The Steps I Take to Bring a Product to Market…

Hi Michael.

I am interested in what some of these products for your projects are.

Also, What service do you use for faxing out your publicity releases?

Thanks,
Jake

> There are many ways to bring a product to
> market. This is the plan I use. While it may
> not be the only way or the best way it has
> proven to be a good way. I can’t claim that
> it is an original plan. I’ve borrowed bits
> and pieces from many different sources. Here
> is a brief list of people and or sources
> I’ve creatively “borrowed” from.

> E. Joseph Cossman
> Ben Suarez
> Ted Nicholas
> Ray Simon
> Marty Chenard

> Step 1.
> I do the math. I use formulas created by Ben
> Suarez and Marty Chenard (among others) to
> test the profit potential of my product
> using different types of direct mailing
> scenarios and or other marketing scenarios.
> I figure out my “Suggested Retail Price”
> along with what a suitable “Wholesale Price”
> should be.

> Step 2.
> I use Ted Nicholas’ index card system of
> finding the Features-Benefits of the product
> I’m promoting. There are several good ways
> of finding/discovering the greatest benefits
> of any product but Ted’s way is simple and
> it works…enough said.

> Step 3.
> I create a one-page Sell Sheet on the
> product. This Sell Sheet would contain a
> photo of the product along with plenty of
> sale’s copy. Of course I would use a strong
> headline and a powerful selling caption
> under the photograph. Someone should be able
> to read this Sell Sheet and tell exactly
> what the benefits are of this product. The
> Sell Sheet would also include product sizes,
> shapes and prices. I will use this Sell
> Sheet in many different applications
> throughout the marketing process. It will
> also serve as a lynchpin for other marketing
> pieces like sale’s letters, display ads and
> web pages.

> Step 4.
> I do a press release blast to everyone and
> anyone. As opposed to the professional view
> shared by many PR pro’s I’ll send the
> release to a wide variety of media covering
> a wide variety of topics. This is definitely
> a “shot-gun” approach. I’ve copied E. Joseph
> Cossman views on this topic. He stated that
> you never know who maybe interested in your
> product or service so it’s worth the extra
> cost to send it out to many and see what
> happens. I can say Mr. Cossman is right.
> I’ve done this several times and have been
> amazed at the results. You have no idea how
> others view your product and can find ways
> of using it that you never thought of or the
> exposure you can get from a source you would
> ever expect. I usually fax out press
> releases. I follow suggested press release
> formatting guidelines--one page,
> double-spaced, things like that. I start
> with an email blast to about 200 recipients.
> If I get a little response I continue
> sending out the release.

> Step 5.
> I create a Wholesale Program for the
> product. It could be in the form of an
> affiliate program a home-party type concept
> or traditional wholesale. I would send a
> sample (if possible) and a Sell Sheet to
> suitable partners. These partners may be
> retail storefronts, catalog houses or
> Internet based businesses. I send out
> mailers to suitable wholesale partners.

> Step 6.
> I create a website dedicated to the product.
> This may have a unique URL or it maybe
> nothing more than a page hung on an existing
> site. I then submit the site to search
> engines. The web page may have shopping cart
> capability or it may not, depending upon the
> circumstances.

> Step 7.
> I mock up a variety of marketing pieces from
> the original Sell Sheet from sale’s letters
> to space ads to post cards to 60 second
> radio spots. I may not use all these items
> but it helps me create a better overall
> selling message for the product.

> Step 8.
> I look for mailing lists and emailing lists
> suitable for the product. I also look for
> alternative media that might serve as a
> suitable conduit to deliver my marketing
> message. As in Step 7, I may or may not use
> any of the lists I come up with. The point
> is I want to find the widest possible
> universe for my product.

> Step 9.
> I look for a “VLP” or a “Very Leverages
> Person” to help promote the product. Those
> that haven’t read Ray Simon’s book “Mischief
> Marketing” are doing themselves a
> disservice. Ray talks a great deal about
> VLP’s and what they can do for your product.
> VLP’s can be found for any product out there
> from consumable product to information
> product to Internet only product. I firmly
> believe a VLP can help you sell any product…
> sometimes the results are dramatic. A good
> example is the “George Foreman Grill”. That
> company (Salton) was a $5 million dollar
> per-year company BG (Before George) and was
> a $250 million dollar per-year company after
> three years using big George as a VLP. The
> mistake most people make is that they think
> a VLP needs upfront monies to make the deal
> go. On the contrary I’ve found many VLP’s
> are willing do work with someone on a %
> royalty basis. Step 9 may be the most
> important step in this whole process because
> the growth you can achieve with a VLP is
> quite honestly very explosive in potential.
> If I get a VLP, I’ll redo Step 4 focusing on
> the VLP and their connection to the product.
> Even if your product is just an
> Internet-only, information product there are
> VLP’s that can help you market your product.

