Aria Biswas

A smiling white woman with long, flowing blonde hair wearing a sleeveless gray top.

Meadow's connected cannabis retail system reduces labor and optimizes your dispensary operations for efficiency.

How A Fully Connected Cannabis POS System Can Save You Thousands Every Year

We get it: taxes, regulatory costs, and other hurdles inherent to cannabis retail can make margins thin.

Where dispensaries really stretch margins and make concrete gains is with operational efficiencies and smart, compliant workflows. [California has a unique set of cannabis regulations](https://getmeadow.com/blog/why-california-dispensaries-need-a-california-specific-pos-for-compliant "California cannabis regulations"), and not all software is built with workflows to make it easy to meet all of California's unique state and local requirements. 

Here are 3 reasons why dispensaries that cobble together four or five different software services to power their dispensary operations (POS, delivery, loyalty program, text marketing, eCommerce, etc) are unfortunately __not__ running as an efficient cannabis retail operation as possible: 

### 1. Loss of Valuable Customer & Sales Data
If you require three or four different software subscriptions each month to run your dispensary marketing and sales, it's likely that a couple of the platforms don't work together, and data may be getting lost or corrupted as it moves from one system to another. Your dispensary data is extremely valuable to help you understand who your customers are, what they're buying, when and where, and if you can't easily find this information (and more importantly, trust the data), your business is operating below its true revenue potential. Further, you should be able to put that historic data to work to send targeted marketing to your customers with deals and offers tailored to their shopping patterns and preferences for the greatest ROI.

### 2. Missing Compliance Guardrails
Some cannabis POS systems have the proper guardrails in place to keep you 100% compliant in the state you operate in; others will let you oversell and go into negative inventory. In California, you are required to keep your inventory variance below 3%; if you are consistently reporting inaccurate data (or worse, not reporting data at all) you are putting your hard-earned license at risk by remaining out of compliance.

If you discover one of these [Metrc red flags](https://getmeadow.com/blog/3-metrc-red-flags-for-california-cannabis-retailers-to-watch-out-for "Metrc red flags"), it's likely you will then need to hire cannabis consultants and/or lawyers to clean up data inaccuracies and discrepancies. 

It's important to know which regulatory environment your POS system is built for. If a cannabis retail software system is designed to operate in many states and countries, it's likely a sign that the system doesn't work perfectly in any single location (at this stage in cannabis legalization, there are wildly different regulations in each legal market and most teams have not yet created region-specific compliance guardrails for every single requirement in that market).

### 3. Unnecessarily High Labor Costs
Hiring Metrc consultants to find and fix compliance errors can add up quickly, especially if your Metrc account has been out of compliance for prolonged periods of time. Often, when using multiple pieces of software to run your dispensary, your team will be expected to download CSVs from platform and reupload it into another one, which leads to more labor costs, repetitive data entry, and often, less satisfied employees. When you are deciding which software you will use for different parts of your dispensary operations, you want to evaluate what clunky workarounds may be required to pair various cannabis softwares together. 

---

__Meadow’s Connected Solution for Smarter Dispensary Management__

You could cobble together different software services, but hundreds of storefront dispensaries and delivery teams across California choose Meadow to manage their operations, grow their sales, and reduce their workload.

A fully connected cannabis POS system, designed specifically for California compliance, can truly __[save you thousands of dollars every year](https://getmeadow.com/pricing "save thousands of dollars every year")__ by:

1. Creating valuable sales and customer data
2. Funneling that data into targeted marketing campaigns from the same system
3. Helping you sleep at night knowing you're fully compliant
4. Reducing unnecessary labor costs
5. Letting your team focus their energy not on mundane data entry but on more satisfying & revenue-generating tasks

Learn more about Meadow's approach to connected [cannabis retail](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail "cannabis retail").

<figure>
  ![Martin Olive Vapor Room dispensary Meadow cannabis POS review](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6tjWbsNfY7bMF1c6E2ciWt/16a5710b223fbc97a40333e38847182d/Martin_Olive_Vapor_Room_dispensary_Meadow_cannabis_POS_review.png)
<figcaption>Hear more about how Martin and his team at [Vapor Room](https://getmeadow.com/case-studies/vapor-room "Vapor Room") are getting real value from using a connected, all-in-one cannabis retail platform </figcaption>
</figure>


Read more to discover how your dispensary can save thousands every year in labor costs

3 Common Operational Inefficiencies at Cannabis Dispensaries

sell more cannabis by training your dispensary staff to upsell

Cannabis dispensary budtender upselling tips

Are your budtenders and customer-facing staff following sales best practices? Even when you have a busy shop or there's a line out the door, you want to ensure your team is doing everything they can to keep customers happy, ask them questions, and recommend additional products they'll love. Happy customers will rave about your business to their friends. They will brag about the VIP service they consistently receive; people love feeling important. Make sure your retail experience is memorable.

