How to Make Your (Ohio Cannabis Processor) Sales Process Work For You

A step-by-step guide to making sales suck less in the Buckeye State.

Step 1: You Might Already Be Screwed (But You're Not Alone)

With over 1,000 SKUs on the market from Ohio cannabis processors, the road to dispensary shelf space isn’t paved with golden nugs. It’s mostly cold calls, luck, referrals, or—let’s be honest—some kind of discounting roulette.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got questions about how to build a cannabis sales process, or maybe you’re wondering if you even have one. Maybe your “process” is just your cousin with a clipboard, a pocketful of samples, and a price sheet. That’s okay. The fact that you’re here means you care enough to get better.

Here’s a quick gut check:

• If someone walked in today to sell your products, would they know where to start?

• Would they know who to call, what to say, or what their sales goals are?

• Could they explain your value proposition to a dispensary buyer with confidence?

If the answer is no, that’s not the end of the world—but it is the beginning of your fix. And if you want to talk about it, book a call with me. I guarantee you’ll learn something useful.

Step 2: Know Thy Sales Team (and Their Limitations)

Some cannabis brands get by with a rockstar salesperson and zero process. That can work... until it doesn’t.

If your head of sales gets poached or ghosted, how long would it take to recover? Do you even know how they close deals?

This is why you need to build a repeatable cannabis sales process—not to micromanage your people, but to make sure your business doesn’t fall apart if one person goes on vacation.

Start by evaluating your current team:

• What are they naturally good at?

• Are they hustlers, relationship builders, product experts?

• Where do they need help—follow-up, organization, handling objections?

Real-world example: After helping many customers create their sales process, the most common worry I heard was that experienced sales people already had a process and it worked, but when pressed most of their process was ad hoc and not translatable to others. I've also heard from new sales people, especially those peddling THC-A, that the only way to get sales is to pound the pavement and drop off samples. I know and have seen that there are better ways to do this, you just need to provide some more guidance than a goal and some sample packets which are likely to get tossed or buried in a drawer.

Step 3: Set Goals that Actually Matter

Your business has revenue targets. Your sales team has quotas (hopefully). But do those numbers make sense together?

Here’s how to make sure they align:

1. Figure out how much new revenue you need to hit your goals.

2. Account for churn—you won’t keep every dispensary customer from last year.

3. Ask how your biz dev team supports retention and whether they should.

4. Determine your average deal size This will tell you how many deals you need to close.

This is where cannabis business development becomes strategic. It’s not just about signing new accounts—it’s also about maximizing the ones you already have.

Example: Simple math. The average revenue for a processor in Ohio is somewhere in the neighborhood of $5M, if your goal is 20% growth in a year, and you expect 10% client churn, you need to sell 30% or $1.5M in product to meet your goals. That could come from a combination of organic growth and new sales, but if you're not going to hit that, you're not going to hit your target. 

Step 4: Define Your Target Dispensary Audience (And Learn From Their Objections)

If you’re trying to sell to “everyone,” you’re selling to no one.

Start narrowing in:

• Who are your best dispensary partners right now?

• What kind of buyer responds well to your pitch?

• Are you better in urban markets, mom-and-pop shops, or multi-location MSOs?

Once you’ve figured that out, assign territory by:

• Region (e.g. Northeast Ohio, Columbus Metro)

• Account type (corporate chains vs independents)

• Or a hunter model ("eat what you kill")

Now, here’s something most processors overlook: objections are gold. Every time a dispensary tells you "We already carry something similar" or "Your margins are too thin," that's data.

Track objections to help you:

• Refine who your ideal customer really is

• Improve your pitch

• Identify new product opportunities

Example: All the best salespeople I've ever met knew that making a sales wasn't about them and their product. Knowing their prospects, what they want, and how your product can help them achieve their goals is the baseline to achieving success. And guess what... if each of your salespeople thinks your product does a different thing, or stands for something different, you're going to experience brand confusion. 

