How to Develop Budtender Skills with Dispensary Sales Frameworks

Picture this: your new budtender has just spent several days (maybe weeks!) studying scripts to prepare for customer interactions at the dispensary. They’re excited about their new career path and are ready to do a great job.

The script details everything the budtender is supposed to say, from the moment the customer walks in the door to the last interaction when they swipe their card and walk out.

The budtender memorizes the scripted material well and feels confident in their communication skills until a customer throws them a curveball question. They freeze up and can’t spit out an answer, much less an accurate one.

This is uncomfortable for you, the budtender, and the customer. There’s a better way to train your staff and build the budtender’s skills than passing along scripts that don’t go with the flow.

The secret is developing budtender skills through proven sales frameworks.

The pitfalls of scripted budtender training for dispensaries

Before we dive into the extreme advantage retailers (think more revenue, happier customers, and highly-skilled budtenders!) have over other businesses in the cannabis industry when they use frameworks, you have to understand why scripts aren’t working for cannabis dispensaries:

1. Lack of Flexibility

Unless you have someone working on budtenders scripts every day, which is an unrealistic expectation for any operator, your scripts won’t evolve enough to keep up with changing customer and budtender needs.

That aside, dispensary customers often ask unexpected questions and have unique needs. Imagine you just introduced a brand new product, and suddenly, dozens of customers are asking about it. But your budtenders haven’t been briefed and can’t confidently sell it. Pre-written scripts don’t support this approach, but a flexible framework does.

2. Robotic Interactions

Budtenders who rely on a script won’t engage the customer naturally and sincerely. They become a one-way infomercial, and the audience quickly loses interest when their questions aren’t effectively answered.

Even if a budtender is engaged, rehearsing their words can make them appear as if they’re not. If everything is written out for them, there’s also no motivation to build communication skills.

Eventually, this impacts a retailer’s brand reputation in the cannabis industry.

3. Inability to Support Diverse Customers

Every dispensary customer is different.

Each one has a different level of education about cannabis products and the cannabis industry, various medical requirements, and unique personal preferences about their consumption methods. Frameworks ensure customers across the spectrum have a good cannabis retail experience.

What are budtender sales frameworks for a dispensary?

Cannabis dispensary operators can implement budtender frameworks over scripts to give their staff the confidence to answer customer questions while highlighting product knowledge.

Instead of telling the budtender what to say and how to say it, frameworks guide budtenders through different phases of the customer journey, empowering them to lead the conversation with all customers and develop the skills to sell.

Budtender jobs can be stressful, and sales frameworks give your retail staff something to lean on. Frameworks can take shape in multiple ways, like phases of the customer journey, a framework for new customers, a framework for medical patients, and more.

Frameworks rely on flexibility and empowering the budtender to think critically throughout the customer transaction while relying on excellent customer service skills.

This builds a budtender’s role and scope of responsibility, making them feel like an active part of the sales process.

They also allow for a more natural and sincere conversation over scripts because you’re not telling budtenders what to say but how to guide the interaction.

When implemented correctly, frameworks can increase basket sizes, improve customer retention, and build a solid and loyal customer base. The right frameworks are designed so your budtenders see and hear each customer.

What is an example of a framework that builds budtender skills?

At Vetrina Group, cannabis businesses see success with the “Steps of Service” framework, which details each phase of the customer interaction. Here’s how it goes:

1. Greeting

A customer’s first impression of your dispensary starts with the budtender’s greeting. It should be genuine and make the customer feel welcome in your store.

There are several touchpoints in cannabis dispensaries, from the greeter to the budtender who handles the final cannabis sale. Customers should be greeted at the start of every employee interaction.

2. Uncovering Needs

This critical part of the process sets the tone for the rest of the customer interaction.

Are they a new consumer who needs to understand the difference between consumption methods? Or are they a regular stopping by to pick up their usual order?

