|| By William Zorn - Director of Media for The Budtenders Association  Product Knowledge Events, or “P.K Sessions” have become an industry staple. Companies come to your store with a box of swag or meet your team at the bar with a pitcher & presentation-- making your staff feel like the prettiest person at the prom. These sessions, while fun, can actually lead to confusion if there isn’t a strong base of knowledge established within your team beforehand! While a P.K Session seems like amazing “Free Training”, everything comes at a cost. The sessions are not aimed to educate budtenders & staff on the complexities of the product, rather to give Budtenders branded talking points that fit the providers narrative. During PK sessions, Budtenders aren’t necessarily receiving cannabis knowledge, leading to better selling across your menu and building genuine customer relationships, rather they receive the confidence only to sell the exact products discussed in the sessions. We know a Budtender should start by identifying the needs of their client and finding a corresponding product. Yet, the goal of PK sessions is to show your Budtenders how they can speak to only certain products on the market. They’re not meant to train on how to actually be a Budtender. So now instead of your staff spending time evaluating a customer's needs and building a relationship, they are being trained to recommend certain products from the get-go. Great for immediate sales, not so great for the long term success of your store. These presentations given are made to be digestible by someone of any level of cannabis knowledge - but while digested, is it really absorbed? Terminology in relation to how products are grown, extracted, or baked are used as canna-buzzwords to excite with minimal explanation provided into the method. Budtenders are often told “this is the best way to do it, that’s why we do it”. However, without a base understanding of cannabis botany, science, or production methods, staff can actually be mislead into believing arguably shotty methods are “industry standard, if not “exceeding” or mislead that a certain kind of product is better for all consumers despite one’s relationship with cannabis being deeply personal and unique.  Understanding the unique demands of our industry, the Budtenders Association’s 3 & 4 day Training Course has been carefully crafted to arm Budtenders with everything that they need to break through the industry jargon and find usable information to be taken throughout their cannabis career. Whether new or a pro, these courses establish a strong base of fundamentals and then show your Budtenders how to seek out knowledge.  We can’t wait to see you there!