November New Leader Phone Calls For Leaders Who Start between August and October The purpose of the phone call is to provide ongoing communication and support to the new leaders throughout the year. Before making the call, determine what upcoming program and service unit opportunities are available for that grade level (you ll want to take into consideration location, interests, etc.). Below are general questions to provide some structure to your conversation. When calling, remember to allow the new leader to talk most of the time to discover where they need assistance. Key Points: Ensuring a Good Troop Experience Make sure they know who to call if they need help Bank Account Encourage Fall Product Sales Encourage Service Unit Meetings Bonding and Rapport Hi, this is. I am a volunteer in your local area with your service unit. I am so excited to hear how your Girl Scout troop is doing. What has your troop been up to Oh that sounds great! Remember that building rapport is about what you say but also what you do. If speaking to volunteer, please be sure that you have open body language, and that you are actively listening. Even on the phone, listen and be attentive. A smile can be heard over the phone! Do you have some time right now to discuss how things are going with Girl Scouts? I m calling to see how things are going and how I and your service team can support you at this time. How can I assist you while I have you on the phone? Discovery Here are some probing questions you can ask to discover where they might need assistance. How are your troop meetings going? What are you needing help with? How is your leadership team functioning? How involved and supportive are your parents/caregivers? What challenges have you had with the girls in your troop? What has surprised you? 05-2507-02/2017
Budget I know that starting a troop can be both rewarding and challenging. Most tell me that they love spending time with the girls and doing the activities. Difficulties arrive with the management of the troop, such as dealing with parents/caregivers, knowing Girl Scout guidelines, and taking care of administrative tasks. The service unit meeting can really help navigate this. Have you had an opportunity to connect with the service unit? I know how precious time can be, so I want to make sure that you have the support that you need. We have several ways to get connected and supported by council and fellow volunteers. Discuss the following support: Service unit meetings (if they have not attended, if they cannot attend, would service unit meeting notes by helpful, emailed? Facebook?) Volunteer Support Facebook account and Service Unit Facebook Talk about the New Leader Webinar Series and other enrichment opportunities Customer Service hotline VTK An important part of the troop preparation is the Girl Scouting 101 training. Have you had a chance to complete this? If yes, ask whether they have questions about how this really works with their troop. If no, ask whether they would prefer to meet with someone for an in person training. One more thing I wanted to discuss with you is your troop finances. Have you opened your bank account? (If they indicate no, discover why. Is it time, not sure how to do it, intimidated, no second adult?) Once you have your bank account open, you can start money earning with your girls. I wanted to ensure that you are aware of the Fall Product Sale. Is your troop planning to participate? If yes, say the following: Great. Do you know how to contact your fall product coordinator for your service unit? Do you have any questions at this time? No time? Say the following: The fall product sale is set up to be simple and is great practice for the cookie sale. Would you be willing to have your troop participate if you kept it very simple, giving the order forms to the girls and let the parents decide if they want their daughter to sell? The fall product is set up to be a friend and family sale. You do not have to do booths. It is on a much smaller scale than the cookie sale. Do you have a parent that would be willing to take the lead on product sales, they get trained in person from a service unit volunteer? How can I help you communicate this need for parents? Would you like to talk to an experienced leader who knows how to simplify the sale? Not sure how to do/intimidated? Say the following: How can I help you? Do you feel additional training would help? The service unit offers in person training. What would work the best, meeting with service unit fall product coordinator, having an experienced mentor, or meeting someone with council?
