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THE ONLINE INVENTOR -- June 2002

(c) 2002 Market Launchers, Inc.

http://www.marketlaunchers.com/customer-testimonials.html

Publisher: Paul Niemann

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Article 1:    "The Top 10 Reasons Inventors Succeed," written by Paul Niemann of www.MarketLaunchers.com for the May / June issue of Inventors' Digest

Article 2:    "Business Basics 101: Designing an Effective Business Card" by CardScan and "The Business Card Book" by Dr. Lynella Grant

Article 3:    "Resolve Disputes the Easy Way," by Andrew Taylor

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Article 1: "The Top 10 Reasons Inventors Succeed," by Paul Niemann of www.MarketLaunchers.com for the May / June issue of Inventors' Digest

10. Be an Industry Expert:

Whether inventors plan to license their invention or manufacture it themselves, the successful ones …

Research the companies in their industry.
Visit retail stores where similar products are likely to be sold in order to get an idea of how their product will fit in with other products currently on the market.
Become familiar with industry trade journals and join your industry's trade association.
Search through "The Thomas Register of American Manufacturers" in the library or on the Internet for listings of companies that make products similar to yours. You might even find some potential licensing candidates for your invention here.
Read books on the subject of licensing. Two excellent books on this subject are "How to License Your Million Dollar Idea" by Harvey Reese and "Marketing Your Invention" by Tom Mosley. (You can buy these from the UIA's Inventor's Bookstore: http://www.uiausa.org)

9. Attend trade shows:

According to Mark Davis, inventor of the Eggsercizer TM, it is important to attend and/or exhibit at industry trade shows. Some of the things you can do at a trade show are:

8. Invent for the marketplace:

Perform market research on your idea/invention.
Evaluate packaging designs and artwork.
Meet a distributor of products in your trade line.
Find sales representatives.
Evaluate wholesale and retail pricing.
Talk with other inventors.
Find out if your idea is already on the market.
Learn about advertising and marketing.

The successful inventor develops a quality product for which there's a market, rather than inventing based upon what he likes. Without customers for your product, who do you have to sell it to? The successful inventor works on inventing products for which there is a need or a serious desire. And who determines whether there is a need? The market … the end-users … the consumers.

7.    Invent in an area you know:

The successful inventor tends to concentrate his efforts in creating products in industries in which he has some expertise. This includes knowing all of the possible manufacturing processes which can be used to make your product, as well as the costs involved. This also gives you some control over your own destiny and adds value to your product when you meet with a potential licensee to pitch your new product and (hopefully) to negotiate a deal.

6.    Plan, Plan, Plan:

The successful inventor has a well thought out plan, and he works that plan. People don't plan to fail, but sometimes they do fail to plan. Moving forward without a plan is like getting the family into the car for a two-week vacation with no destination in mind, no packed luggage in the trunk and no money in your pocket. You may wind up somewhere but will the family still be talking to you?

5.    Make a prototype … take a picture:

The successful inventor has pictures and/or a working prototype or, in some cases, even a web page to show to companies. Don't assume that others are as familiar with your new product as you are and understand it as well as you do even if you feel as though you've explained it pretty thoroughly. Some of the most intelligent people need to see a picture before they can fully understand the product. Test the value of a combination of spoken word with and without pictures. Read the Sunday comics to your spouse. You'll see that she/he does not get the full benefit without actually seeing the pictures. Also, please refer to my article in the January / February 2002 issue of Inventors' Digest entitled, "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words."

4.    Network:

It is imperative to network with industry professionals and with inventors who have gone before you. A good place to start is by joining your local inventor group. They know what challenges, struggles and opportunities you face and can probably offer some assistance. Why make all the mistakes on your own when you can learn from others who have already "been there and done that?"

3.    Learn how the product gets to the consumer:

Learn how the distribution channels are set up in your industry. As in # 10, understand the distribution system in your industry to the point that you can be considered an industry expert.

2.    Take responsibility:

The successful inventor contacts companies directly, and follows up with each one himself. Nobody, not even the best marketing company, can pitch YOUR INVENTION with the same fervor and passion as YOU can. If you don't have the luxury of meeting with the company in person, do most of the work over the phone and through the mail. Follow up with each company with a phone call after sending your information to them. There are a number of reasons why it's important to follow up, but the three most important reasons are:

You can ensure that your information got to the right person.
You can ensure that he did in fact review it (and not mistake it for junk mail) since he may have forgotten about you by the time he receives it.
The only way you can explain and sell him on the benefits of licensing it from you is to speak with him after he has had a chance to review it.

How long should you continue to follow up with each company? Follow up until you receive either a "yes" or a "no." A "no" is usually permanent unless you get some NEW or ADDITIONAL information that may influence the person's decision, even if they've already turned you down. In that case, feel free to call again to give them NEW INFORMATION to help them make a NEW DECISION. For example, you could call and say, "I just received a call from XYZ company and they're interested in placing a huge order as soon as I line up a company that's interested in producing it for me," or "I just received a great testimonial from someone who's been using my product, and they loved it because ...." Even if you were turned down earlier, the new information may cause them to change their opinion.

As a side note, it is best to have more than one potential buyer lined up, because it gives you additional negotiating leverage AND it takes the pressure off you when dealing with each individual company.

… and the # 1 reason why inventors succeed …

1. Grin and Bear it:

The successful inventor is willing to do most of the above nine items whether they feel like it or not!

You don't have to score a perfect 10 in order to succeed, but the more you do right, the better your chances. Likewise, just because you might find yourself guilty of some of the "Top Ten Reasons Inventors Fail" (May/June 2002, Inventors' Digest) doesn't necessarily mean that you will fail.