### Retail Expert, Natalie Jo Gay Shares Her Tips on How to Build a Winning Sales Team That Naturally Sells More Cannabis:

__Build Trust by Connecting with Each Customer:__
People can shop anywhere for anything; they will choose your place of business because of personalized interaction. People crave connection, even in the most minor moments of their day. Train your staff to genuinely greet each customer and make an effort to get to know them. Building lasting relationships builds trust; when your customers feel like their favorite budtender really knows them, they trust their recommendations.

__Ask Questions and Listen:__
Once a genuine connection is made (this can be within the first few seconds of interacting), a customer will typically reveal information about their life, reason for being in your business, lifestyle etc. Listen to what they say and what kind of products they usually purchase.

<figure>
![Cookies Woodland Hills dispensary](//images.contentful.com/6kwu1u6s8j23/6vl8CgdpkZSWmVqZrBrZGK/bda3372ce17a767cc34792b0767d437b/Cookies_Woodland_Hills_dispensary.png)
  <figcaption>At the [Cookies Woodland Hills ](https://www.cookieswoodlandhills.com/ "Cookies Woodland Hills ")dispensary, floating sales staff help customers find cannabis products they'll love. </figcaption>
</figure>

__Practice Suggestive Selling:__
Your customers don’t always know everything you sell. People appreciate when their needs are anticipated. Train your budtenders to listen to the customer's needs and offer recommendations of what they might like. It is important that this is done in a genuine way because people also sense when someone is trying to up-sell for their own gain (ex. Sleazy used car salesman). Your staff may suggest something they never realized they needed and they will love them for it.

__Boost Budtender's Ability to Upsell with Staff Samples:__
In any industry, we see growth when your sales team can harness customer data to better connect with the people who want to hear from you and build relationships by starting conversations and suggesting products you know they’re going to love. Your staff will have a hard time selling a product to customers if they don’t know anything about it. You want to ensure your staff have an opportunity to get to know the products you sell. The best way to do this is to allocate staff samples and ensure there's ongoing education for your sales team about new products. Be sure your whole team is knowledgeable about the products on your shelves so they can properly recommend them to the right customers based on what they are looking to experience with new products.

__Stock Essentials Next to the Register for Easy Upsells:__
"Do you want fries with that?" This simple question is a tried-and-true retail tactic that helps fast food restaurants sell millions of dollars of French fries each year.

Does your team practice this type of upselling? Make sure your dispensary is set up with easy-to-grab common items like lighters, rolling paper and grinders next to the register. Train your team to ask at least one of these questions to every customer who comes through your doors:

- Do you need a lighter with that?
- Do you want rolling papers, filter tips, or a grinder too?
- Do you want to grab one of our special Mellows singles or penny pre-rolls? (or whatever specials you're running).

__Drive Sales with Friendly Competition:__
Create systems to incentivize and reward your staff for hitting certain goals. It motivates your team, keeps them engaged, and gives you an opportunity to celebrate them.

Consider launching an employee of the month or other rewards program that incentives your team to go above and beyond to delight your customers:

- Staff discounts
- Cash bonuses
- A paid day off
- Letting employees choose their schedule for the next month
- Their favorite products to enjoy
- Gift certificate to a local restaurant VIP dispensary swag (ie. hoodie with their name on it)
- Visible recognition (i.e. a framed plaque with their name on it)

Discover more tips and resources to help you succeed at [cannabis retail](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail "cannabis retail").

Cannabis retail sales

Discover six tips to build a winning dispensary sales team that naturally sells more cannabis.

Sell More Cannabis: How to Boost Basket Sizes at Your Dispensary

Hall of Flowers cannabis retail sales powered by Meadow software

Hall of Flowers is changing the game for cannabis trade shows. One of the stand out experiences of the 2019 show was the ability to buy samples directly from large arena booths like Kiva, Flow Kana and Cookies to forego the long lines at the show's central dispensary.

We were very excited to power these sales through Meadow’s cannabis POS system, so we documented the 2-day show in a highlight reel featuring our partners. Check out the video to relive the show—or to see what you missed!

<figure>
<video-player url="https://vimeo.com/514141707"></video-player>
<figcaption>Highlights from the Fall 2019 Hall of Flowers show in Santa Rosa, California, where Meadow powered an upgraded point of sale experience, allowing dispensaries and brands to sell samples directly from their booths. </figcaption>
</figure>

A big shout out to our incredible parters: [Vapor Room](https://getmeadow.com/case-studies/vapor-room "Vapor Room cannabis dispensary"), [The Green Door](https://www.greendoorsf.com/ "The Green Door cannabis dispensary"), Kiva, Canndescent, Good Brands, Sherbinskis, Nabis, Ember Valley, Genius, Pluto, Calyx Peak, Dixie Elixirs, The Botanist, Packwoods, dosist, Flow Kana (Willie's Reserve, Foria, Brother Davids, Binske, Kikoko, Eel River Organics), Cookies, TriState Distribution, Continuum, Bloom Farms, Saucey Farms and Cresco.

