(Note: The first two parts were published last week. If you missed them, you can read them here: How To Be A Successful Inventor – Part 1 and How To Be A Successful Inventor – Part 2. ).
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- Create a categorized list of potential buyers
You already should have done your research, and found out whom to sell to. Now, dig deeper, and find out the industry sectors and companies which may be interested in your invention. When you do this, you may look locally, or companies selling in certain cities. Then, categorize these buyers. Each one requires a different strategy. So, you will separate them depending on the way you are going to market to them.
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- Market, market, market!
Marketing will make or break you. If you are doing marketing yourself, make sure you know what you are doing. You should know which form of marketing is most effective. For certain companies and clients, calling them may work better than emailing. For some others, giving a presentation in person may be more effective.
Most inventors are not marketers, by nature. So, if you feel you are not talented enough to market your invention, you are probably right. In this case, it may make sense for you to outsource the marketing to a reputed company. Make sure you choose a reputed company, because there are so many scams out there. Do your research of the company carefully.
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- Persistence
You think this is a quality that is needed when you go through the actual invention process. You are right, but it is even more needed when you are trying to license your invention. After a while, you may feel like giving up. Do not do that. Keep trying, and keep improving. If it is a quality product, you will be able to sell it. Make sure you are not betting the whole farm on this – do not quit your day job yet!
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- Tracking
If you are doing the marketing yourself, make sure you track all the marketing channels. You should know who all you have contacted via email, phone, etc. All of these channels should be tracked. After a while, you may find certain ways of promotion yield more responses. This realization will help you to maximize the return for your efforts.
Tracking will also help you to follow up whenever it is needed. When you are doing full fledged marketing, it is easy to forget that you were supposed to follow up someone. Keeping track of everything will make sure these kinds of mistakes do not happen.