Since 1917, when a Girl Scouts troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked its first batch of homemade cookies as a fundraiser, Girl Scouts have been an unstoppable force in sales, raking in millions of dollars annually.

A recent NPR report called the annual Girl Scouts cookie-selling fundraiser “the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world.” Nearly 700,000 Girl Scouts help sell around 200 million boxes of Trefoils, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Sandwich and other cookies each year, serving up a $1 billion industry one box at a time.

But there’s more to the Girl Scouts’ success than Thin Mints and Tagalongs. Behind those iconic cookie boxes is a sales strategy that enterprise teams can learn from. Here’s how you can apply their winning formula to your own sales playbook.

Give people what they want

Girl Scouts don’t try to sell you something you don’t need — they offer a product people already love. In other words, “You get me. You really understand me.”

Seventy-three percent of customers expect businesses to understand their needs. When a company meets those expectations with an amazing experience (such as selling a delicious box of well-packaged cookies), studies show that 72% of customers will return for more. You’ll often hear someone walk up to a popup Girl Scout cookie table saying, “I’ll take five boxes of Thin Mints,” rather than, “What are you selling?”

Successful enterprise sales teams follow the same approach by deeply understanding their customers’ pain points and providing solutions that address real needs. If they ignore the cues, well, that’s how the cookie crumbles.

Great sellers don’t shove products at customers — they shape solutions. They tune in, adapt on the fly and deliver exactly what their buyers need — sometimes before they know they need it. That’s the difference between just selling and truly solving.

Keep it simple

Got five dollars? They have a box for you! Girl Scouts don’t overcomplicate the sales process. They offer a straightforward selection of cookies with a clear price — no hidden fees, no dizzying, mind-bending explanations.

Enterprise sales teams can adopt this approach by simplifying their message and purpose and making the buying process seamless. A confused buyer won’t convert, so keep it clear, concise and compelling.

Build an emotional connection

Why do people buy Girl Scout cookies year after year? Sure, they taste great, but there’s also an emotional connection — customers love supporting young entrepreneurs and a good cause.

“A big part of building an emotional connection is creating an environment where we tackle challenges together,” said Alyssa Suchy, senior sales director at Fullcast. “It’s nice to know that you have a partner who is there for you when things are going well, but it’s critical to know that you have a partner who will get in the trenches with you and be a problem-solver to push through challenges together.”

Relationships matter at all business levels. Buyers want to work with people they trust who understand their challenges and who make them feel valued. Selling isn’t just about transactions — it’s about building relationships that last.

Meet expectations and build loyalty

When you buy a box of Thin Mints, you expect them to taste as delicious as they did last year. And they do! This consistency keeps customers coming back. Enterprise sales teams need to uphold the same level of reliability. Delivering on promises, providing consistent service and ensuring smooth implementations creates long-term customers who stick with you and advocate for your brand.

Make buying easy

Ever notice how Girl Scouts set up shop outside grocery stores or show up at your doorstep? They meet customers where they are, making it effortless to say “yes.”

According to the Harvard Business Review, 62% of sales deals are won by whoever is easiest to buy from. “What’s more, 65% of customers tell us that they spent as much time as they’d expected to need for the entire purchase just getting ready to speak with a sales rep,” said Nick Toman, Brent Adamson and Cristina Gomez. “Clearly, much of what makes the process so hard has nothing at all to do with suppliers and everything to do with customers themselves.”

Enterprise sales teams should do the same by making buying easy. Offer flexible buying options and be proactive by helping to untangle the maze of stakeholders and other decision-makers to ensure a frictionless customer experience and quicker close. Sixty-eight percent of sales reps agree that “more information generally helps customers make better decisions.” The easier you make it, the more likely buyers are to commit.

The last bite

Enterprise sales are complex, but the fundamentals of great selling remain the same — whether you’re closing a multimillion-dollar deal or selling a box of Trefoils.

What’s the recipe for sales success? Take a tip from the Girl Scouts. Give customers what they want, keep things simple, build relationships, deliver outstanding products and services consistently and make purchasing easy. Now, go reward yourself with a box of Thin Mints.

J’Nel Wright is a content writer at Fullcast, a Silicon Slopes-based, end-to-end RevOps platform that allows companies to design, manage and track the performance of their revenue-generating teams.