Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

To mgoodman.
I thank you for your response. Info I left out, a similar product in 1994 sold 11M of product in 2 years. The problem was not the concept, it was a cheap product. I made a better mouse trap and locked in the patent since they didn't pay the fees, and lost the patent. My goal is to sell my patent to a top golf industry company or distributor. I don't want to sell Retail and wait 6 months for my money, or 1 or 2 units on Amazon. This is a major training aid to golf schools and academies. Is Constant Contact or its like, a way to go? Or, just concentrate on teaching schools?

I'm not sure I understand the "Constant Contact" approach. To whom would your eblasts be directed? Isn't that just another form of retail selling, or do I not understand what you mean?

As for major golf industry companies/distributors, you would probably be amazed by the number of training devices and tools they are presented with every month. Even if yours is different and better, it will be an uphill battle to get them seriously interested.

If this were my product, I'd probably try to get an informational interview with an executive at one of these companies, and ask him/her how people with inventions like yours go about soliciting interest. Don't try to sell your invention. Just focus on learning what the process looks like and how you should go about presenting the idea.

Thank you Peter.
What I have here is something you must understand. I attended the 2014 PGA WORLD EXPO in Orlando, Fl on Jan 21-24, 2014. I had 2 driving nets, 2 sets of clubs, and lasers hooked to them. The problem was, only the single ended was ready not the double ended laser. Every PGA golf instructor, golf caddie, golf coach, you name it, said "if this was a double ended laser I would buy it". I have the patent on the only laser that can be connected to a golf shaft, the only Green laser that can be seen outside, and the only one that can hit real balls. No one else had this, it shows you in 2 seconds what your doing wrong in your golf swing. This is huge. Golf Galaxy wants to sell them and so on. This is all BIOFEEDBACK learning, #1 way to teach and learn Muscle Memory.....I just need a way to get it out and in the right hands. Shark Tank? NO. Golf Channel, QVC, ?????

ATTENTION Peter,

I apologize for not answering a good question you asked about Constan Contact. I was going to aim at all of the golf schools and golf academies. Florida has several thousand schools. South Carolina and Georgia the same and it goes on and on. With over 1200 students going through just one golf school and my golf aid (as I was told by the owner of 3 golf academies) put into every students golf package, I better have plenty of product. I have a manufacurer. I have a sset price and a distributor price based on volume. Thats why I was considering Const. Contact. Any ideas? There are 220,000 golf distributors/wholesalers (Not the Big Boys like Nike or Topflight or Callaway) just warehouses full of golf training aids, equipt., shoes, etc. Just look at Amazon, wow. Presented to the right people, in the correct way, with testimonials that I have (by the way, I have a killer web page) this is hugel

Ok, so either everyone is having dinner, walking the dog or heading over to the local liquar store for a nice bottle of Wine to chill out for the evening (that would be my choice)....
Anyway, let me take this at a different approach. Lets say the Widget costs me $30.00 ea delivered. I need to have 100 perc., mark up for profit. Now we are at $60 ea plus shipping. Most all distrib., are going to want the same, which puts us at $120.00 ea., plus shipping. Based on my stats of over 220,000 distributors, 60,000 Golf Course Pro Shoppes, and over 50,000 golf instruction/academies( and that is on a low side) that gives me 330,000 potential purchasers, not counting AMAZON, EBAY, CRAIGS LIST, IPHONE APP and on and on. The math speaks for its self. So lets cut it in half and round off to 150,000 units per year at $30.00 ea comes to 4.5 Million not counting the bump up on shipping and handeling which we will set aside for a raining day. Now, with this volume of $, and a guaranteed 1YR product, that no one has(Im not competing with golf ball companies or golf club companies) IT HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY "BUTCH HARMON" AND "JOHN DALEY" AS THE STATE OF THE ART TRAINING AID, IM ASKING ALL OF YOU, HOW DO I MARKET IT ???? SECURITY IS NO PROBLEM OR I WOULDNT BE TALKING AND ASKING FOR YOUR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. I'LL MAKE A PERSONAL PROMISE TO YOU (IM 100 PERCENT GREEK) THAT IF YOU SHOW ME A MARKETING PLAN THAT MAKES SENSE AND IS 90 PERCENT FULL-PROOF, I'LL MAKE YOU RICH. OTHERWISE, IM HEADING TO PHILADELPHIA TO MEET WITH SOME SHARKS THAT SWIM IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF WATER.

saul.dobney is right.

