Have you ever pitched your invention to an important audience – a potential licensee for your invention or a retail store buyer – and had it fall flat? Were your high hopes dashed when they said, “It's just not for us at this time”?
Did you return home confused, confounded, and a bit annoyed?
Has this happened to you more than once? Be honest!
How would you like to learn why they said ‘no'? Read on.
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Would you like to learn how to make money from your invention? Tired of just spending money?
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Here's Why They Said ‘No'
You lost them in the first 30 seconds
What? How could you “lose” your audience so quickly? There are at least 3 key blunders that will cause you to lose them in the first 30 seconds of your pitch:
- You focused immediately on yourself, not WIIFM
- You told them a long-winded story
- You made bold, unsubstantiated claims
Don't focus on you – focus on them
Before you utter a single word, you must ask yourself: what do they care about most?
Every audience immediately is wondering WIIFM – “what's in it for me?” You must focus on describing how, specifically, your invention will benefit them as a company – why it would be a win for them to license your product. It's not about you – it's about them.
What do they care about most? They want new products that minimize their risk and maximize their potential for high profits. You must show them how your invention can accomplish this for them.
Avoid long-winded stories – give them your TSC
What do you talk about when you are with other inventors? You tell them stories describing the many trials and tribulations you've encountered along your journey – often in great detail. Right? That's completely okay when talking to other inventors – they actually want to hear your stories and to tell you their stories.
Business people don't want long-winded stories, no matter how colorful or humorous. They want to get to the bottom line – and as soon as possible. For them, your meeting is just one of many they will be attending that day – and probably the least important one from their perspective. Their minds will tend to drift immediately to their upcoming meetings or family plans for the weekend.
But what if you grabbed their attention, right from the start, with a '30-second commercial' (TSC) for your invention?
For my thin wallets, my TSC was “It holds twice as many cards, is half as thick as other wallets, yet is flexible and comfortable in the back pocket, even for long drives or flights.” These weren't features, they were benefits. It got them curious, “how could any wallet hold a lot of cards and remain thin and comfortable to sit on?” I had their attention and their minds were focused upon learning about my mysterious invention – just what I wanted.
If you want to learn more about how to create a TSC for your invention – come to my next free License Your Invention for Royalties webinar.
Just click on the orange button below for all the details and to sign up.
Never insult them with bold, unsubstantiated claims
The third reason they may have said ‘no' to you is that you insulted them. Really? Yes.
What if Aaron Krause had opened his pitch with “My Scrub Daddy sponges work so well, that you'll never need another cleaning item in your kitchen. You can throw them all away. The Scrub Daddy is dramatically better at scrubbing pots, pan and other kitchen items than anything else on the market. We'll all make millions with this product.”
He would have insulted them by suggesting he, the independent inventor, knew more about their business than they did.
They'd show him the door very soon. Of course, he didn't do that – and neither should you. Make sure to subscribe to the Inventors Helping Inventors podcast to catch the full Scrub Daddy story from Aaron, coming very soon.
I hope this blog has been helpful to you. Stay tuned for more.
________________________________________________________________
Would you like information on how to deal with setbacks?
Just click on the blue button below to grab your FREE copy of – Dealing With Setbacks – cheat sheet now.
Would you like to learn how to make money from your invention? Tired of just spending money?
Attend the next FREE live webinar – How to License Your Invention for Royalties.
All you need is your cell phone, laptop or computer to attend this live webinar. Get all your questions answered.
Just click on the orange button below to sign up for the next FREE live webinar – License Your Invention for Royalties.