Step 5: Map the Journey from Cold Call to Closed Sale

This is where you build your actual sales pipeline. Your process should reflect what typically happens between “Hey, we exist” and “Thanks for the PO.” I've included some example stages, but if these aren't right, get rid of them and figure out what works for you.

Prospecting Stages (Pre-opportunity):

1. Identified – You know the dispensary and buyer name. Generally, this is how your salesperson claims a lead.

2. Contact Made – A buyer actually replied and knows you're a real person. This could be an email response, a phone call, or even better an in person interaction.

3. Qualified Lead – They carry similar products or show interest. After this stage either they're ready to buy and should get moved to an opportunity stage, or they stay here until they're ready.

4. Unqualified – Keep track of these so you don't go back to the well again and waste more time

Opportunity Stages (Active deal):

1. Intro/Discovery – Understand their needs, pricing structure, what moves.

2. Sample Sent or Proposal Shared – Product leaves your facility.

3. Negotiation – Talking discounts, placement, margin.

4. Verbal Yes – Pending PO or paperwork.

5. Closed Won – You’re in their rotation.

Warning: One thing that drives me crazy is people who sign up for a CRM and assume their lead and deal stages are the "right ones". They're the default across a wide variety of businesses, teams, and models. Find a partner who can adapt a platform to your process, not your process to the platform. Oh wait, you found one already!

Step 6: Determine Your KPIs

Many cannabis processors only measure closed sales, but if you’re only checking the scoreboard at the end of the game, you’re too late.

Track leading indicators:

• Calls that reached a real human

• New contacts made

• Meetings booked

• Samples sent

• Deals in negotiation

Pro tip: Build KPIs that show early motion. That’s how you’ll know which reps need coaching, and which buyers are starting to bite. Additionally when you get to Step 9, it'll help your team help each other on breaking through the inevitable breakdowns that happen when deals get stuck.

Step 7: Choose Your CRM and Pipeline Tracking Method

Now that you’ve mapped your stages and KPIs, you need to pick a tool that actually tracks them. Here’s the good news: you don’t need Salesforce.

You can start with:

• Google Sheets (basic but better than nothing)

• Airtable or Notion (lightweight, great for visibility)

• HubSpot CRM – Highly recommended if you’re scaling

I’ve helped multiple cannabis brands set up HubSpot Sales pipelines with automation, like:

• Auto-reminders when a deal stalls for more than 10 days

• Email templates to follow up on samples

• Pipeline dashboards that show deal stage and next steps

Why this matters: A CRM gives you visibility and can help support your process with rigor and consistency. If you’re hiring, training, or trying to raise money, you need to show pipeline health—not just closed deals.

Step 8: Build a Dashboard That Actually Tells You Something

A dashboard should help you answer:

• How many deals are we working?

• Where are they stuck?

• What’s close to closing?

Track KPIs across individuals and the whole team. Set filters by territory, product type, or account type. Review it weekly (with your team!) so it’s not just a spreadsheet graveyard.

Step 9: Meet, Adapt, Repeat

Your sales process isn’t a one-and-done playbook. It’s a living thing.

Hold weekly or biweekly sales syncs:

• Review top opportunities

• Talk through objections

• Workshop cold outreach or email copy

• Share learnings between reps

Real-world fix: I'm a big believer in collaboration, so generally recommend against making your salespeople compete against each other. Building systems and meetings where they can share best practices, go through objections can provide additional insight and opportunities to close more business for everyone which should be the goal.

Step 10: Success (Probably)

Yes, this is a lot.

But most of your competitors aren’t much if any of this. Which means you can stand out not just on product—but on process.

And if this feels overwhelming? You’ve got options:

• Book a call with me for advice on CRM, sales structure, or coaching your reps

• Reach out to Local Leaf Marketing for help mapping all this out into real workflows and campaigns

TL;DR: What You Should Do This Week

✅ Map your current pipeline stages
✅ Identify your top 20 dispensary targets
✅ Write down the top 3 objections you hear
✅ Choose your CRM or tracking method
✅ Set one KPI to focus on this week
✅ Schedule a team sales review

You can do this. And if you want help? I’ve got you.