Trade shows offer tremendous opportunities to inventors who want to license their inventions.
Written by Edward Ayres
Inventors, it’s trade show season! You might be asking yourself, what exactly is a trade show? It’s an in-person event that brings together a particular #industry to #discover, #display, #demonstrate, and #discuss new #products.
So, how is that going to benefit you as an #inventor? Simply put, having all of your potential #licensees under one roof, and often there looking for new products, creates an #ideal environment that can lead to #licensing #success.
In this #article we’ll discuss eight specific benefits of #tradeshows, and how they may help you license your #invention.
Eight benefits of trade shows for inventors:
- Launch a New Invention – Do you have an invention you’d like to license for royalties? Does it deserve the attention of world-class brands? If so, then industry-specific trade shows can be the perfect place to meet licensees, #pitch your product, compile a contact list, and #establish #business relationships. All of which, can lead to successfully licensing your new inventions.
- Enhance Product Awareness – If you’re like most inventors, you’ve kept your invention a secret for a long time. But now you want to license it and earn royalties. The question, how does a company license your invention if they don’t know it exists? The #answer, they don’t! You must make #credible licensees aware of your invention, and trade shows provide an #effective way to quickly reach numerous companies at a single #event. That unique #opportunity isn’t found anywhere other than on trade show floors.
- Generate New Leads – Invention licensing is a “Contact Sport.” The more potential licensees you contact, the better you will do! And quality trade shows, like the National Hardware Show and the Inspired Home Show, attract the decision makers of major brands and other licensees. Only at industry-specific trade shows will you find so many decision-makers under one roof. As an inventor, you get the opportunity to make introductions and possibly pitch your product. Worst case #scenario, you gather contact #information so you can follow up after the show. Where is the #deal made? In the follow-up!
- Face-to-Face Interactions – Even in today’s #digital world, there is no substitute for face-to-face #meetings. There is extreme #value in in-person #networking. It’s the quickest way to #develop, #nurture, and #solidify business relationships that can lead to licensing success. Meeting face-to-face means you can pitch your invention, immediately answer questions, and gauge the interest of your #audience. And keep in mind, many people feel more #comfortable doing business with someone whose hand they’ve actually shook.
- A Motivated Audience – Most brand #executives (aka potential licensees) attend trade shows for two main reasons. Reason one, to sell their existing products. Reason two, is the one most #important to inventors. Brand executives attend trade shows because they’re looking for something new. Something #innovative. Something that will make them stand out from the #competition. For inventors, this means a #receptive audience that has an #incentive to hear what you have to say.
- Expand Your Reach – Trade show floors host emerging #brands, mid-sized companies and #industry power houses alike. By working the tradeshow floor you’ll have access to numerous potential licensees. Some of whom you may have never known existed if you hadn’t been at the show.
- Get Instant Feedback – Due to the in-person nature of trade shows they’re the perfect environment to get instant feedback from licensees. Feedback like this can be invaluable, especially if companies point out potential issues you hadn’t considered. That provides an opportunity to course correct, which can lead to licensing success. Without this face-to-face element, you’d be stuck with a simple rejection letter that provides no #advice, no #recommendations and no #feedback.
- Licensing Agreements – The seeds you #plant working a trade show floor can literally #sprout into #profitable licensing #agreements. However, if your product isn’t #represented at the right trade shows then licensees might very well #discover somebody else’s new invention. Your product has to be there to be discovered.
Trade shows can be incredibly #useful, and where the key #players of an industry all gather to do business. That’s why working a tradeshow floor the correct way can offer #significant #benefits for inventors.
I’ve even heard it said, “Attending trade shows will provide independent inventors #unique opportunities that they won’t realize using any other #outreach method.” Now that’s #powerful.
If you’re concerned about the expense of trade show #marketing, don’t be. First, if you do it right, it doesn’t have to be expensive. And, hopefully, a royalty-generating licensing agreement will more than make up for it.
Is your invention right for the National Hardware Show and/or the Inspired Home Show? Contact us to find out. These two events are right around the corner.
Inventor Process, Inc. offers #professional trade show representation. We can present your product to ideal licensees at the world’s premiere trade shows and #conventions.
Pro Tip – You should never wait to get discovered! Success follows #Action.