I recently delivered a killer business plan for a team of entrepreneurs/inventors not unlike yourself (except not in golf accessories). They are currently presenting to investors to raise the initial capital required. But they've already sunk $250k of their own money getting to this point. (My fee was a small fraction of that amount.)

It seems you're not hearing, or not believing, us when we tell you that there are no easy answers for a product like yours. It's not a question of the great patented idea or of golfers' value for the product. It's about the funds required to launch such a product and the risk investors will perceive.

Let me suggest you invest $20 in a report I authored a few years ago titled "The 3 Pitfalls that Kill Most New Businesses ... and How YOU Can Avoid Them!" All three pitfalls seem to apply to your situation, and I worry for you that you are too ready to grab the first possible solution to your problem, even if the immediate success you foresee isn't in the cards. You can get the report as a PDF download here: https://bit.ly/SstLq2

I'm not trying to put the kibosh on your question or sound like a nay-sayer. I'm really trying to make sure you appreciate how difficult it is to market your invention -- either directly or through distributors. Simply multiplying the numbers and calculating the sales potential is the easy part. Making that happen will require a substantial investment. And if you are unable or unwilling to make it yourself, it's not going to be easy to convince an investor to do so.

to mgoodman

You have made me downshift from 5th gear to 1st gear. Thats a good thing and I thank you and everyone else above for your opinion/advice. Pre PGA 2014 WORLD EXPO, I was making cold calls and getting great results and some sales. My one call landed at one of the top 3 golf companies in the world.How I got through to the Sr Exec of research and development ( all purchasing agents in the US would have to go through him) I asked for 5 minutes, by the end of the conversation we are on first names, even nicknames, a curse word here and there, all by him breaking the language barrier, we talked for 1 hr 17 min. He informed me to have my numbers ready at the show because many companies buy out people like me, as he admitted he has done. Well, obviously no offers came except for one, 2 weeks after the show. I rejected the offer, countered with royalties and here I sit.
Heres the kicker. I personally showed and trained top PGA Instructors, I fixed their swing for gods sake in 15 minutes with my device, PGA Academy Instructors?? Come on! They were sending fellow Instructors to my 20 x 30 Booth for help. Something has to give. How can you take a product, prove it works over and over, explain the theory and prove it, and not get sales calls. Blows my mind.

to mgoodman

You have made me downshift from 5th gear to 1st gear. Thats a good thing and I thank you and everyone else above for your opinion/advice. Pre PGA 2014 WORLD EXPO, I was making cold calls and getting great results and some sales. My one call landed at one of the top 3 golf companies in the world.How I got through to the Sr Exec of research and development ( all purchasing agents in the US would have to go through him) I asked for 5 minutes, by the end of the conversation we are on first names, even nicknames, a curse word here and there, all by him breaking the language barrier, we talked for 1 hr 17 min. He informed me to have my numbers ready at the show because many companies buy out people like me, as he admitted he has done. Well, obviously no offers came except for one, 2 weeks after the show. I rejected the offer, countered with royalties and here I sit.
Heres the kicker. I personally showed and trained top PGA Instructors, I fixed their swing for gods sake in 15 minutes with my device, PGA Academy Instructors?? Come on! They were sending fellow Instructors to my 20 x 30 Booth for help. Something has to give. How can you take a product, prove it works over and over, explain the theory and prove it, and not get sales calls. Blows my mind.

My specific suggestion: Pick a very limited market -- perhaps Florida West Coast, for example -- and see how many devices you can sell with personal sales calls. If you are successful (at reaching some reasonable goal), then you can expand your efforts to a larger area -- perhaps the entire state.

