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Must read business tips for inventors to set up for success

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Inventors are brilliant people. But, sometimes they don’t have the business acumen or skill to drive their business and products to success. A great product sells, but people need to know it exists before they can buy it. There are supplier issues, business relationships to forge, etc. You need to know a lot more than just how to invest something to make it successful. You can of course sell your invention or give away a certain percentage to another company who take it under their wing, but this isn’t a viable way out for those who wish to truly reap the rewards of success. Do it yourself, and the payoff will be even better. You may have already thought of some of these points, but they can give you ideas and further enhance the way you run your invention business. Different things work for different people and businesses, but if you find a good mode of operation everything else will fall into place.

The Packaging Must Be On Point

The product might be amazing, it might be world changing, but if it is stuffed into a boring old box then nobody is going to buy it. Look at drinks for example, if you have invented a new drink for people, you aren’t going to sell it in a plain black plastic container. Make it look premium, consider glass packaging, which can be found at www.clsmith.com/packaging-solutions/glass-bottles/. Always remember that first impressions are vital. You may be an inventor, but not the best designer. In which case you may be best placed to approach someone to design the packaging for you. You also need to have writing on the packaging, taglines, selling points, product information, ingredients if you have food inside. These are all things you need to think about.

Try Selling From Your Own Website

Many investors use other websites to sell their products. By doing this you have to pay a certain percentage to the host. You benefit from the increased traffic of course, but you can get this if you make your own website. If you are confident in the product, it will then sell. You need to design a great website first. Use a developer to do this, because if it is riddled with glitches it will just hurt your reputation and people won’t come back. Once you have done this you need to make sure people know your website exists. Use a reputable SEO firm to get your website higher on the search engines and ensure people get onto your site who are searching for things similar to what you offer. Build a social media platform too and create content to hit key demographics.

Ask People To Review Your Inventions

If you get a good review, and it is posted online, there will likely be a link back to your product page which means more people can follow through and buy the product. Some people trust reviewers implicitly. Meaning a good review can spark off a glut of purchases across the world. Target those with particular followings. Use Youtube, and make sure you offer the reviewer a free product in return. Sure, there is the risk you will get a bad review, but if you are truly confident in your invention this won’t pose too much of an issue. Approach both internet based reviewers and online ones. By doing this you can have access to more potential buyers. Both customer reviews and expert reviews are great. Customer reviews come with a level of trust, meaning other consumers will be likely to buy your product, and expert reviews come with the aforementioned followings.

Try To Get Your Products Into Supermarkets

They get so much passing trade that your items will likely do well if placed in a supermarket or similar store. To get it there, you need to show the buyers who are employed by the supermarket that your product will sell and that it is good. Show them the reviews and your sales figures. You need to really work your hardest to get it places in a store because the sales potential is massive. They may want you to sign an exclusivity agreement, if they do be careful because you could be limiting where else you sell the product. Don’t take the first offer they give either, try to haggle and get a better offer for yourself. They need to make a profit too, but not at the total expense of your own profit. Be professional, clear and concise. Give the best representation of yourself and if needed don’t be afraid to use a lawyer to help look over and draw up the contracts. It can be quite intimidating seeing things like this for the first time, so it can be good having someone who knows there stuff close at hand.

Get An Investor Onboard

Surely you’ve seen shows like dragon’s den. If you can get an investor on board your product could be open to many other streams of sales. They will have contacts that you don’t and ways of reaching people you never thought possible. They can get your products into the big stores and on the big websites whilst also handling all of your marketing needs. It usually means giving a percentage of your business for a set amount of early cash which you will likely use to drive the business to success in differing ways. To get an investor, you must pitch your product and idea. Show them how you can sell your product, show them how the product is great and how it can change the lives of people who purchase it. Have all of your costings at hand and be prepared to answer some deep questions. Remember, they are investing in you as much as your inventions, so remember to dress smart and really give a good account of yourself.

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