5 Reasons Sampling Is a Crucial Part Of Budtender Training

People all over the nation have come to consider cannabis, and the people who grow and sell it, in a very different light since the legalization wave of 2014 initiated in Colorado and Washington. 

Consumers and producers alike have learned what we at Learn Brands have always known — our budtenders are intelligent, passionate, and savvy people who can help us find exactly the products we’re looking for in the sea of offerings that have proliferated in the cannabis marketplace.

For cannabis brands and brand reps, or any other cannabis-based vendor, the budtender plays a critical role in your marketing and sales strategy, or at least they should. After all, they’re the conduit to your entire consumer base. And, that base trusts them.

In today’s post from Learn Brands - your online cannabis learning management system and budtender education partner — we’re looking at the role that sampling plays in effective budtender training and education. Read on to learn more, and visit Learn Brands to learn more about our online budtender training and education opportunities.

1. Budtender Training Leads To Greater Visibility With Consumers

What is the best way to get your cannabis products in front of prospective customers? The answer is in the question: get it in front of them — hard stop. 

Marketing efforts of all kinds are intended to put your products in the site-lines and minds of the people looking to purchase cannabis products. How about getting the product into the hands, and ultimately the endocannabinoid system, of the person standing in front of that customer answering their questions, giving them advice, and offering recommendations? 

That’s precisely what sampling the budtenders at your dispensaries accomplishes. 

When your cannabis products are at the forefront of a budtenders mind — whether because of a recent experience, an ongoing sampling schedule, a special personal experience, or even because of gratitude — they’re also going to be on the tip of their tongues. That personal recommendation — and more importantly — that crucial moment in the purchasing process, is incredibly powerful for visibility and trust-based decision making.

Consider this. You’ve spent months designing logos, sizing stickers, getting the bleed on your promotional posters right to the edge with the proper, brand-approved colors. You’ve sent hundreds of emails, made dozens of phone calls, and driven countless miles to promote these products that you and your company have poured your energy, emotions, and resources into. 

But, there’s one place you can almost never be, and that is the point and moment of sale. Only your budtender can accomplish that and does it seamlessly with hundreds of customers each week.

Do you really want to miss that critical moment because your products are not top of mind, or because the budtenders working at the dispensaries you sell in don’t feel confident in their education and personal experience with your cannabis products?

Sampling solves this problem and keeps you in front of the people who matter most when it matters most.

2. Budtender Training Allows You To Promote New Technology

Being the shiny, desirable, and easily located needle in the haystack of cannabis offerings and brands is challenging, and that’s why lots of cannabis-based businesses continue to push for leadership in the development of new technologies. 

From processing-focused techs like advanced dehumidifying machinery, dewaxing apparatus, and IoT automation to consumer-focused advances like CBN research, rapid THC delivery development, and elite storage solutions, innovation and invention are some of the key ways that brands in the cannabis space set themselves apart.

But how do you get the average consumer informed and excited about your new offerings and the advantages they bring to the table? How else, but through the local, trusted expert that is the budtender.

Whether educating budtenders through the sampling of products that were produced using new technology or by actually allowing them to get their hands on new consumer technologies first, you can create legitimate hype for the products you’ve worked so hard to get to market. That hype translates into direct visibility in the form of consumer education from a trusted source, and influential recommendations at the point of purchase.

3. Budtender Tastings Build Real Life, Shareable Experiences

Most people love to share personal stories and experiences, and budtenders are no different. Given the choice to recommend a product they are familiar with and can speak with authority about, or one that has a flashy label but they haven’t tried, what do you think they’ll do?

The answer becomes even more clear when you realize that these same budtenders are used to not just answering the opening question of, “What do you recommend?” They’re used to follow-up questions like, “Is it racey? Is it more of a head or body high? What is the terpene profile like?,” and the timeless question, “Is this good for laundry day?”

Without having sampled your cannabis products, how can they possibly answer these kinds of questions without giving away that they’re just making it up? The simple answer is they can’t. And, once that customer hears them admit to never having tried it, they’ll wonder why this ganja-guru hasn’t bothered to explore this product yet, and they may assume it must not be worth their time and money either.

Just like a sommelier or chef, passionate budtenders are going to promote the products they feel like they can speak to, even if it’s not their personal favorite — because like a good sommelier or chef, most budtenders realize that their job is to help other people find what they’ll like.

Getting that strong, authoritative, personal recommendation that helps sell your product all starts with making sure that the people behind the counter feel comfortable in their knowledge and experience with your brand and its offerings, so make sure to sample them.

4. Self Sampling On A Budtenders Income Isn’t Possible

While it’s easy to imagine that budtenders have unlimited access to the goods they sell, or that they have the financial freedom to act like kids in a candy shop when they get their paychecks, their economic reality isn’t that different from that of most Americans. 

After paying the bills, picking up groceries, buying shoes and school supplies for the kids, and trying to tuck a little bit away for the future or a rainy day, there’s not as much left over for trying new cannabis products that they’re interested in, let alone the entire inventory of the dispensary they work in.

Like any dedicated working professional, your budtenders care about their own ongoing education and professional development, but there is simply too much product for them to try on what they earn. 

As a cannabis vendor, you can ensure that your products are a part of what they do get to learn more about by ensuring that you are distributing samples and educational content to these critical elements of your sales process.

5. Budtenders Like Free Stuff

Because who doesn’t? And, remember that loyalty counts in this and every other market.

The best way to earn brownie points with your budtenders may be to give them actual brownies — or whatever the specific cannabis-based products and accessories your brand offers are.

You’ll stay on par with all of the other savvy cannabis brands that take budtender education seriously, and you’ll pull ahead of the competition that doesn’t — at least in the hearts and minds of the budtenders who help sell your product (see reasons 1-3 to refresh on the importance of this).

Register For A Demo Of The Cannabis LMS From Learn Brands

Think we’re just blowing smoke about all of this? Give us a chance to prove the power of budtender education and training! Scheduling a demo of the Learn Brands online learning platform is free, easy, and smells like Trans-Nerolidol. Visit Learn Brands today to learn more.