Do not see the value? Say the following: Highlight the following benefits: Great practice for the leaders and girls to gear up for cookie sale Opportunity to earn a bonus for your troop that includes a custom patch Sale Proceeds: Great Start-up funds: average troop proceeds range from $80-$100 I wanted you to be aware of some great things coming up that your troop can do. Share council and service unit sponsored events that you have pre-identified for their age and location. If you are unable to reach the new leader via phone, follow up with an email: Hi (Name) I wanted to check in and see how things are going with your troop. I am your staff support here at Girl Scouts. I want to ensure you have all the information and support you need so you and your girls have a great Girl Scout year! Many times, new troops leaders need a little more guidance when it comes to troop finances. I hope that you were able to establish some agreements with your girls (and parents) about troop dues, troop expenses, and management of funds. Were you able to get your bank account open? *Just a reminder that council needs the troop finance report form, completing Section 1, signatures on account, and Section 3. Your troop has the opportunity to sell fall product to increase troop funds. The fall product sale is a great way for the troop to start earning money and gear up for the cookie sale. There is a lot of support out there if you need it. Have you met the service unit fall product representative? She is a great resource, her name is and phone number is. The service unit meetings will help you connect with other volunteers to help with cookie questions or anything else Girl Scout related! I hope to see you at the next service unit meeting on at. Please let me know how I can be of assistance. Thanks for all you do! *** This can be removed if we already have the bank information January New Leader Phone Calls For Leaders Who Start between November and December or that you did not connect with in November The purpose of the phone call is to provide ongoing communication and support to the new leaders throughout the year. Before making the call, determine what upcoming program and service unit opportunities are available for that grade level (you ll want to take into consideration location, interests, etc.). Below are general questions to provide some structure to your conversation. When calling, remember to allow the new leader to talk most of the time to discover where they need assistance. Key Points: Ensuring a Good Troop Experience Make sure they know who to call if they need help Bank Account Support Cookie Sale and Booth Sales Encourage Service Unit Meetings
Bonding and Rapport Hi this is celebrate the holidays?. Hope you had a great holidays. Did your troop do anything special to Remember that building rapport is about what you say but also what you do. If speaking to a volunteer, please be sure that you have open body language, and that you are actively listening. Even on the phone, listen and be attentive. A smile can be heard over the phone! I was just checking in to see how things are going, is now a good time? This phone call should take about a ½ an hour. Is there anything that I can assist you with while I have you on the phone? Discovery Here are some probing questions you can ask to discover any pain points. How are things going with your troop? What are you needing help with? Are things going ok with your co-leaders? Are the parents in the troop involved in the troop? Discuss the following support: Service unit meetings (if they have not attended, if they cannot attend, would service unit meeting notes by helpful, emailed? Facebook?) Volunteer Support Facebook account and Service Unit Facebook Talk about the New Leader Webinar Series and other enrichment opportunities Customer Service VTK One more thing I wanted to discuss with you is your troop finances. Have you opened your bank account? (If they indicate no, discover their reason why Is it time, not sure how to do it, intimidated, no second adult?) Budget I wanted to check in to see how you are feeling about cookie sales? I want to ensure that you have the resources for the cookie season. Have you attended cookie training through the service unit? Have you listened to cookie rookie? Does your troop plan to have a cookie booth? If yes, say the following: I bet the girls are excited about having a cookie booth, do you have ideas of where you are going to have it? If they indicate that they have not decided, explore the benefits to a cookie booth. Encourage them to try one cookie booth. Ask if they need assistance in finding a suitable location. If they indicate no, find out why Is it time/commitment, do not see the value, too cold?) Once reason is discovered, now you can discuss it. No time? Say the following:
