Inventor Opinion, By Mark Reyland: I have a friend who is a professional “Deal Maker” – His job is making deals between people who have something, and people who need something. For his effort he takes a small % of the deal. This started me thinking about deals and how they relate to the inventing process. Inventing is a solitary process. The inventor figures out what they want to invent, they retreat to the basement or garage where they hold up without food or water for at least a month and they emerge with a well thought out, proven, and ready for retail invention…..okay, I'm kidding What they do come out with is something that then has to be placed into the development part of the process, and that’s where the deal making starts. Let’s look at a few deals that an inventor is likely to enter into on every product. The Spouse Deal – This is the deal you make with your spouse that you will not spend all the savings on this invention, or at least when you do; you will tell them about it first. You want that support for your invention and they want to be free of financial worry – Thus the deal.
The License Deal – You REALLY want this manufacturer to take your product on and get it to the market. The manufacturer wants to make money, but knows you are one of many who want that to happen, so his motivation for the deal is based largely on how great your idea is, while your motivation is almost 100% emotional and in the end you don’t care how great the product is, you just want to get a license deal. Since the motivations are so far out of sync, The deal is often lopsided in favor of the manufacturer and you find yourself paid in 5% money, and 95% excitement – But it’s still a deal.The Design Deal – This is where you start to trade off design elements and make deals with yourself over what you want the product to do, and what can realistically happen in the process of developing it to a retail product. There are lots of little “Deals” going back and forth, but dealing just the same.
Reference Motive Image Link Flickr
Reference Motive Image Link Flickr
The Sales Deal – This is the deal you make with a professional sales rep, or a retail buyer, or anyone who will assist you in the process of getting this product on to the store shelf. At their core, this is a deal about promises. You swear you did everything in your power to invent and develop this product in a way that the consumer will want it, and in return, the retailer allows you to
Reference Motive Image Link Flickr
have some of the shelf space they know the consumer will be walking past. ….we know they have the shelf space, the question is did you live up to your end of the deal by making a product that will sell? As you can see – there is a lot of deal making going on in inventing – Have you ever thought of yourself as a “Deal Maker” ? Maybe not……but reality tells us that if you want to get your invention on to a store shelf - you are going to have to make your way through at least one or two deals in the process. Source: Inventor Opinion
Reference Motive Image Link Flickr
have some of the shelf space they know the consumer will be walking past. ….we know they have the shelf space, the question is did you live up to your end of the deal by making a product that will sell? As you can see – there is a lot of deal making going on in inventing – Have you ever thought of yourself as a “Deal Maker” ? Maybe not……but reality tells us that if you want to get your invention on to a store shelf - you are going to have to make your way through at least one or two deals in the process. Source: Inventor Opinion