<figure>
![Matt Barnes, David Hua, Mario Guzman, the Sherbinskis crew at Meadowlands](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6DUiCd0GY3H66Hi6aD8Bro/172f99d048229044245b46d1a2b691cc/190926_HoF__052.jpg)
<figcaption>Former Laker turned canna-entrepreneur Matt Barnes, Mario Guzman aka Mr. Sherbinski, with Meadow CEO David Hua and friends.</figcaption>
</figure>

We'll continue to bring these elevated experiences to licensed events across California and set a new standard of excellence and trusted service for cannabis retailers and brands.

<callout>Want to be part of our California cannabis events community?
<a href="#community-email-list">Join Meadow's Community Email List</a></callout>

![Cannabis retail software at the Meadow booth](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6kKSB5H2MKm0X8upaXslVd/9e7b44971d29c7d47ac386c6fefb85de/Meadow-s_cannabis_retail_software_on_the_Elo_hardware_system.png)

### Interested in Selling Cannabis Directly From Your Event Booth in California?
Meadow offers compliant point of sale software and iPad or Elo-based hardware packages at licensed California [cannabis events](https://getmeadow.com/community-and-events "cannabis events") across the state. Contact events@getmeadow.com to learn more about our cannabis sales event rentals and our hands-on support.

<figure>
![Cannabis retail software for licensed cannabis events in California](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2tHcAaadblwbma59tHVVe8/6120b357ee60fa76542672e50e92dfcd/1.png)
<figcaption>Isa from the Meadow team helps a Hall of Flowers event partner get their POS system ready to roll before the show begins.</figcaption>
</figure>


Hall of Flowers cannabis trade show cannabis retail arena booth sales powered by Meadow software

Watch the video to go inside this unique California cannabis trade show

Hall of Flowers: Arena Booth Sales, Powered by Meadow

cannabis consumption lounge at Northern Nights Tree Lounge

At the Northern Nights music festival, Meadow powered sales in the historic Tree Lounge, a pop-up dispensary and consumption lounge under the trees in the heart of the Emerald Triangle. This outdoor festival weekend was a highlight of summer 2019 for the Meadow team members who were lucky enough to call this "work":

<figure>
<video-player url="https://vimeo.com/514140463"></video-player>
<figcaption>Watch this highlight reel of this unique cannabis lounge and campout music festival experience in Northern California along the Eel River.</figcaption>
</figure>

### The Cannabis Retail Experience
Booths circled the perimeter of the Tree Lounge, which gave customers an opportunity to connect face to face with representatives of the participating brands. This gave festival-goers an opportunity to learn more about the cannabis products by speaking with growers and manufacturers and brand reps.

From their own iPad, rand employees sent orders to the central pop-up dispensary in an onsite barn, powered by San Francisco dispensary, [The Green Door](https://www.greendoorsf.com/ "The Green Door cannabis dispensary"), with support from licensed distributor Filigreen. After customers paid for and received their items at the barn, they could then enjoy them in the outdoor consumption lounge before returning to the multiple music stages or jumping on a floatie on the Eel River.

<figure>
![Buddy Buddy Cannabis](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/63qJ6skaVSrUeuE5bgCs4S/a3e6421ed1288edbb660515879581eeb/Buddy_Buddy_Cannabis.png)
<figcaption>"I've tried at least 4-5 different softwares in the cannabis industry, and this is definitely the most user friendly." - Beka, Buddy Buddy brand rep</figcaption>
</figure>

<callout>Want to be part of our California cannabis events community?
  <a href="#community-email-list">Join Meadow's Community Email List</a></callout>

![Northern Nights music festival](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2ufnkkseDzFuEc82c6hkNj/1e55e48324c1c0c898929a92765bb6c7/Northern_Nights_music_festival.png)

### Interested in Selling Cannabis Directly From Your Event Booth in California?
Meadow offers compliant point of sale software and iPad or Elo-based hardware packages at licensed California [cannabis events](https://getmeadow.com/community-and-events "cannabis events") across the state. Contact events@getmeadow.com to learn more about our cannabis sales event rentals and our hands-on support.

Northern Nights cannabis consumption lounge

Watch highlights from this unique cannabis lounge and campout music festival experience

Posts tagged “Cannabis Retail”

3 Common Operational Inefficiencies at Cannabis Dispensaries

Sell More Cannabis: How to Boost Basket Sizes at Your Dispensary

Hall of Flowers: Arena Booth Sales, Powered by Meadow

Northern Nights Cannabis Tree Lounge, Powered by Meadow