Don’t Add to the Divide
The Secret to Pitching Your Invention is Being Consistent and Persistent by April Mitchell
ON WHICH SIDE of the Inventing Sea are you?
There is a great divide among inventors trying to license their concepts that I have seen over the last few years as a licensing coach.
When it comes to pitching or presenting their idea, most inventors start in the same place. They have a great idea they believe in; they have done their market research to ensure the need for the product exists; they have great marketing material that showcases the benefits of their product, and they have researched which companies would be a good fit for pitching or presentation.
And then they start pitching. This is where the divide happens.
1 divide, 2 sides
On one side of the divide are those who turn over every rock and do the hard work to find a way into all the companies that are on their “hit list”—whether through LinkedIn, emails or calling. Once they have “gotten in” and have presented to the company or sent in their marketing material for review, they follow up with the company in some fashion consistently, persistently and in a timely manner about every 10-14 days. They do this even when it is tiring, even when it is hard to get in, even when it stinks hearing “no” or being ghosted (that’s right; we’ve all been ghosted).
The other side of the divide is the side that gives up too easily. They get a few “nos” and/or can’t get ahold of the right person, which gets them so down they don’t come back up. They do not get an answer from the companies they reached out to because they may not have followed up enough. They do not “get into” every company on their list as planned.
Know the timeline
Why should we put in the time and not give up? I have found that the typical product takes 6-12 months of pitching to land a licensing contract. Several of my concepts were licensed in this timeline; I have seen many others licensed over the same duration. This timeline is not set in stone. I have licensed a product to the first company I pitched it to and have licensed a product after five months of pitching and another past 12 months.
“I have found that the typical product takes 6-12 months of pitching to land a licensing contract.”
This wide range shows that you can easily miss out if you aren’t consistent and don’t spend enough time “In the game” pitching your product. I have been actively pitching a few products for over 15 months. Why would I do this? I believe in the concepts. I keep going until I have a “no” from each company, or until I sign a contract. Different companies have different product review timelines and often change who is reviewing the product.
I also am still finding some companies to add to my “hit list.” It’s amazing what you find if you look hard enough. There is a time to put a product on the back burner for a bit, but that’s another subject.
Which side of the Inventing Sea will you choose? It could be a long voyage, but the journey is worth it.