Create Those Contacts!

The patent sale process can be long and discouraging at times. Sometimes you need someone in the background to cheer you on to keep moving along in the patent sale process. As the sixth step in this process, this week’s topic is more of a cheer… CREATE THOSE CONTACTS! While creating your contacts, keep last week’s newsletter about first impressions, in the back of your mind.

Trade shows are the number one spot for you to meet companies, manufacturers, investors, and other inventors in your industry. Make yourself and your product known by introducing yourself to industry leaders.

To make the most of your event I suggest that you research who will be there and the specific companies you want to target. Having ‘target companies’ in mind will help you save lots of time and ultimately give you more time with prospects.

Additionally, you want to make sure that you are prepared for those conversations.
However, contacts can be made anywhere, and at anytime and you need to be prepared! Here are a few of my suggestions for creating and keeping a contact:

Keep business cards with you at all times!

Business cards allow you to be remembered by someone for a period of time after you have met. It can also serve as a reminder of your conversation. Trade shows can have thousands of people attending. By giving a business card to a person you are talking with, that person is able to be reminded of you and your product after the show is over when looking through the cards that they received.

An exchange of business cards seems more respectable than just walking up to every guy in a suit and asking for his business card. Introduce yourself, and have a genuine conversation, THEN offer your business card and ask for his/ hers. People will be more inclined to talk to you when contacted later on, if they are able to pull out your business card and confirm that they have actually met you before.

Staples or Kinko’s can produce cards for you in 24 hours. The card should have your name, the name of your product, telephone number, email address, and if applicable, a website address where people can find more information.

* When choosing the email address to put onto your business card, make sure that it is professional. An email address like HOT4CHICKS@EMAIL.COM is not professional. Likewise, the voicemail message associated with the telephone number should convey professionalism as well and should not be along the lines of “HEY GUYS, ITS ME! LEAVE ME A GOOD ONE AND ILL GET BACK TO YA ASAP!”

Record all conversations!

Not literally record the conversation (FYI: It is illegal to record a conversation without the other party’s consent.), but take notes.

After you meet someone that you have exchanged business cards with, wait until you are away from the person, and write on the back of the business card key information that you learned about him/ her. Key things to remember:

• The companies you discussed.
• Investors and manufacturers mentioned.
• Possible friends he/ she said might be interested or may know someone that can help.
• Where they are from.
• How long they are in town for. (If they are staying longer, you may be able to set up a meeting while you both are still there.)
• Children, spouse, or other personal information mentioned.

This information will help you to remember them and also to make them remember you when you contact them.

A telephone call or email will be more likely to be responded to positively sounding like:

“Hello Mr. Smith, this is Joe, we met at the software convention in Dallas last week. How was the trip back to Tampa? You had mentioned that your friend Sally, who works for Microsoft, may be interested in my product, and I was wondering if you would be willing to make an introduction…”

Any conversations that you have with this person, need to be documented so that the next time you contact him/ her you can remind them of the last time you talked and what you talked about.

DO NOT underestimate, neglect or tarnish any relationships that you have made!

Contacts are so important to any part of the intellectual property selling process. Creating and keeping contacts, in any line of work, can at some point in time, be a life saver.

Anyone that gives you their contact information should receive a follow-up email. A quick and concise email stating, it was nice talking with them and that you look forward to speaking with them again soon, should be the minimum.

As an inventor dedicated to seeing your invention sold on store shelves, you cannot afford to have anyone giving you a bad reputation. Integrity is all anyone has in this world, and if your word isn’t good, then who will want to trust you? At all costs, avoid ignoring contacts or tarnishing relationships, because even if you think that he/ she could never help you, you may be wrong.

About the author of this article:

Lindsey Yeauger is the Director of Communications for Idea Buyer LLC, a new product development company that owns and operates IdeaBuyer.com- The Online Marketplace for Intellectual Property. The site gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email her at Lindsey@IdeaBuyer.com.

In a fast-paced world where today’s partnership is tomorrow’s downsizing, how do you maintain your networking prowess? The short answer is to forget the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff.” This may be true in certain contexts, but networking is not one of them. When everyone and his mother is promising you the moon, you trust those who remember the little nuances and details – and who comes through on them.

What types of small things matter? Think about what matters to you. One of the smaller details that always matters is birthdays. Your partners’ lives are just as busy as yours. In the daily bump and grind of conferences, trade shows, stockholder conventions and business trips, even the mightiest producers can be worn down. Consequently, occasions like birthdays are seen as a rare opportunity to relax and take stock of one’s place in the world. If you remember to send over a bottle of champagne or even simple a happy birthday phone call, you will likely be held in high regard by your partner.

Better yet, go the extra mile. If the partner in question lives nearby or will be in town, make a point of taking him or her out to dinner for special occasions like this. Things like this become cemented in our minds as signs of loyalty and good will.

The same holds true for major anniversaries. If you have been partnered with someone for many years, you probably know important anniversaries of theirs – their marriage, the day their company went public, even the first deal you two consummated. These are days of triumph and celebration, as well. It is gracious and appropriate to extend well wishes or even gifts like champagne or tickets to sporting events in recognition of anniversaries. Little things like this show that your partnership transcends the pursuit of profit and encompasses the good will between you.

Of course, the little everyday things matter as well. Remembering the names of a partner’s child, spouse, or even pets can go a long way toward showing that you value them. When you think about it, this is common sense. You would begin to question someone’s authenticity if you had to tell them your kids’ names a dozen times too, wouldn’t you?

You can also look to things outside of work to strengthen your networking acumen. The easiest example of this is the throngs of businessmen who hash things out on the golf course instead of in the board room. There is just something about an informal setting that fosters a sense of trust between partners. For this reason, create such settings often. Whether it’s golf, sporting events, concerts, or anything else the two of you deem enjoyable, such activities will add a new dimension to your partnership that a cutthroat, fly-by-night competitor won’t be able to outdo.