Cookie booths can seem time consuming, some troops commit to several cookie booths in a season. I agree that you do not want to stretch yourself too thin. I would recommend a new troop to only do one to two. How would you feel about doing one booth for a couple hours? Will you call me if you have further concerns about having a cookie booth? Explore cookie booth ideas! Do not see the value? Say the following: Highlight the following benefits: Girls love having a cookie booth, really gives the business feel to selling cookies, compare to Lemonade Stand Explain that they will have cookies left over that will need to be sold Cookie Booth can really boost cookie sales, usually troops that participate in cookie booths can increase their sales by Too Cold? Say the following: I understand that you feel it s too cold for the girls to be outside of Wal-Mart for several hours. Have you thought about having a cookie booth inside? Some troops have cookie booths at school functions, libraries, retirement communities. The options are endless. Will you call me if you need help locating an indoor cookie booth for your girls? If you are feeling that you need support, do you have the service unit cookie coordinator information? I want to thank you for your support with Girl Scouts. Have the girls decided what they plan to do with the funds from cookie sales? I wanted you to be aware of some great things coming up that your troop can do. Share council and service unit sponsored events that you have pre-identified for their age and location. If you are unable to reach the new leader via phone, follow up with an email: Hi (Name) I wanted to check in and see how things are going with your troop. I am your staff support here at Girl Scouts. I want to ensure you have all the information and support you need so you and your girls have a great Girl Scout year! Hope the girls are excited about having their own little cookie business. Cookie season can be a bit overwhelming for our new leaders. I want to ensure that you have everything you need. There is a lot of support out there if you need it. Have you met the service unit cookie representative? Hope she was able to give you all the information you needed to get started. She is a great person to call, her name is and phone number is. Just a reminder that you have the opportunity to sign up for booths on. It is a great opportunity for the girls to practice their customer services and selling skills. They love the booth sales. It gives them the experience of having a store, kind of like a lemonade stand. The service unit meetings will help you connect with other volunteers to help with cookie questions or anything else Girl Scout related! I hope to see you at the next service unit meeting on at. Please let me know how I can be of assistance. Thanks for all you do!
March New Leader Phone Calls For All New Leaders The purpose of the phone call is to provide ongoing communication and support to the new leaders throughout the year. Before making the call, determine what upcoming program and service unit opportunities are available for that grade level (you ll want to take into consideration location, interests, etc.). Below are general questions to provide some structure to your conversation. When calling, remember to allow the new leader to talk most of the time to discover where they need assistance. Bonding and Rapport Key Points: Plans for Renewal Early Bird Camp End of Year Troop Wrap up Hi this is. First and foremost I wanted to thank you for all that you have done this Girl Scout year. I am sure the girls truly appreciate you being a leader to their troop. Remember that building rapport is about what you say but also what you do. If speaking to volunteer, please be sure that you have open body language, and that you are actively listening. Even on the phone, listen and be attentive. A smile can be heard over the phone! I want to check in. Is this a good time? What can I assist you with while I have you on the phone? Discovery Here are some probing questions you can ask to discover any problems the new leader might have experienced this year. How are you feeling about the year? What has been a challenge for you? Do you plan to continue to lead the troop next year? Co-leaders? What do you hope to be different for next year? What exciting plans do you have coming up with the girls? Are you planning on participating in an end of year award ceremony? Budget As you wrap up the year, there are a few things that I wanted to remind you of. Do you plan to participate in Early Bird? (Yes, No, Unsure, Early What?) Reminder about Financial Report. Confirm that they will call if help is needed. I wanted you to be aware of some great things coming up that your troop can do.
CAMP Share program and service unit events coming up. If you are unable to reach the new leader via phone, follow up with an email: Hi (Name) I had called you in the hopes that I could speak to you about your troop s plans for next Girl Scout year. Yes, I said next year! The next couple months will move very fast as you wrap up cookie sales, go on trips, and finish up the school year. Many troops take a break in the summer with troop meetings. Before school is out for the summer, we begin planning for next Girl Scout year. One way of planning is to register the girls for the troop next year. We call this Early Bird Registrations. The girls will get a patch just for registering early and there are troop incentives also. Early Bird will be from April to June. I would love to speak to you about Early Bird, if you would like to call me back. Otherwise, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio will be sending out more information about Early Bird over the next couple months. Speaking of summer, have you looked at the camp opportunities? Camp can be something your troop does together or girls can do this on their own. There are Day Camps that the girls do not spend the night. There are camps where girls spend the entire week. Even if your troop is not going camping, make sure parents are aware that girls can go without the troop. They too should have received information via mail. Just a reminder that the troop s finance report is due July 31. As you wrap up your year, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thanks for all you do! 05-2507-02/2017