Have you ever wondered what it takes to secure the right type of license deal?
In a license deal, a “licensee” funds all of the marketing costs for your product and they pay you a percentage of sales. When you connect with the right company, it can be very lucrative, and because they incur all of the costs (manufacturing, marketing, distribution, etc.), you have very little risk.
But with the wrong type of deal, you can be left with very little money at the end of the day even if your product is very successful in the marketplace. If you use a license broker or an invention submission company, they get paid first, and then you get a smaller percentage of their earnings. These companies can take up to 90% of your royalties…off of YOUR product.
I recently taught a group of inventors how to launch their products on TV, and I met the inventor of a very successful infomercial product, one that you probably have in your home. Millions of his product were sold all over the U.S. and abroad. In the right type of license deal structure, he would have made $1mm to $2mm in royalties. Unfortunately, he had worked through an invention submission company that took most of his royalties, and he was left with very little. Don’t let this happen to you.
If you are considering a license deal, understand all of the options before you commit. You can work directly with licensees and get 100% of the royalties you deserve, but you have to do it in the right way.
Find a company that has solid relationships with product marketers. They can present your product in its best light. Relationships are powerful. Some products that might have otherwise been turned down will be accepted if they are presented by someone with a connection to the product marketing company. For example, an infomercial producer is paid by the product marketer, not by the inventor, so when they help you get a license deal, you don’t pay them, or you shouldn’t pay them. Infomercial producers are paid a fee to produce the infomercial AND they earn a “producer’s royalty,” both of which are paid by the product marketing company, NOT by the inventor. When you work with a company that has the same goals you do, you are working in tandem for your success…and YOU KEEP 100% of your royalties!
Check out how well one of our clients is doing now that they’ve licensed to a big company that can really push their product. Zipit Bedding was recently ranked as the #12 most successful infomercial on national TV by media spending:
Every industry has a stakeholder that can help you get a license deal without taking all of the profits you’ve worked so hard for. If your product isn’t right for TV, then you can work through an advertising agency (TV, online, social, etc.) that will get hired when they bring your product to one of the thousands of companies that are starving for growth and eagerly searching for new products. And these companies pay the advertising agency to help market the product, so they DO NOT need to be paid by you. Think of other businesses that can benefit from a great product like yours, and you’ll find other partners that can help you get a license deal, or get into retail, or find investors, etc. If you find someone that benefits WITH you, not just FROM you, then you can keep more of the profits.
Recently I taught an intensive 2-Day Advanced Mass Marketing Bootcamp to a small group of 25 inventors and entrepreneurs along with Bob Circosta, “TV’s Billion Dollar Man.” Along with an in-depth course on how to secure a license deal, here are some of the other topics we discussed:
Advanced marketing messaging to attract the right consumer and close the sale
Online marketing strategies you can implement immediately to grow your business (one simple technique will help you grow your existing web sales by 50%)
Video marketing strategies that will help you make money with your advertising
Market research (how to do your own $5,000 market research for a couple hundred dollars)
And more!
We also shared behind the scenes stories from Bob’s HSN American Dreams TV segment on HSN where they are presenting new to the world inventions and selling them to HSN’s audience of millions. CLICK HERE to learn more about Bob’s show on HSN.
The Bootcamp was so successful, and so much fun that we’ve decided to host another small group in Clearwater, Florida October 23 and 24. We’ll start at 2pm on Friday, October 23 so most people can fly in that day and minimize their days away from home. Although Clearwater is beautiful this time of year and has some of the best beaches in America, so you may want to extend your trip and really enjoy yourself.
This type of course is normally $2,000, but since it’s short notice, we have a few seats left that we’re offering for just $995. And, we have two scholarships available where we’ll even reimburse your travel costs up to $500. AND, we offer an iron-clad guarantee. By the end of the first night of the event, if you don’t feel you’ve gotten 10 times your money’s worth, you can skip the next day and get your money back. We’ve never had to pay anyone back so far!
If you are interested in joining us for one of the limited spots we have left, please email me at our special application email, jon@products4tv.com. Or feel free to call our office, (720) 207-9493. But hurry, the deadline for our travel expense scholarships is Thursday, October 1.
To your success!
Jon LaClare
CEO Harvest Growth
(720) 207-9493