A Guide to Recommending the Right Types of Marijuana Products to Your Customers
A sale is a two-way street for both the salesperson and the customer.
It takes a salesperson to initiate the sale and the customer to follow through. But sometimes getting over that initial hurdle can be difficult.
How does one approach making a choice when so many options are available?
This couldn’t possibly be truer than when considering the world of medical and recreational marijuana. So many different strains, products, sensations, and side effects are on the table, and it’s probably an overwhelming situation.
Some customers are paralyzed by the choice alone!
Today, we’ll help guide you through recommending the right types of marijuana to your customers.
Why Choice is Important
First up, let’s talk about why choice is important in the first place.
After all, sometimes too many choices can be constricting, so why even risk losing a sale altogether due to an overabundance of options?
Because not having a choice is just as likely to keep a customer from purchasing, too.
Customers want (and need) to feel like they’re in control. Having options makes them more likely to want to make a purchase.
Plus, people have various tastes and preferences. One customer might want a sweet and mellow high that resides in the head, but another might want a clear head with a light-weight bodily sensation and yet another might want no psychoactive effect at all.
You need to be ready and willing to accommodate these different desires with multiple marijuana products.
Making Sense of the Types of Marijuana
As a budtender, you have a lot of responsibility regarding the sale. Many people passing through your shop may be first-timers.
If you live in a state where it’s recreational, they may simply be interested in this newfound freedom they have. If marijuana is medical in your area, they may have only just gotten their first cannabis recommendation. Maybe the doctor was only able to give them so much information during their visit.
When the customer is actually picking the product out, you are their liaison to this wide, new cannabis world.
Considering the Method
Before we even dive into the types of cannabis products, you need to consider how it’s administered.
There are many choices for the customer to consider, some of the more popular ones include:
* Vaporizing
* Edibles
* Pills
* Topicals
Vaporizing is a very popular method. It tends to be pretty easy (“plug and play,” if you will), and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on it (necessarily).
While expensive vaporizers may give customers more options, there are plenty of affordable devices. There are disposable vaporizer pens or some that the customer will insert a cartridge or a cannabis oil directly; sometimes, they’ll be able to set the temperature directly; and then they vaporize the liquid and inhale.
Vaporizing usually takes effect quickly and it gives the customer a lot of control over how hot, cool, or “hard” their device hits.
Edibles very greatly from state to state with so many foods available to infuse with marijuana. Baked goods are common, but does the customer like some spice? Some places you may even find marijuana-infused hot sauce on the morning eggs! Cannabis can really be added to any food you can think of
Pills are placed in the mouth and swallowed (maybe with the help of a liquid). It’s not that different from taking morning vitamins, really. The effects may take a while to kick in, but they often last longer than other methods. This is very good for someone that needs to be discrete when taking their medical marijuana.
Some people have a psychological issue with swallowing any kind of pill, though, so keep that in mind when recommending this method.
Topicals are a medium that often appeals to people who have pain in a specific area. This is one of the marijuana products that come in the form of a cream or lotion.
Just like regular creams and lotions, they are often soothing and gentle. They kick in quickly and can provide some fast relief. Topicals will not get the customer high, but once you get into transdermals, which get into the blood stream, it can still get a customer high if it contains THC.
Considering Strains
In many states, they still allow the selling of cannabis flower. If this is the case you need to know your stains. This is where things get dicey!
Some storefronts have a lot of options. There’s everything from “Obama Kush” to “Black Diesel Strain” and “Mauwie Wowie.”
These names can be fun and creative, but you don’t necessarily want to focus on the names. It’s not going to mean much of anything to the customer (at least at first).
On the other hand, once you start diving into the scientific terms of medical marijuana strains then it just gets too complicated and confusing. That is why there are now labels with cannabinoid and terpene profiles that come with each cannabis strain.
It’s best to simplify the choice for the customer. Explain that there are over 120 cannabinoids in a cannabinoid profile, but two are the most important:
? Cannabidiol (CBD)
? Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
THC is a psychoactive chemical that may give people what is sometimes called a “head high.” CBD is non-psychoactive and can affect bodily tissues in different ways. This is more of a “body high.”
The profiles of strains of types of marijuana go a lot deeper than that, but this is the important differentiation to make with your customers.
Be willing to discuss what they’re aiming for with their marijuana product.
Considerations for Medical Marijuana
Today, in the United States, there are only ten states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use.
It’s a big deal, but it’s still a relatively small number. A lot of states are embracing medical, though, currently at 32 states plus Washington DC. In these cases, there are still restrictions if people are wondering how to get medical marijuana.
It varies from state to state, so it’s difficult to lay out parameters for everyone, but it’s important to be up-to-date on your local laws.
Often, people will need to first visit a doctor and be approved with a cannabis recommendation. This will mean that they are ultimately limited by that recommendation.
Being the Best Liaison for Your Customers
Everyone who walks through your storefront may be embracing the world of marijuana for the first time.
The choices can be overwhelming and the stigma regarding cannabis is long-lasting and still in effect.
You will need to be the best liaison for them around and be willing to guide them through the types of marijuana available. Choices are good, but they can be difficult to make.
If you’re an aspiring budtender, check out our step-by-step guide on becoming one!
HempStaff offers an in-depth, state customized, dispensary training course around the country. This crash course quickly helps those to get up to speed with the cannabis products, cannabinoids, terpenes, patient consultation, dispensary operations and state regulations. We highly recommend this course to anyone looking to get an entry-level job in a cannabis dispensary.
