Selling is our second most discussed topic when we are having conversations with partners and clients, coming just behind inventory management discussions. Most cultivators throw at themselves the seed-to-sale badge, but how is this trial for sales? Is it smooth with a nice view or a small bumping road in a swamp?
Below you will find good practices to support your sales team.
Real-time inventory
It is not only an operational issue, it has a direct impact on sales. Many managers are concerned that their reps do not have the most accurate information to send quotes to clients or that they do not make it easier for their clients to buy.
This is what we usually hear: “My sales rep sends the order to his client, 3 days later the dispensary has the order ready, but in the meantime, other sales are done, and now we might not have an offering from the same lot or even the product they wanted to buy”.
This conversation often leads to lost sales, override quotes, bad forecasting, and many Excel sheets going back and forth.
Try to implement a system that operates in real-time, allowing both your clients and cannabis sales reps to work in the same environment with the same information.
Give options to your clients
Nowadays, everyone has their favorite way of shopping. It is important that you make your client feel comfortable with you and offer them options that will benefit their business, not yours!
Technology has its curves, and it leads to different behavior and the ways your clients will want to do business with you. If you are selling to big retail chains, this deal will probably occur on the phone/Zoom, and your sales rep will discuss the deal until it gets done, but some buyers prefer to have more control over the purchase and explore their options by themselves. Others will want the same amount on a weekly/monthly basis in an automated way, and others will want to tell your AEs what they need and get an offer.
Now what most businesses are doing is offering one single channel/option for buyers, while a minority is trying to explore how they can engage as much as they can of their customers in all different channels.
Many businesses still haven't done that because “we’ve always done it this way” and we get it, you do not change what is working already, but giving people options is always a good choice, so try to maximize their buying experience in different stages of their buying journey.
Data
What is the amount of data you have x what you use? Cannabis has multiple variables and differences that can impact the end customer experience or the relationship you have with your retailers. Premium dispensaries will often go for freshness, smell, aspect/beauty, and high THC percentages (following the rules of each state).
You have one lot that, for reasons you are still trying to find out, is looking prettier than the others. Why not show it to customers? If you produced better lots of better strains, why not do a promotion and offer for your top 5 clients?
You should add multiple data layers to your sales daily routine so they can scratch better deals, have better strategies to maintain important clients, and keep them happy. Most AEs work on a product level, while others out there are going deep into lots to maximize revenue and client satisfaction.
MSO
This one hits hard the expansion plans of most businesses out there. The regulatory landscape is hard to predict at a state level; doing so for others is even harder, which is why a few companies still decide to operate locally, but this is a problem that can be solved.
Multiple platforms support scalable online growth through e-commerce by adjusting (or already ready) to specific legislation or supply-chain demands.
Typically, deploying and managing another website, while ensuring multiple data points align, is not an easy task. Still, it can be done as long as you are using the right technology.
Software developers can “franchise” the e-commerce model, so you do not have to waste your time reworking stuff that is good already, like a plug-and-play plug-in, you can add and remove states, define rules, and attract new customers in places that were unthinkable before, way faster than most cultivators and processors are used to right now.
