Where are you on your journey to getting your Toll Position

Hey Bob....back in the early 70's I lived in Chgo and was a member of an "Inventor's Forum". We met once a month. There were about 50 members.

I started to go thru the process of getting a patent on 2 products I created. After attending a few meetings with people who were starting the process (like me) and others who had actually gotten patents and were trying to get them sold....and after listening to their experiences on how the "Big Boys" had ripped them off....I decided to just go ahead and see if I could "Sell the things".

One was a plastic baby bib (I named it "The Pelican Bib") I had a mold made and produced 5,000 units and proceeded to "work my buns off" trying to get "Baby" stores to carry them.

I sold a few hundred to small independents and couldn't get any of the "Big Buyers) to carry them

Boy! The "Buyers" for the biggies were somethin' else. Talk about "nasty" and "Underhanded" and "greedy" and "Rude"....these guys took the cake.

I'm sure they are the same today.

Ron Popeil (His first product was the Pocket-Fisherman) had a way of marketing that got results;

He made up a 30 & 60sec commercial for the product....showed the buyer at the Chain, the commercial and if they bought X units, he'd put their name at the TAG. I knew the buyer at Walgreen Drugs and he told me how Popeil was getting IN the stores.

Popeil came up with a bunch of products he marketed this way. I met Ron in Aspen and he showed me his magnificent home....which he lost a couple of years later in a bankruptcy (The one thing I've noticed about many successful Marketing people...they have a bankruptcy in their background)

Ron is now back doing InfoMercials for various products and probably has his millions back.

So....the "Product" game is one of the roughest areas you can get into. Only a few make it. The majority get chewed up and spit out.

Referring to Joe Cossman; I had the GREAT experience of meeting him at 2 of the seminars he did in Chgo in the early 70's.

After the seminar...he asked that anyone who had a product they'd like "evaluated", could go into a side room where he'd offer his suggestions as to HOW to market it.

It was AWESOME! Here was a room with about 50 people who all had some kind of product....either the actual product or photos of it.

Joe would go to each one...have the creator tell him about it....Joe would ask a few questions and say what HE thought of it and how HE would market it.

The way Joe got some of his products launched and known was to convince the "Mail Order Catalog" companies (there were 3 or 4 in those days. Vivian somebody, was one)...to include his product/s. Then, when the results were in and Joe could show actual Sales Facts...he could then get his products into the Big Retailers.

The ANT-FARM and SHRUNKEN HEAD and the SPUD GUN were some of his best.

I had a Terrific expeience in those days.

Don Alm