At that point, you will (a) know what the most common objections are, what kind of closing ratio you can expect from a great salesperson (you), and how long the sales cycle is; (b) have enough money (from profits) to be able to hire me to create a great business plan for you; and (c) be in a position to develop a marketing package that is scalable so you don't have to personally make every sales call.

Crawl. Walk. Run.

You wrote: "How can you take a product, prove it works over and over, explain the theory and prove it, and not get sales calls."

My response: Because marketing and selling go way beyond product performance and demonstration of effectiveness. In fact, it's more about understanding the mindset and behavior of the customer.

Had you been able to learn about the needs and attitudes and decision-making process of your primary target audience BEFORE you invented the product, you might have invented a different product, or looked for a different market altogether.

This is probably a case of the product preceding the marketing plan -- a common (and usually very expensive) mistake. It may take a greater investment in marketing to sell this product than you can recover from a 100% markup (on your product cost).

So maybe you can still salvage this one. And if not, I'll bet you address the marketing issues FIRST next time, and let those dictate your product development strategy (or persuade you to look elsewhere for the next business venture).

I know it's a hard lesson. Take heart that you are in the company of a lot of smart people who learned it the hard way, many losing a lot more in the process than you may.

And maybe you will be able to pull it out yet. I certainly wish you the best. At least your golf game improved, right?

To mgoodman:

What are the costs associated with hiring someone like yourself to set up a marketing plan? I basically had an idea, researched it, took my theory, proved my theory works perfectly, made prototypes, sold over 500 units, then redesigned it making more sleek and easier to use with only one moving part, then had a real plastic molded prototype made. My artwork is completed along with instructions for use. Manufacturer is lined up, they will make the unit, have the boxes with foam insert and cutouts for product and batteries, print and insert instructions along with their 1 yr Limited Warranty, and insert a small 4" x 6" velvet pouch to keep unit in for storage in the golf bag, box my units for shipping and per my purchase order mail directly to customers with my artwork printed on shipping label. I don't touch or warehouse a thing. This is all completed with contract, price guarantee and non disclosure agreement. My web site is up and running (6) pages including videos one from a highly respected PGA Instructor. My first market to hit is golf schools and academies since they produce the highest amount of customers,, then online golf stores, golf course pro shops and resort golf courses ( all giving lessons ), and then AMAZON, EBAY and so on. I want to stay away from retail like Golf Galaxy, Golf Smith and sporting good stores. The nitemares Ive heard on getting paid from them,, waiting 120 - 180 days to get paid I wont go there. So there it is. Whats your call and price to take it to the next level? I dont know the protocol on this site. I welcome all request and would like to thank all of the above for you opinions.

Some things to do. Since you're set up for online sales, the first thing to do is to run some Google ads since you can tune the advert and the placement options (using display network) and control the costs. I’d look to do some PR work - can you get journalists to review the product? Can you build some social media comments - for instance send a free sample to a celebrity who makes comments on their golf? For more money you can look at banner ads on specific professionally-run golfing websites.

You can work one area - for instance an area dense with golfers - see if you can get the product in to shops at the courses, and maybe some radio ads. For instance, offer your product as a prize for some local golf competitions - basically seed the market - or do a giveaway in return for a review for well-read bloggers. If you get some traction and show evidence of a successful small scale business plan, you may be able to get loans to expand your marketing reach.

If the product is good and easy to sell, you may find some people willing to work as commission-only agents. A few job adverts (which could be on the free-ads websites) will both inform people about your product, and may lead to contacts who can increase your sales bandwidth.

I have responded privately to geolaskaras. In a nutshell I told him that there is no set fee for a marketing plan. It depends on a number of factors -- including how much solid information he has, what his objective is, whether he also needs/wants a business plan, etc.

I also suggested a next step for him -- before he thinks seriously about a formal marketing plan.

If any of you have additional thoughts or suggestions I'm sure he would appreciate them.