do you have
family and/or friends who work for a local business?
- What
businesses have made donations to the community before
and,
therefore, may do so again? - Are there businesses that could
utilize cookies as client gifts, employee appreciation, etc.?
2. Proposal & Pitch: To prepare for your meeting with the
business leader(s), you must create your proposal and pitch. Your
proposal includes all the information your prospect may need to know!
You should include information on the Corporate Cookie Connections
program, what levels of sponsorship are available, and the benefits to
the business for participating (see page 8 for these details). You may
also want to share about the Girl Scout Cookie Program, your Cookie
Sale goals, and your Girl Scout experience. Your proposal may be a
printed document, perhaps a flyer or pamphlet you design. You could
also create a digital proposal document, website, or presentation to share.
- Practice, practice, practice! If possible, practice with an
audience who can help provide you feedback.
- Avoid filler
words like “um,” “like,” and “so.” Writing out and practicing your
pitch can help you grow confident in your words and avoid fillers,
but if you feel the urge to say them, try to take a brief pause
instead!
- If you make a mistake, that is okay! Just pause,
take a deep breathe, and keep going.
- Dress for success
(your Girl Scout uniform would be a great touch!) and stand/ sit up
straight so that you look and feel confident.
- Make eye
contact with your audience. If that seems a little scary, an easy
trick is to look at someone’s forehead so that you are still
acknowledging them but do not make yourself uncomfortable.
3. Procure: To procure means to obtain, and in this case, you
are procuring a sponsorship! After providing a proposal to your
prospect and giving your pitch, try to get that yes! Before that
point, it is likely the business leader(s) will ask some questions.
Answer them as honestly as you can, should you know the answer. If you
do not, simply let them know and offer to get back to them at a later
time with the answer.
4. Partner: While the Corporate Cookie Connections program is
based on financial sponsorships, it is important to remember that you
are forming partnerships with these businesses! In the same way you
want to receive credit for the sponsorship to earn cool rewards you
want to be sure the business is getting all the benefits promised to them.