> Step 10.
> If the project “fogs the mirror” (as Denny
> Hatch would say) I would spend a little
> money ($100 to $500) on advertisements. The
> media selected would obviously depend upon
> the products being sold. The media could be
> a daily newspaper or an ezine or whatever.
> This seems to be the step that stops most
> people, they just won’t spend the money on a
> project that has shown limited potential. I
> can’t think of anything worse than having a
> project showing some profit potential being
> put in suspended animation because someone
> won’t invest the money to grow it. Creating
> a web site, submitting the page to search
> engines and swapping a few links is not an
> in-depth marketing campaign.

> Step 11.
> If the numbers work roll out the project big
> time.

> Step 12.
> Create or find additional products that can
> be sold to the people purchasing your
> initial product. Why waste the marketing
> dollars you’ve spent creating new customers
> by not selling them additional products?
> Traditionally you won’t make money selling
> one product to one person, you’ll make money
> on the second sale. The third sale can make
> you rich.

> There it is. I probably spend $200 to $1000
> testing each product. I only spend more
> money if the initial tests are positive. The
> time investment is anywhere from 10 hours
> for a simple project to 100 hours or more
> for complicated project. This is just the
> time spent on these steps and doesn’t
> include time spent on developing the product
> itself.

> Take care,

> Mike Winicki

> Hi Michael.

> I am interested in what some of these
> products for your projects are.

> Also, What service do you use for faxing out
> your publicity releases?

> Thanks,
> Jake

Jake,

For faxing I use "efax" (www.efax.com). They've been great to deal with. They're inexpensive (.06 per page) and have very good record keeping.

As far as my projects, here are the ones that are in the "Hot" stage-- meaning that I'm spending most of my time on them.
1) Riverwatch products- www.riverwatchcompany.com I'm marketing a range of environmentally safe health oriented type products through this web site and through traditional wholesale and mail order type avenues. These products include "Gotta-Go" which is a spray on, instant drying, antiseptic spray people can spray on anything that other people touch--like public toilets, ATMs, pay phones, shopping carts and what not. I also have an all-natural bug repellent that contains no DEET and a waterless, self drying, hand sanitizer that kills germs and includes moisturizers that leave your hands clean and pleasant feeling.
2) Stella Stevens Products- I'm creating a line of all-natural body lotions, body washes, shampoos, conditioners and body mists with movie actress Stella Stevens.
3) Retail business private labeling program- I'm creating lines of skin-care products that are private labeled for individual businesses like salons and gift shops.
4) "Bull's Eye"- This is a hand tool being developed with another person.

These would be my "Warm" stage projects:
1) A line of New York State hard woods products. These products would combine some of the best hard woods on the planet with New York State wood manufactures. I'm focusing on products that aren't readily available through normal retail channels. In other words products that can be sold successful through mail order and the Net.
2) "Spice of the Month" Club. I'm looking for someone that can help me more fully develop this concept (which I think is a good one).
3) "The Business Plan Company". As with the previous project, I would like to joint venture with someone on this. What makes this idea unique? Offering to create business plans that are guaranteed of getting financing or in other words if a project is turned down due to the business plan itself I would fully refund the money to the customer. I've been creating business plans for years and have created hundreds of them. I know what financial institutions want and don't want.
4) I'm working with another famous actress to develop a product line.

These are my "Cold" stage projects:
1) I have numerous audio programs that I sell here and there but don't put any energy behind them: "Sweepstaking"-how to win sweepstakes and contests, "Passion Power"- how to improve your love/sex life (authored by Dr. Ava Cadell), "How to Live Cheap in the 21st Century". Plus I do quite a bit of audio duplication for the estate of author Peter McWilliams.

On top of these projects I have ideas for probably another 10 to 15. My problem is never ideas but the time to develop them. I think people that have trouble finding ideas aren't looking at a wide enough scope. For example, someone that wants to create information only type projects geared towards Internet marketing. Projects that offer nice profit potential are everywhere. My rules for finding/creating ideas:
1. Take one industry and make it two. Find an under-served niche and give those people a product a that serves their needs much better. Everywhere you look you see companies trying to serve a wide variety of niches using one type of product or product line. You know as well as I do that not all those niches are being served equally. Find the people that aren't being served as well and serve them better with a product that is more suited for their needs. The absolute worst thing you can do (in my opinion) is try to go out there with a "me-too" type product and compete head to head on price.
2. If you can't potentially be #1 or #2 in with a specific target audience don't waste your time. Your ultimate return on investment (time and money) won't be justified long term. You don't have to accept this rule as being "universal" but I think it works far more often than it fails.

As you can see many of my projects involve joint ventures of one type or another. Personally I think this is a quick way of getting a project off the ground--most people try to do everything themselves which is a huge mistake. No matter how skilled or brilliant you are you can't do it all. I would much rather team up with someone that has skills or resources in the many, many areas I don't and put a project to bed. I would prefer having a little of something rather than all of nothing, which is typically what happens to the project I try to do completely on my own. I would suspect many fall into this trap.

