I would not feel bad about the sell sheet, my guess is if the idea was that great they would have looked past the presentation.

Not all ideas are market viable….they may have been looking at things you didn’t think of – simply because they are trained to look for things that tell them a product will work or it won’t.

So go do some homework and get out there and try again!

Mark

Irina…..NEVER get upset with rejection in this business!!!! Suppose I told you some manufacturers JUST DON’T FEEL LIKE making any more products, they just don’t want the extra work but they will still be nosey 99% of the time to see what you got making you think they are interested in working with you but they never were.

Sometimes the owner of the company is getting ready to retire and just don’t want more work, or the CEO can’t handle what they have now. It’s a long shot to ask a company to do all the work and develop YOUR idea. It will take you time to find a company willing to do that.

To be honest, my manufacturer has a few products plus mine that should be selling millions each with a little more marketing effort. They don’t do it and I know the owner would not know how to handle the increased volume yet and maybe never.

As far as your sell sheet, that is as important as your face. So is your website. You should constantly look to improve these things except packaging. That needs to become recognizable and you can’t change often.

Do your best on sell sheets but periodically look to improve when you have time and better resources. I have seen some not so good ideas go very far all because of presentation and it may all start with a sell sheet.

Ron Komorowski
Inventor of Handi-Straps
www.handi-straps.com

Ron – Thanks! I had this feeling about my “sell sheet”, especially after seeing other people ones. mine is too casual. besides, my prototype was made out of catron by myself with help of my 8 years old…Well, as Mark is suggesting – more homeworkd to do. Thank you Mark:)

Irina…there once was a farmer who would scrape ice off his tractor window every morning and his hands would freeze. His wife finally sewed a pocket around the scraper for his hand to fit in. The farmer then put in a PAPER BAG and set off to see a manufacturer.

Very unsure of himself he told the story of how this worked so well for him and asked if the manufacturer could make anything out of his idea….no patent…no nothing. The guy supposedly made alot of money licensing.

Sometimes companies may appreciate a brand new obviously raw idea that has not been professionally circulated by a professional inventor so they know they are the first to review and have a chance at the jump on the market.

You just never know….don’t feel too bad about not being the most professional when presenting but do try your best to your ability. I am holding off on talking to the Bic corporation again because I want to make a quality video presentation of this next invention.

Ron Komorowski
Inventor of Handi-Straps
www.handi-straps.com

At the MN Inventors Congress last summer, there was a presentation on creating the sell sheet and on USING the sell sheet. I have a lot of great information. But the one thing she said was, don’t put all of your information in the FIRST sell sheet. If your are approaching a company on your own, get the name of the person who will review your information, then fax or e-mail a FIRST sell sheet that has some really enticing information but very minimal information. Whet their appetite. Tell them you will call them to see if they are interested in learning more. Then call them. If they want to know more, THEN send the second sell sheet which has a lot more detail. The whole point is to get a conversation going with them. To get their feedback. And maybe in the dialogue there will be a next stage. Anyone else have experience using this technique?

Ron – I love the “farmer story”, good for them! Little by little I am getting the idea of how presentation can be important. But what about Steven Key’s advice to make it simply with two-three named benefits and pics od a prototype and drawings? maybe it works for him because he is well known? Or because his prototype looks like a million dollars?

Ila – I have not heard of this technic. I wonder what other people have to comment on it. JMO: if a NDA is signed it doesn’t matter how much information “you” are giving away; therefore one nice sell sheet will do?

I think a good sell sheet is critical. As they say you only have one chance to make a good impression. Also I believe it is important to have a professional appearance. I believe business professionals like to do business with other professionals. Unfortunately there have been many inventors before you that may not have represented themselves well and many manufacturers already have a bad taste in their mouth about working with independent inventors. You can overcome that by having your act together. US companies spent 285 billion on advertising last year. Effective advertising works everywhere else in our society. Why would we believe it doesn’t work during this process?

We all need to recognize our strengths and weaknesses. GET HELP WHERE YOU NEED IT!