While everyone in the cannabis industry fights to end the stigma around cannabis, stigmas in the cannabis industry continue to hold businesses back. This session will break down the efficacy of current sales models, analyze why things need to change, and show exactly how companies can shift from making sales to survive to embracing professional sales to thrive. She will break the stigma of sales and show why sales needs to be the second priority of every cannabis producer. Audience members will leave with both a new mindset around their sales strategy and practical applications they can use immediately to improve revenues and strengthen their brands.
Francesca Vavala, President, The Sales Joint
Having worked in the cannabis industry as a professional sales service provider for over five years, Francesca has extensive experience in working with farms and dispensaries, from small to large, across the country. It is from this first-hand knowledge that The Sales Joint was born. Francesca is the President of The Sales Joint, a sales agency that helps bring professional sales strategies, tools, and best practices to the cannabis industry on behalf of craft producers. She believes that professional sales can save craft cannabis from being overrun by corporate weed, and that an effective, strong sales cycle is tied to better patient care as well as better business. Francesca is an informed and inspired cannabis entrepreneur, advocate, and speaker. She travels across the country and speaks to companies, groups, and at events about breaking the stigma around sales in cannabis so more small businesses can be successful. She promotes diversification, access, and education so cultivators and dispensary owners can grow their brands, business, and revenue while healing mind, body, and business. Francesca’s drive is rooted in spreading the core philosophy of her company, “no one grows alone.” She believes approaching sales with this mindset is the key to elevating the industry and individuals. Francesca is a University of Delaware graduate, a lifelong Delaware resident, and lives with her husband, Nick, and their pets in Wilmington, Delaware.