Another way that the little things matter is when it comes to deadlines and obligations. These are the heart of any partnership, since you are presumably partnering to benefit from each other’s skills and experiences. The best advice is also the simplest: be a man or woman of your word. If you promise a partner that you will have a report ready by a certain day, see to it that you do. If you can, strive to exceed your deadlines. This creates an image of you in the partner’s mind as someone who can be trusted under any circumstances. And, like bad images, these are very difficult to dislodge once they take root. You will benefit from this perception of trust and reliability time and time again.

Finally, it must be said: for all of these things to work and truly be effective, you must be sincere about them. In other words, don’t feign concern, care, or respect for your partners if you don’t actually feel it. Harvard Business School graduate John T. Reed offers an example of what not to do in his review of Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.”

“On page 154, Kiyosaki says “the reason you want to have rich friends” is to get inside stock market information that you can make low-risk profits. He ends that discussion with the sentence, “That is what friends are for.” That is the narrowest, most mercenary definition of friendship I have ever seen. I doubt Kiyosaki is the only person who feels this way about his friends, but he may be the only one dumb enough to say it in a book.”

SRC: http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html

Obviously, this is not the reason you want to have friends or partners. You should feel a genuine sense of trust, respect, and good will toward any business partner that you have. If you do not, the tactics in this article will lose their status as friendly gestures and become mere brown nosing.

However, assuming that you and your partner have an authentic relationship, you will do wonders for yourself to keep the small things in mind!

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, the online marketplace for intellectual property that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.

While the swift cut-and-parry of creation is the heart of an inventor’s life, there is another important component – networking. Let’s face it; no matter how great your invention may be, you can always benefit from talented professionals in your field that might be willing to lend a hand. Maybe it’s that database programmer you’ve been scouring the earth for, or that distributor you need to get your product on store shelves, or a patent attorney to make sure your intellectual property is protected. Whatever the case may be, there are steps you can take to put yourself in the path of networking success. In this article, we will examine five of the most helpful. By applying these tips to your day-to-day efforts, you will increase your odds of meeting the people you need to move your invention forward.

1) Have a clean, approachable website.

The benefit of having a simple website to send people to cannot be stressed enough. Let’s say you are at a party or industry conference. Suddenly, you meet a new colleague and the two of you get to talking about your respective projects and goals. As the conversation comes to a close, the colleague asks you, “So, how can I stay abreast of what you’re up to, how can we keep in touch?” If you are networking-savvy inventor, you will reply, “Oh, no problem! My website is www.JohnDokes.com, it has all my contact information and what I’m working on. Check up on me there from time to time!”

This is extremely simple to do. Your website does not have to be flashy or fancy; a clean, black text on white background HTML layout will do just fine. As mentioned, your website should include your name, profession, hobbies, and areas of expertise, achievements, and maybe a periodical blurb about what things of importance you are working on at the time.

2) Print business cards and carry them at all times.

But what happens when you meet someone on the fly? There isn’t always time to scribble down web URLs or phone numbers, and lack of preparedness could kill an otherwise great networking contact. Fortunately, this does not have to befall you. The solution is a timeless standby of professionals everywhere: business cards! Simply visit your local Kinkos and print up 200 standard business cards with your name, e-mail address, mobile phone, and anything else you deem relevant. Then, make a point of carrying 5-10 of them in your wallet with you at all times. With business cards in tow, you will be able to capitalize on networking opportunities wherever you happen to be – on vacation, at restaurants or coffee shops, even in the grocery store. You truly never know when you will meet someone important.

3) Consider a separate phone line or wireless phone for professional purposes.

While not an absolute necessity, you need to consider how a potential contact or partner might perceive you. If they call your house line and hear lots of family commotion in the background, it might send the message that you are ill-prepared to take on a serious venture of any kind. Whether this is reasonable to infer or not, perception is reality for many people. Therefore, it might make sense to get a separate landline or wireless phone for your professional needs. You would then print this number on your website and business cards instead of your house phone. A wireless phone is best because you can carry it with you and never miss an important call. In addition to upholding your professionalism, doing this also helps you delineate between different areas of your life.

4) Follow leads wherever they may appear.

Anyone who has been in business for long knows that leads and opportunities can crop up almost anywhere, at any time. It is not uncommon for new business partners to meet on vacation, over dinner and drinks, or while playing golf at a country club. Therefore, you should keep this in the back of your mind and be ready to pounce on new opportunities as they arise. If you are out on the green with someone and you get to talking about your professions, there is no shame in “testing the waters” and seeing if he is interested in new projects. Do not assume that just because you aren’t in a business setting, you cannot pursue business leads. Truly successful inventors are creative and resourceful.

5) Use the direct approach whenever possible and appropriate.

Many people take a passive approach to life. Instead of acting to bring about some outcome, they simply hope it comes to be through osmosis. When it comes to networking, this attitude is a death sentence. If you want to meet the best people and bring them into the fold, you need to proactively seek them out. Let’s say you are in desperate need of a graphic designer, for instance. Throw up an ad on Rent-A-Coder that says you’re looking for one! Better yet, ask around your circle of friends and contacts to see if they know anyone with the skills you need. This is how networking happens. Of course, you should seek to establish some kind of relationship with a person before you just mine them for contacts. You wouldn’t want to bombard someone you just met. But by all means: once you are on good terms with someone, feel free to ask them who they know.

Apply these tips to your inventing and you will soon find that networking is not so difficult and it can make the difference between a successful invention and a failed one.

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, the online marketplace for intellectual property that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.