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Paul Niemann creates web pages for inventors AND lists them on his web site's Invention Database (www.MarketLaunchers.com) where they can be seen by companies looking for new products to license in. He also builds web sites for people who have a product to manufacture and sell. To get a copy of Paul's "8 web site tips," just reply with the words "8 web site tips" in the subject line.

Visit http://www.MarketLaunchers.com or call (800) 337-5758.

Mike Marks of InventionCity.com contributed to this article.

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Article 2: "Business Basics 101: Designing an Effective Business Card" by CardScan and "The Business Card Book" by Dr. Lynella Grant

Size is important:
The ideal size for a business card is 2" by 3.5."

Branding without an iron:
Make sure to include the company logo and trademark. Logos reinforce your brand.

Joe Schmo, from where again?
Include the full company name on the business card even if it is part of the logo.

Don't make 'em squint:
Use easy-to-read fonts. Stay away from fonts or backgrounds that are too ornate or are hard to read. Dark text on a light background works best.

Play easy to get:
Include an e-mail address and web site as well as possibly a pager or mobile phone number. Keep all essential contact information on the front of the card.

Parlez-vous français?
Think internationally. Remember to include the country as well as the country code with the phone number.

Go with the flow:
In order to make the contact information easy to read, arrange elements to follow the natural flow of the eye, which is from upper left to lower right.

Proper business card design is imperative, especially as cards are increasingly likely to be scanned and synchronized with someone's Outlook database or Palm-based handheld. This makes it easier for the business card recipient to stay in touch, which was the whole point of exchanging the card in the first place." - Jonathan Stern, CEO of CardScan

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CardScan accurately scans business card information into a versatile electronic format, which can be easily transferred from PC to Palm™, Outlook® and other formats.

For more information, e-mail Jodi Moses, PR Manager at [email protected] or call (617) 588-7145. You can also visit the CardScan Press Center at www.cardscan.com/pr for our press materials, image library and a FREE EVALUATION UNIT.

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Article # 3: "Resolve Disputes the Easy Way," by Andrew Taylor

Now we can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way. No, I am not selling a new financial product and I do not hold your arm up your back, nor a gun in your ribs. My message is "Don't litigate -- mediate!"

That is the message from Andrew Taylor, a full time commercial mediator who is dedicated to increasing the knowledge and understanding of mediation in business. He goes on, "Compared to litigation, mediation is faster, cheaper and more civilized. It avoids the risk of damaging publicity and it offers scope for imaginative solutions."

In fact, Andrew Taylor is so enthusiastic, he has even written a book about it!

Everyone knows what mediation is, yet few people are really confident about how much they know, how it works, and whether they can use it.

Mediation is a process in which a third person, "the mediator," helps the parties in dispute to find a mutually satisfactory outcome. You could say there is nothing exciting there. Mediation must have been used long before any court system was invented. Despite that, we tend to overlook mediation as a possibility for settling disputes between employer and employee, business and business.

These are characteristic advantages of mediation over litigation:

Speed -- A dispute can be resolved by mediation in a matter of weeks rather than the years it might take in court. If the case is particularly urgent and the parties are prepared to pay for priority and premium time, there is no reason why a commercial case could not be concluded in a fortnight. The usual time scale for a small commercial case is around six weeks, and for a more complicated commercial case, around six months. The same case might take five years to go through the court system.

Cost -- In most cases, the saving over comparable litigation costs is very large. Because litigation is expensive. It is obviously advantageous to settle a dispute before litigating. The Civil Procedure Rules encourage solicitors to do this. How far you use your solicitors is up to you, but however you deal with it, a case over in weeks will cost a lot less than one that drifts on for years.

Of course the Court system takes no account of the value of your time as a litigant. If you are a senior manager involved for say 1,000 hours over a period of three years, your lost time may have been worth £50,000 -- £100,000.

Stress free -- Litigation is undoubtedly very stressful. Everyone finds a Court appearance stressful. It is not only the day in Court itself but the weeks of anticipation and worry beforehand. Mediation, by contrast, should be sufficiently formal to enable a constructive and satisfactory conclusion but, at the same time, sufficiently informal to promote a friendly environment where the parties can discuss their differences openly.

Confidentiality -- only the parties and the mediator ever know what is happening, so mediation carries far less risk of damaging publicity. Your business can protect its reputation, its brand, and its technical secrets. On the other hand what is said in court is on public record.

The combination of confidentiality and speed in a mediation enables you to keep secret the very fact of a dispute. Once you have issued a writ (or had one issued against you) then your auditors, shareholders, and financial commentators will be on top of you for an explanation. Your accounts could be blighted for years. If you are a public company, your share price will be affected. In contrast, a mediation can be over in weeks. Only you even know you ever had a problem -- and even you have half forgotten the detail because it never interrupted your main purpose. The uncertainty represented by litigation simply does not exist.

Flexibility -- Government lays down fixed court procedures. Because mediation is informal, more imaginative solutions can be considered. You can consider a settlement that might involve all sorts of solutions other than payment or receipt of money. It might be important to you or your dispute party to deal with timing, quality, future trading, certification -- aspects where a court has no jurisdiction to help you.

So that is what it is all about!

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For Andrew Taylor's free e-book "Mediation Wins the Gold," click on
http://www.TheMediator.co.uk

Contact: Andrew Taylor on 44 (0)1246 563618
[email protected]

Andrew Taylor is always happy to provide a comment on any aspect of mediation or dispute resolution.

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Click here to read the May 2002 issue.