Aria Biswas

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

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

Northern Nights Cannabis Tree Lounge, Powered by Meadow

David Hua

David Hua Author Profile

Meadow's cannabis point of sale

__April 2016__

When we started Meadow in 2014, it was with a vision to make medical cannabis more accessible to patients in California. 

That seed of an idea soon grew into [Meadow Delivery](https://meadow.delivery "Meadow Cannabis Delivery") — what started as a medical cannabis delivery e-commerce site that quickly featured more than 45 California dispensaries and delivery partners spanning across 38% of California zip codes.

In February 2015 the business expanded to include [Meadow MD](https://meadowmd.com/ "Meadow MD"), a platform for medical cannabis doctor’s recommendations. Using Meadow MD, thousands of patients across California connected with independent physicians from the comfort of their homes.

The next branch of growth came with the launch of the Meadow Platform in November 2015, a [cannabis retail](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail "cannabis retail") software suite for dispensaries and delivery services in California.

<figure>
![cannabis analytics and reporting](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6xLiWoOiHo3ZchQeqvOj4Q/4a0f4d9b010b4b84a4e3595e4a1f91a3/cannabis_analytics_and_reporting.png)
<figcaption> Meadow's analytics for dispensaries and delivery services. </figcaption>
  </figure>

Today we’re incredibly thrilled to announce even more exciting news.

Meadow has closed $2.1 million in seed funding from a group of incredible investors, including David Lee, YC partner Justin Kan, Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman, Reddit co-founder and YC Partner Alexis Ohanian, Angel Investor and Entrepreneur Hiten Shah, Slow Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, SOMA Capital, and Poseidon Asset Management.

We’re so grateful for these investors and their belief in our business, our growth trajectory and our values.

Today we’re also announcing the launch of our Cannabis Point-of-Sale and Inventory Management systems, the newest additions to Meadow Platform.
These systems have been built specifically for cannabis businesses, incorporating feedback and best practices from patients, dispensary partners, legislators and regulators across California.

### Why Does Cannabis Software Matter?
The cannabis industry is rife with complication.

Regulations governing medical cannabis businesses can be difficult to navigate and are often in flux. Therefore, many established companies have not built tools for cannabis businesses or developed services tailored to their needs.

Some have even dropped cannabis business clients once they learned the nature of their business.

This is where Meadow comes in. We understand, appreciate and value the cannabis industry and the far-reaching medical applications of cannabis. We also have our finger on the pulse of industry regulations.

__We’re creating solutions specifically for cannabis companies.__

<figure>
![turnkey cannabis software](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/3e3cryVtcSyHMJmpyL99g9/12c042af714fe87427c545f38751ed51/turnkey_cannabis_software.png)
</figure>

<callout>“We’re replacing outdated software and tools made for other industries with technology built from the ground up for cannabis. We work closely with our partners to understand the pain points and intricacies of their operations and work with regulators to ensure legal compliance and best practices.” — Meadow CEO and Co-founder David Hua </callout>

### What Are We Going To Use the Money For?

We’ll continue to scale [getmeadow.com](https://getmeadow.com "getmeadow.com") and Meadow MD to continue to provide our patients with access to medical marijuana.

We’ve seen and experienced the benefits of medical cannabis firsthand and will continue to service our patients and partners with the highest quality products and services.

“We plan to connect the entire cannabis supply chain, from farm to flame. We have the opportunity to build technology that will become the backbone of this industry — in California and beyond — and we’re thrilled to have an incredible group of forward-thinking investors backing our mission.” — CEO David Hua

<figure>
![Meadow founders Y Combinator cannabis startup](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/2ru5B8bxmT0mOLxu3o5SHF/f948ab74ffb49c89b9db81945e819c55/Meadow_founders_Y_Combinator_cannabis_startup.jpeg)
<figcaption>The Meadow Founders at a 2014 Y Combinator event in Palo Alto. From the left: Harrison Lee, Scott A Garman, Rick Harrison, and David Hua.</figcaption>
</figure>

Here’s what some of our investors have to say:

__Justin Kan — Y-Combinator Partner & Spokesperson, Founder Justin.tv/Twitch__

> With Meadow you have the combination of the right team, with the right product, at exactly the right time. We’re coming to a tipping point. Support for marijuana legalization has hit an all-time high. At YC we see software disrupting old industries all the time. Meadow is disrupting this budding new industry by bringing the dispensaries, customers and patients all to one platform.

