This is the season of buying Girl Scout cookies.Think of the process of going door-to-door or standing outside buildings and selling those cookies.It makes one wonder how many rejections and negative comments these young people hear on a regular basis.It is hard for some potential customers to show enthusiasm toward the effort and be supportive, while others smile and pull out their wallet and buy.
The process of selling is hard and requires some measure of skill.Closing the deal is an art for some while others find the process difficult.Excellent marketing of products helps.In the case of the Girl Scout cookies, it is hard to imagine any product where door-to-door sales take place with greater market awareness.They tend to rank up there with Coke and Pepsi!Do you know anyone that has never heard of Girl Scout cookies?
Scouting has been a way for young people to grow and lean many things.Business is one of those skills.In fact, marketing, selling, and accepting rejection is part of the selling of the cookies.The cookies sold are primarily to raise funds, but learning experiences are a significant benefit for these young women.
Skills always grow as young women even as they age.Hillary Clinton was a Girl Scout! She became a prominent political figure having been a Presidential Candidate and now former Secretary of State. She has experienced the negative effects in the public arena and weathered the storms. In certain circles, she is one of the most likely to be the next President of the United States and first woman to hold that office. The adversity of not receiving the nomination in the past did not hold her back and likely emboldened her in the challenge of being a Secretary in the Obama Administration. Maybe those skills learned selling cookies grew over the years: i.e., she did not give up when faced with adversity!
Sometimes early age experiences provide skills that enable people to excel in the entrepreneurial world.
- Never give up: The article “Entrepreneurs rarely throw in the towel” addresses the stick-to-it attitude of successful entrepreneurs. It is hard to sell cookies when being turned down frequently. The learning experience of staying with the task and accepting that some people do not what you have is great leaning experience.
- You can rebuild: “You can rebuild after business failure and devastation” is lesson learned by being excessively turned down or being the one that sold the fewest boxes. It is FAILURE and finding a new path to success. There is always a next year and striving to do better is the objective and a great lesson to learn.
- Networking and communication: These two traits go hand in hand and they are extremely important to the entrepreneur. The ability to relay a clear concise message along with the meeting of new people is a staple of the successful entrepreneur.
- Selling and closing: Finally, the art of presenting a product and getting the customer to buy it is basic to all business. This skill set fits with obtaining new jobs, running for office, or building a business. One of the key products marketed in each of these is the entrepreneur’s ability to run the organization. Makes you wonder if Hillary Clinton got some of her skills by selling cookies when she was younger!
You can follow Taffy Williams on Twitter by @twilli2861 and you can email him with questions at twilli2861@aol.com or contact him via company contact info in the website. More Startup information is contained in his personal blog.
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