By Tom Momberg
Sales isn’t for the faint of heart. But for one Queens teenager, all of the qualities of a young saleswoman were apparent from her philanthropic Girl Scout Cookie transactions.
Najah Lorde, 13, of Springfield Gardens outsold every Girl Scout in New York City for the second season in a row, having unloaded more than 1,800 boxes of cookies this year alone. And she’s still going, though the official season tally has her at 1,816.
Each troop also offers small incentives to its scouts to sell more. Along with every girl who sold more than 1,000 boxes, Najah was given an iPad Air.
Najah said she really likes the experience more than anything. Her attitude makes her college-bound before she has even stepped foot in high school.
“I want to be a businesswoman when I grow up, so this is definitely preparing me for my future,” she said. “I enjoy it. It teaches me time management, organization and money skills.”
All her sales, believe it or not, were made by word of mouth. Social media played a big part in augmenting that.
“Well, I sell at my school and my church, my parents’ jobs, and I ask my family if they’d like to buy some cookies,” Najah said as she described her winning strategy. “Then they ask their co-workers … I don’t really ask anybody I don’t know”
Najah’s Troop 4287 earns about 65 cents for its treasury for every box sold, according to the Girl Scouts of Greater New York. That means she alone raised over $1,170 for her troop this year, which will help send the girls to Camp Kaufmann this summer, carry out a community service project or find a cause for donations.
The eight-grader at Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy in Douglaston sold 2,833 boxes in 2014, which would have been a simple feat for her this year as well if she had not been so focused on her studies.
“During cookie season I was working on examinations, prep classes, and doing interviews, filling out applications and taking tours to get ready for high school,” she said.
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
