Being able to meet the demand becomes a much more prominent
issue with any TV exposure you might garner, including home
shopping channels and any type of direct-response TV. But if
you're prepared, TV can be a godsend.
To get yourself on a home shopping channel like HSN, QVC or the
like, watch plenty of home shopping yourself, advises Marilyn
Montross, director of vendor relations for West Chester,
Pennsylvania-based QVC. "And not just products in the same
category as your product, but [also] different kinds of
products," says Montross, whose department fields 16,000
inquiries per year, with 90 percent of them from entrepreneurs. QVC
airs more than 250 new products per week, many of them with an
entrepreneurial story behind them. "Develop an understanding
of the kinds of things that sell on QVC," says Montross, and
on any channel on which you hope to sell, taking a close look at
value, quality and pricing for the products.
Look at the shopping-channel Web sites for information on
submitting your product once it's ready to sell; don't just
drop a prototype in the mail, because "samples would overwhelm
us," says Montross. Instead, send photos or brochures. QVC
also holds an annual product-search tour event, where QVC visits
cities nationwide and holds open casting calls for products.
"But you can submit anytime," says Montross.
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You can also follow Abdo's lead and showcase your product on
your own TV show. Says Smith, "Contact your local cable
company, and talk to the program director about local access-"
free, government-sponsored access granted to taxpayers.
"That's a full hour on cable [where] you can talk about
your product," says Smith.
Another cable-TV option is lease access, which, for a small fee,
allows you to get sponsors. "You can show your product and
charge [sponsors] to have product placements," says Smith. Any
profits you make beyond that initial lease-access charge are yours
to keep.
When No Doesn't Mean No
Like Abdo, the Align founders created their product out of
necessity-a commonality among successful inventors. Chishti had
braces as an adult and noticed that every time he removed his
retainer, his teeth would start to shift. "That was the
'aha moment,'" says Wirth, who took a step away from
the business in 2001 to sit on Align's board of directors.
(Chishti is no longer involved with the company.)
Beyond creating their products to meet a need, both Abdo and the
Align founders had the courage to bring a product to market because
they believed in it wholeheartedly. "Have the conviction that
what you're doing is worthwhile," advises Wirth. "You
inevitably run into a number of stumbling blocks along the
way."
"I truly believe in my product and in my technology,"
says Abdo. "Being focused on the future of my product allowed
me to never take no for an answer."
Get Noticed!
Planning to pitch to a home shopping channel? With thousands of
inquiries flooding the channels yearly, getting noticed is a
challenge-but not an insurmountable one. "It's your
product that [will] get you noticed," says Marilyn Montross,
director of vendor relations for West Chester, Pennsylvania-based
QVC.
"Certainly, having a professional, well-put-together
presentation is important; but, first and foremost, we'll be
looking at 'Is this a product that's right for
QVC?'"
Make sure it's a consumer product, not B2B, and one
that's highly demonstrable, "because it's a TV
show," says Montross, so people need to see the benefits.
"Not all products we sell and [that] sell well are like this,
but it's an advantage."
The product should also be something that's unavailable
elsewhere and clearly innovative, says Montross: "Products
that solve a common problem are very appealing to QVC
customers."
The Great Wal
Ready to take your product to mass retailers? Jordan Kavana,
founder and managing director of KGI Consumer
Products-a $15 million Miami-based toy company that sells
directly to mass merchants-says there's no magic formula to get
into a Costco, Target or Wal-Mart, but there are ways to better
your odds.
"First, marketing research is key. [You] cannot fall in
love with an idea until it is somewhat proven by research,"
says Kavana, 26, whose first invention was the SuperStarz Karaoke
Dance Mat, a dance mat/karaoke machine product he brought to market
via Wal-Mart in 2001. "Second, it's important to see your
buyers face to face, more so than by e-mail. Personal contact still
goes a long way."
You should also walk through the mass retailers to see what
they're already selling-or not selling. "Wal-Mart
executives say the biggest problem is [that] people try to sell
something [Wal-Mart] already sells," says Robert Smith,
president of Rockton, Illinois-based Robert Smith & Associates
PR, whose expertise has landed several clients' products in the
likes of Wal-Mart and Walgreens. "Do some grass-roots market
research. What is it about your product that does something their
current products don't do?"
Karen E. Spaeder is a freelance writer in Southern
California.
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