Small Business Tool Kit
The CDM Process: ABLE
Managing a cannabis store (or several) is a whirlwind of daily challenges. Sometimes you’ve got an issue staring you in the face and not a whole lot of time to figure it out. That’s where the ABLE model comes in—a quick, no-nonsense problem-solving tool that walks you through identifying the issue and working through it as efficiently as possible.
Let’s walk through the ABLE process with a real-world scenario: You’ve noticed a significant drop in sales for vape cartridges, which used to be a top seller.
Step 1: Assess
Problem: Sales of vape cartridges have dipped significantly over the past three months.
How to Assess:
Walk the floor: Are vape cartridges hard to find on the shelf? Maybe they’re in an awkward spot where customers don’t notice them, or worse, hidden in a dark corner behind the edibles. Are budtenders struggling to sell them because they’re unsure of the features or benefits of different options?
Check your data: Look at the numbers. How have vape sales been trending? Are certain brands or sizes (like .5g or 1g cartridges) moving more than others? What’s the inventory turnover like? Are they sitting on the shelves longer than usual? Compare these figures to other product categories like pre-rolls or edibles to see if it’s an isolated issue.
Customer feedback: Are customers still asking for vapes, or have they moved on to another category? Maybe they’re mentioning that your cartridge selection feels stale or that there’s not enough variety.
Conclusion from the Assessment: The data shows that customers are gravitating toward new product categories like solventless and live resin, and your vape cartridge selection, mostly distillate, feels limited. Your current stock is outdated, and budtenders don’t have enough information to recommend newer or better options.
Step 2: Build
Now that you know what’s broken, it’s time to build a solution.
Brainstorm with your team. Gather your budtenders and managers to identify potential fixes. In our scenario, the problem is twofold: outdated product selection and a lack of knowledge from your staff.
Solution:
Update your product selection: Bring in a wider variety of vape cartridges, including live resin and solventless options, which are becoming more popular. Find out from your distributors which brands are hot right now and what new trends are on the horizon.
Train your team: Host a quick session with your budtenders to teach them about the new products. Make sure they know the differences between each cartridge—whether it’s live resin, or solventless. Give them talking points they can use to upsell customers.
Run a promotion: To create buzz, offer a discount on cartridges for a limited time, like "Buy One Get One 50% Off" or "Free Battery with the Purchase of Two Cartridges." Make it enticing enough to catch people’s attention.
Step 3: Launch
You’ve got a plan—now it’s time to roll it out. The key here is execution. Don’t just throw new products on the shelves and hope for the best; make sure everything is smooth and well-coordinated.
Steps:
Prepare your staff: Before the new products hit the shelves, hold a team meeting to go over the talking points. Make sure every budtender knows what’s new, why it’s awesome, and how to pitch it to customers. Consider role-playing a few scenarios so they’re confident in the sales process.
Communicate the promotion: Use email blasts, social media posts, and in-store signage to let customers know about your new vape selection and any promotions. Something as simple as “New Cartridges Now Available” or “Try the Latest Live Resin Vapes” on your Instagram or in your newsletter can grab attention. In-store signage should be strategically placed where customers browse.
Smooth operations: Make sure you’ve stocked enough cartridges to meet demand. Nothing kills a promotion faster than running out of stock on Day 2. Keep extra stock in the back, ready to replenish as soon as you start selling out.
Step 4: Evaluate
The products are on the shelves, the promotions are running, and your team is prepped. After a few weeks, it’s time to evaluate whether all of that hard work paid off.
How to Evaluate:
Check the sales data: Did your new vapes move off the shelves? Compare your sales of cartridges before and after the launch. Did the promotion boost sales temporarily, or are customers continuing to buy them at full price after the promotion ended? Break down the data by brand and type (live resin vs. distillate) to see what resonated most with customers.
Customer feedback: Talk to your budtenders and your customers. Are people happy with the new selection? Have they mentioned the promotion or thanked you for finally stocking the products they’ve been asking for? Also, check online reviews—sometimes the most honest feedback comes from there.
Assess your team’s performance: Were your budtenders confident in pitching the new products? Did they successfully upsell during the promotion? If not, what can you improve for next time? Maybe you need to spend more time on product training or introduce weekly check-ins to monitor sales techniques.
Conclusion: Continuous Improvement
If your changes boosted sales and customers are happy with the new selection, great! But if things didn’t go as planned, don’t panic. Go back to step one and reassess. Maybe the promotion wasn’t long enough, or perhaps you didn’t carry enough variety to meet demand.
The ABLE process is all about continuous improvement. You’ll rarely get everything perfect on the first try, but with each cycle, you’ll get closer to finding the sweet spot for your customers and your store.