Good budtenders are prepared to help customers regardless of their background if the interaction requires it.

3. Product Presentation

Not every customer will go through this step of the process, but for the ones who do, it’s essential that budtenders take what they learned from step two and present suitable cannabis products.

The “2 Features, 1 Benefit” rule yields great success here. Highlight two standout features of each product (i.e., fast-acting, 1:1 CBD:THC ratio) and connect them to one tangible benefit (i.e., uplifted mood) for the customer.

4. Product Hero Decision-Making

Now comes the time when the customer narrows down their choices and chooses their main or “hero” cannabis product.

A good budtender should be ready to support the customer in their choice (e.g., “Awesome choice; so many people are happy with these concentrates and come back for more”) and answer final, clarifying questions to help the customer make an informed decision.

5. Product Coordination

Once the final decision is made, budtenders need to communicate how to get the product to the customer. It might be in a locked area or the budtender might need to send the order to the back of house for fulfillment before the transaction is complete.

Budtenders should never expect that the customer knows what’s happening next and should always communicate the next steps to the customer.

6. Product Impulse

Now that the hero product has been selected, budtenders can suggest complementary products. If the customer is buying flower? Suggest rolling papers or a lighter. Edibles pair well with drinks, and so on.

Encourage budtenders to get creative with their suggestions! This will test their cannabis sales skills and identify unique cross and upselling opportunities you wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

7. Customer Maintenance

This is the perfect moment in the customer interaction for cannabis budtenders to share any information that might help the customer fall in love with the cannabis products they’ve chosen while feeling like the budtender truly cares about their customer service experience.

They could share consumption tips, dosing suggestions, storage advice, or any other relevant cannabis knowledge that will help the consumer get the most out of their cannabis.

8. Loyalty

The customer has everything they need; now is the time for budtenders to discuss the loyalty program.

“Do you know about our loyalty program?” is a great starter question because if they say yes, budtenders can ensure they’re signed up and points are applied for that purchase through your POS system. If they say no, budtenders can explain how the program works and what rewards people can earn by joining.

9. Payment

Now comes the time for the customer to pay. While it feels like there are several steps before we reach the final transaction, keep in mind that these steps are all happening over a period of a few seconds to a few minutes—which is why frameworks are critical—you don’t have much time to make an impression!

Make sure budtenders are prepared to accept cash at all times and are prepared to answer any questions about your dispensary’s payment technology.

This is also a prime opportunity to earn tips through automated tipping prompts on your payment terminal or cash back.

10. Goodbye

This is the final touch point before the customer leaves your store.

Budtenders should thank the customer for coming in, wish them a great rest of their day or evening, and let them know they look forward to seeing them again.

A genuine goodbye is the cherry on top of a great cannabis retail experience and can turn a one-time buyer into a repeat customer.

How can dispensaries implement budtender sales frameworks?

If you’ve read this far, you’re likely convinced that frameworks are a better opportunity than scripts and want to know how to implement them at your dispensary immediately.

After deciding which framework is right for your cannabis retail store, the next step is training your hiring managers. Hiring managers need to deeply understand these frameworks to help transition the rest of your dispensary.

Training can take the form of informational sessions, role-playing sessions where cannabis budtenders practice the frameworks in action, or off-site training sessions that encourage your team to attend and make the most of the new transition.

Keep in mind that implementation is just phase one of the journey to using budtender frameworks at your cannabis dispensary. This is a living and breathing process, and ongoing feedback and iteration are critical components to successfully using this model at your retail store.

Learn more about developing budtender skills

Frameworks are a powerful alternative to scripts in cannabis dispensaries and allow budtender and customer service skills to develop and thrive.

Evaluate your own training methods and determine if your dispensary needs to focus on budtender skill development. Polling your dispensary staff about how they feel about selling new products and interacting with customers is a great way to uncover areas for improvement.

Visit Vetrina Group for cannabis dispensary consultation services.