TopTender Is A Learning Platform Empowering Budtenders and Cannabis Brands

There’s a huge disconnect oftentimes between the producer/processor and the retailer when it comes to legal cannabis. In some states like Washington, where legality keeps consumers from opening any pre-packaged goods, a lot falls on the budtender. When entering any retail space you’d assume the sales associate helping you have ample product knowledge for you to tap…this isn’t always the case.

This is where TopTender comes in clutch—they’re a learning management system built specifically for the cannabis industry. They provide a user-friendly platform for budtenders, brands, and retailers to foster higher knowledge absorption, retention, as well as collaboration and innovation. This platform they’re continuing to build is the first of its kind, with over 500 budtenders currently using it.

Some names from the 502 market you may already recognize that utilize TopTender’s software are Heylo, LeafWerx, Artizen, and Local Roots. Currently, they’re working with 25 producer/processors, and 30 retail accounts (some with multiple locations.) I had the opportunity to chat with CEO and Co-Founder Ryan Porter about how TopTender is helping to grow the cannabis industry with knowledge.

TopTender.com—Empowering The Budtenders

When asking about what brought about the idea for TopTender, Ryan took a sincere tone. He said, “I think it’s important to focus on career paths that are presentable…I saw budtenders being treated poorly, with no career advancement.” He said, “we want to make budtenders heroes.” He went on to say that “we want to elevate them, we want them to be respected.” The only problem is that “the knowledge is all in budtenders’ heads, but it’s nowhere else yet.”

The goal of TopTender is to educate, elevate, and encourage career advancement within the budtending community. Ryan said a lot of new-hires at recreational shops aren’t always getting the right tools to get behind the counter and start selling out the gate. “If they’re super new at the store, they start training by just running security for the store. It could take months of soaking up information before they get behind the counter,” Ryan said.

TopTender is creating a stimulating learning environment that encourages eager industry entrants to take training into their own hands. Ryan made a point of saying that when running a retail space it’s highly frustrating when an employee doesn’t know how to sell a product. Their platform is working to solve that problem by being an engaging tool that educates while rewarding personal growth and initiative.

Interactive Learning Platform

TopTender utilizes tests and quizzes to challenge budtenders to aim high, and rewards them for doing it. You can essentially build a resume off of test scores and academic achievements they award you for increasing product and industry knowledge.

Not to mention the library on the platform is a well of industry information, such as info on terpenes. This is an extremely valuable tool to both the farm producing product and the person eventually selling it. Ryan said that right now budtenders often only have a brand’s social media presence to go off of to educate themselves.

He went on to say that for brands, the relationship often ends with the store’s buyer. There’s no firm structure in place to get each employee at each shop the right amount of education on new products. This is where TopTender’s working remedy is allowing brands who sign up for their service to provide as much literature on their products as they want. To sum it up nicely, Ryan said “we built a tool of valuable information for brands to truly communicate with the stores that are selling their products.”

Referral Program

If you’re a budtender trying out TopTender and know other budtenders that may have interest in signing up, there’s a referral program! Currently, TopTender will give you $40 to bring a friend over to the platform. Ryan said after the first 1,000 users the referral fee will go down slightly. Overall, they always plan to monetarily reward users for referrals.

Text To Log-In

Ryan knows the importance of utilizing text messaging to relay information. His previous work with Simple Marijuana Menu and Baker CRM Software suggests so. On their website it highlights that 98% of text messages are read within an hour of being sent. That being said, TopTender only uses text messaging for gaining access to the platform. Users can access the library and take quizzes, while brands can log-in to create content and make quizzes.

Expansion

Luckily cannabis software doesn’t have to stay within state lines. Ryan said Las Vegas and California are their next stops for expanding their educational empire. He even told me they have a few brands they’re already working with in California preemptively. Ryan went briefly into detail on the state of sales for legal versus black market cannabis in California, saying that there’s a lot of room for education in the wake of traceability laws changing. He also said that there aren’t really any rules in place to set a bar for product knowledge in California either, and he aims to help change that.

Collaboration, Innovation, and Application

Stores that utilize TopTender’s platform are able to create their own forms of content to further educate their new budtenders, not just producer/processors. Ryan made mention of 2020 Solutions out in Bellingham, WA who have been creating their own videos instructing new employees on product knowledge and selling language.

Another store out in Womack made use of the Q&A ability to chat with a specific farm in their store to request a virtual tour of their grow for better product knowledge. Cannarex out in Mount Vernon is already having its staff spend at least 30 minutes on TopTender each week. Over the phone I could hear the gusto in Ryan’s voice as he said, “if we invest in the people instead, that’s how we grow the industry in a more positive way.”