Take care,

Mike Winicki

Thank you for the great post Michael. Seriously, I think it's one of the most interesting posts I've ever seen on this board.

Thanks for being specific. It makes it so much more interesting when people share the specifics of their projects instead of saying "I am working on marketing my widgets." I had more than enough of "widgets" in my college accounting classes.

Good luck with all of your projects. I'm surprised you even have time to read this board!

I was wondering one more thing. Where do you get your list of media fax contacts that you use to send out your publicity releases with efax?

Thanks for your help, Michael.

Jake

> Jake,

> For faxing I use "efax"
> (www.efax.com). They've been great to deal
> with. They're inexpensive (.06 per page) and
> have very good record keeping.

> As far as my projects, here are the ones
> that are in the "Hot" stage--
> meaning that I'm spending most of my time on
> them.
> 1) Riverwatch products-
> www.riverwatchcompany.com I'm marketing a
> range of environmentally safe health
> oriented type products through this web site
> and through traditional wholesale and mail
> order type avenues. These products include
> "Gotta-Go" which is a spray on,
> instant drying, antiseptic spray people can
> spray on anything that other people
> touch--like public toilets, ATMs, pay
> phones, shopping carts and what not. I also
> have an all-natural bug repellent that
> contains no DEET and a waterless, self
> drying, hand sanitizer that kills germs and
> includes moisturizers that leave your hands
> clean and pleasant feeling.
> 2) Stella Stevens Products- I'm creating a
> line of all-natural body lotions, body
> washes, shampoos, conditioners and body
> mists with movie actress Stella Stevens.
> 3) Retail business private labeling program-
> I'm creating lines of skin-care products
> that are private labeled for individual
> businesses like salons and gift shops.
> 4) "Bull's Eye"- This is a hand
> tool being developed with another person.

> These would be my "Warm" stage
> projects:
> 1) A line of New York State hard woods
> products. These products would combine some
> of the best hard woods on the planet with
> New York State wood manufactures. I'm
> focusing on products that aren't readily
> available through normal retail channels. In
> other words products that can be sold
> successful through mail order and the Net.
> 2) "Spice of the Month" Club. I'm
> looking for someone that can help me more
> fully develop this concept (which I think is
> a good one).
> 3) "The Business Plan Company". As
> with the previous project, I would like to
> joint venture with someone on this. What
> makes this idea unique? Offering to create
> business plans that are guaranteed of
> getting financing or in other words if a
> project is turned down due to the business
> plan itself I would fully refund the money
> to the customer. I've been creating business
> plans for years and have created hundreds of
> them. I know what financial institutions
> want and don't want.
> 4) I'm working with another famous actress
> to develop a product line.

> These are my "Cold" stage
> projects:
> 1) I have numerous audio programs that I
> sell here and there but don't put any energy
> behind them: "Sweepstaking"-how to
> win sweepstakes and contests, "Passion
> Power"- how to improve your love/sex
> life (authored by Dr. Ava Cadell), "How
> to Live Cheap in the 21st Century".
> Plus I do quite a bit of audio duplication
> for the estate of author Peter McWilliams.

> On top of these projects I have ideas for
> probably another 10 to 15. My problem is
> never ideas but the time to develop them. I
> think people that have trouble finding ideas
> aren't looking at a wide enough scope. For
> example, someone that wants to create
> information only type projects geared
> towards Internet marketing. Projects that
> offer nice profit potential are everywhere.
> My rules for finding/creating ideas:
> 1. Take one industry and make it two. Find
> an under-served niche and give those people
> a product a that serves their needs much
> better. Everywhere you look you see
> companies trying to serve a wide variety of
> niches using one type of product or product
> line. You know as well as I do that not all
> those niches are being served equally. Find
> the people that aren't being served as well
> and serve them better with a product that is
> more suited for their needs. The absolute
> worst thing you can do (in my opinion) is
> try to go out there with a
> "me-too" type product and compete
> head to head on price.
> 2. If you can't potentially be #1 or #2 in
> with a specific target audience don't waste
> your time. Your ultimate return on
> investment (time and money) won't be
> justified long term. You don't have to
> accept this rule as being
> "universal" but I think it works
> far more often than it fails.

> As you can see many of my projects involve
> joint ventures of one type or another.
> Personally I think this is a quick way of
> getting a project off the ground--most
> people try to do everything themselves which
> is a huge mistake. No matter how skilled or
> brilliant you are you can't do it all. I
> would much rather team up with someone that
> has skills or resources in the many, many
> areas I don't and put a project to bed. I
> would prefer having a little of something
> rather than all of nothing, which is
> typically what happens to the project I try
> to do completely on my own. I would suspect
> many fall into this trap.

> Take care,

> Mike Winicki