__Alexis Ohanian — co-founder, Reddit, Y-Combinator Partner__

> We’re just beginning to unlock the medical, social, and economic benefits of cannabis and the results are already striking. Meadow is building world-class technology for a massive industry that’s only just starting to grow — the stakes have never been higher.

__Hiten Shah — co-founder at Quick Sprout and Crazy Egg, Angel Investor__

> I invested in Meadow because I believe in the team, their mission and the medicinal benefits of cannabis. I believe in David Hua and his team’s ability to create the best software for the cannabis industry that touches both cannabis businesses and the consumers interacting with them. I’m really excited to see this industry move forward with it’s potential to improve the lives of countless people. I believe Meadow will be a big part of the industry’s future with their software skills and, equally important, their compassion for the industry and it’s consumers.

__Emily Paxhia — Founding Partner & Director of Relations, Poseidon Asset Management__

> Our decision to invest in Meadow was based on the quality of the founders who brought true technology solutions to an underserved market. We also strongly believe Meadow’s platform and strategy works well with the regulations and optimizing the B2B experience. We appreciate that the team focuses on the quality of the product and understands how critical the political process is to the growth of a company in the cannabis industry. Their passion for the industry is translated into user-friendly and elegant platforms, which make the experience for patients and customers pleasant and efficient.

__Jeff Ferguson — President and co-founder @ PipelineDB, Angel Investor__

> I invested personally in Meadow because they are doing for the emerging cannabis industry what Uber did for transportation — take control of it by building great software.

### A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our investors and our patients. Thank you for your support! We’re so excited to continue to grow with this dynamic industry, and we’re grateful to provide quality medicine to our patients.

__The cannabis movement and social justice are at the core of Meadow’s values and DNA.__ We’d like to thank everyone who has joined us in advocating on behalf of cannabis. We’d also like to thank those who join us at education events — let’s continue to hone our swords together.

<figure>
![David Hua, Steve DeAngelo and more cannabis industry leaders](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/1cb49TURJ1i0b1ToDgddMb/b227229bbebfbcc3555e42268fc2040f/David_Hua_Steve_DeAngelo_and_more.jpeg)
<figcaption>David Hua, CEO and co-founder of Meadow; Steve DeAngelo, Founder and CEO of Harborside Health Center; Gavin Kogan Esq., attorney, political advocate and cannabis entrepreneur; and Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management at the Silicon Valley AgTech Conference in May 2015.</figcaption>
</figure>

__A special thanks to our teachers, mentors and partners. We stand on the shoulders of giants.__

A heartfelt thank you to: Steve DeAngelo, California Growers Association, Debby Goldsberry, the faculty at Oaksterdam, California Cannabis Industry Association, and The ArcView Group.

And a thank you to all of our partners, who are on the front lines everyday: The Apothecarium, SPARC, Vapor Room, and all of our other dispensary and delivery partners. We wouldn’t be here without you.

<figure>
![Cannabis Delivery Risk Mitigation](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/7CoWPJlucRyIjKO83qdEH3/4a2108b3c5187debe18b8a6d88238abc/Cannabis_Delivery_Risk_Mitigation.jpeg)
  <figcaption>A recent event held at Meadow on Risk Mitigation and Driver Best Practices.</figcaption>
</figure>

### Stand with us on the right side of history.

To learn more about Meadow, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/meadow.sf "Meadow Instagram"), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/getmeadow/ "LinkedIn") & [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/Getmeadow/videos "Meadow YouTube").


Read more to learn about where we started

Posts tagged “Cannabis Retail”

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

Meadow Raises $2.1 Million in Seed Funding To Grow Cannabis Retail Platform

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