Do you want to sell an invention? Bringing a new product to market is a challenging yet rewarding task. You must be relentless in your hunt for interested investors or manufacturers.
You can sell an invention yourself, but it is a full time job to do it right. You must assemble a comprehensive marketing package and contact hundreds and sometimes even thousands of manufacturers before you find someone interested in buying your invention.
Who to Sell your Invention to
So how do you find manufacturers to contact? You can start by identifying the necessary processes and materials your invention requires to be massed produced. Once you find the correct industries to target, you can begin searching the internet with search engines or you can visit a site like thomasnet.com. This is the Thomas Registry online and lists most every major manufacturer by category.
The goal is to contact as many relevant companies as possible, and even try reach multiple contacts in each company to increase your invention’s exposure. The more eyes that see your product, the greater your chances to sell an invention.
Keep track of what companies and whom you contact at each organization. Save all your email correspondence. Once you have exhausted your list of manufacturers, start back at the top and follow up with each one. Companies that pass your idea up today may be in a position to accept new inventions later. Remember, trying to sell an invention takes patience and perseverance.
Sell the invention
Once you find a company that you can sell an invention to, you must decide whether you want to sell it at one large cash price, or attempt to license it wherein you agree to accept a portion of the product sales for compensation.
If you accept a “buyout” price you will have relinquish any future profits from the sale of the invention once it reaches store shelves. You will typically see this kind of offer if the interested manufacturer expects these sales to be very profitable or if they simple do not want to deal with managing royalty payments.
The second, and more common approach is a licensing agreement. This method is generally preferred if you expect your invention to be a “big seller”, or if a manufacturer does not want to make a large upfront investment in your idea.
If you choose this route, make sure you are thorough in your negotiations, a bad licensing agreement can leave you without any profit or means to sell your invention to another manufacturer.
