WHAT IS IT?

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

It is good for putting $3,000 to $5,000 or more in your group´s treasury with each truckload sale. Golden Harvest has 4 varieties of crisp Michigan apples* available in October (Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonagold & Empire). November through April we offer sweet and juicy citrus so you can have a sale each month. We have Oranges (Navels, Temples, and Valencia´s), Minneola Tangelos, Tangerines, and of course, those delicious Ruby Red Grapefruit.

With all these varieties you will have built-in repeat customers! Why? Because Golden Harvest sells only top quality Florida citrus and Michigan Apples, nationally advertised and known worldwide, they practically sell themselves!!

CAN OUR GROUP DO IT?

Our delicious fruit is made for your group. If your group has 25 - 40 people, you can easily sell a truckload of delicious, nutritious apples or citrus. A truckload of citrus consists of approximately 1,000 - 4/5 bushel cartons. Each carton contains 48 - 80 oranges or 27 - 40 grapefruit. Apples come in a 2\5 bushel only and each carton contains 40-44 pieces of fruit. A full truck load of apples would be approximately 2000 cartons.

Of course, we do ship partial truckloads (minimum order 100 or 150 4\5th cartons), but a full truckload, direct from the packing house to you, insures delivery precisely when and where you want it. Golden Harvest fruit will work well for any group: school clubs or bands, civic clubs, service groups, churches, and vocational or fraternal organizations. A fruit sale is fun and a great way for members to be involved in a true community project and participate in a major accomplishment - AT NO RISK!!

*Apples only available in TN, NC, SC, MS, AL, GA, FL, TX, LA, AR, OK

NO RISK?

NONE! You order only what you have PRE-SOLD. Each group member will take orders. Then, only the fruit you have commitments for is ordered. (While the minimum order is 100 or 150 4\5th cartons, we do encourage you to order a few extra of each variety). Your Golden Harvest fruit order is then hand picked at the peak of ripeness, packed, loaded fresh each day from the packing house, and delivered to your site by refrigerated truck. Value, universal appeal, assured quality - that is Golden Harvest. It has proven itself over and over as a super money-maker for groups of all kinds, all over the country. Golden Harvest Fruit Sales is not only regulated by Department of Citrus and the Michigan Apple Committee standards, but by the extremely high and rigid standards set by our family, to ensure customer satisfaction. We offer only the best!!!

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

A plan, the sale itself, delivery, and distribution. Then there is the Final Accounting, the Good News, and the Celebration. We help to make it fun all the way! Putting together a fruit sale is as easy as one-two-three:

1. ORGANIZE A SALES TEAM
2. CHOOSE A SALE DATE
3. ADVERTISE
4. TAKE ORDERS
5. WAIT FOR DELIVERY

FIRST STEP: ORGANIZE YOUR TEAM!

Your group should have a Sales Coordinator and an Assistant. The treasurer should also be a member of the team. Choose an outgoing, go-getter to be in charge of publicity. Salespeople should sell to their relatives, friends and neighbors.

How do you sustain enthusiasm throughout a full week of sales activity? Show results! Make a sales chart to show the overall progress. Continue contact with your local newspapers, radio and television advertising; let them know how you are doing. Think about incentives for teams and individuals, reward your high achievers. Give your sales team incentives! Some of our groups have prizes for those who are the top 3 sellers (gift cards are most popular). Some of our groups have some sort of party (pizza, skating) for everyone who sold at least a box. Be creative! There is no limit to what your group can accomplish with a little motivation! Part of the initial planning is to determine a reasonable selling price by adding your cost (which includes the freight) and your profit (may we recommend $5.00 to $7.00 per 4\5th box?) together. We furnish prices in plenty of time for pre-selling. The fruit is delivered by insured, independent trucking companies.

THE SECOND STEP: CHOOSE YOUR DATE!

We will supply you with an advance schedule of deliveries in your area. You may want to begin taking orders 2-3 weeks before you have to place your order. If you plan a monthly sale you can even take orders for the following month when your customers pick up their fruit. Remember to set your deadline a day or two before your order is due to give yourself plenty of time for last minute orders.

THE THIRD STEP: GET PUBLICITY!

An important part of any successful sales drive is publicity. Let the community know about your fundraising effort - this can be accomplished WITHOUT paid advertising. Make a list of all the local media you can think of: daily and weekly newspapers, radio stations, television stations. These are your targets for press releases giving the who, what, where, when, and why of your sale. Start the releases early and keep them coming, to build interest in your sale. Don´t forget school and church bulletins, flyers, house to house contacts, and posters for store windows and other locations. You will also want to make sure to list a phone number for people to call and place their orders.

Remember, Golden Harvest offers a selection of FREE advertising materials including; postcards, posters and order envelopes. To order, please call or visit our website, click "order now", and select the materials you would like.

THE FOURTH STEP: TAKE ORDERS

Once your advertising has started, make sure to have people available to take the orders. One idea is to set up an answering machine for people to leave their orders on, or pass out order forms for people to fill out and turn in. Be creative there are any number of ways to take peoples orders. Be sure to make your cut off day a day or two before your scheduled order day. On your scheduled order day, after all your orders have been tabulated, that is when you should be on the phone, placing your order, telling us how much SUPER FRUIT your group has sold.

THE FIFTH STEP: DELIVERY AND DISTRIBUTION!

Volunteers must be on hand to unload the truck into your facility. Our drivers are not required to unload. After the count has been verified with the driver you are ready to distribute sweet and delicious fruit to your customers on your sale day. Have a team that is responsible for helping load the fruit into your customers´ cars for them, one that takes the money and new orders for next month and one that verifies that the customers´ fruit does not show any damage before it goes out the door. Remember, with every minimum order you, you should be sure to order an EXTRA box of each variety. Most times you won´t experience any damage, but if you do, you should have some extra fruit incase replacements are needed. If a half box or more are used for replacements, we need to be notified with in 24-48 hours of delivery and we will gladly credit your account. Golden Harvest Guarantees its fruit fresh upon delivery and we are there to back up our guarantee! Remember, only damage or spoilage are covered under the Golden Harvest guarantee; personal taste is not covered.

It´s time for the GOOD NEWS! Once your treasurer tallies the receipts and deducts all disbursements you have your PROFIT! Reaching your sales goal should be announced to everyone through one final public service announcement. While you´re celebrating, remember to file the names, addresses and telephone numbers of your customers, because very shortly you will want to mail a special notice or phone them of next month´s sale of Golden Harvest Fruit.

Now that your treasury is full, let us know what sales techniques worked best for you and which ones didn´t. We like to pass on ideas that work to our other customers while also helping them avoid any pitfalls. Let us know what the funds are being used for: new computers, a new roof or parking lot, books, supplies, etc.; it makes our job so much more enjoyable when we know the benefits of all the hard work that goes into making your fundraiser successful.