Tiondra Flynn, a 16-year-old Girl Scout in Carpinteria, California, was already a consistent top seller in the Tres Condados Council when she entered the CEO in Training program. Her skills served her well during her pitch to the Pacifica Hotel Company. The company purchased 120 cases - 1,440 boxes - to present to guests checking in at the chain's 18 hotels. "My cookie-selling days were done for the year," she says.

EVERY COUNCIL STARTS off the year with a grand Cookie Kick-Off celebration, but then each one must come up with its own creative ideas for maintaining enthusiasm and sales throughout the remaining three months.

Some councils call in experts to rally the troops. The Trillium Council in Pittsburgh piloted Win-Win: How to Get What You Want, a badge developed by negotiation expert Linda Babcock that's based on her recent book Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide. "It's the same concept as in my college courses," says Babcock, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University. "When you go into a negotiation, you need to think of an alternative for if you don't agree, think about the other side's perspective, and develop a strategy for what you're trying to get."

Other councils turn to technology. Because of safety and security concerns, Scouts are prohibited from selling cookies online. Still, cyberspace is transforming what was traditionally a very low-tech, paperwork-intensive cookie program. The national Girl Scouts office has launched a cyberspace cookie headquarters - GirlScoutCookies.org- where consumers can enter their zip codes to find out when and where to purchase cookies in their area. And on the ever-popular MySpace.com, the Scouts' new page tempts taste buds with cookie photos and vintage Girl Scout cookie ads, which also can be viewed on YouTube.com and found through search engines such as Yahoo! and Google.