Many inventors come up with ideas for babies and young children-either toys, clothes or other products. While selling to Toy-R-Us or other major retailers can be difficult, the baby/young children market has many small retailers and the industry is fairly friendly to inventors, with a well attended trade show, several key trade magazines, and a well established network of manufacturers representatives. Inventors with strong products can typically set up a rep network to launch their products without too much trouble.

ABC Kids Expo

The starting point for every inventor should be the ABC Kids Expo. This show has sections for toys and games, clothes, furniture and, of most interest to inventors, a special section for Mompreneurs (mother-entrepreneurs). I typically recommend inventors attend this show before they actually introduce their own products. At the show inventors can:

1. See how products are displayed and priced.

2. Meet other inventors that have recently introduced products and get tips from them on finding reps and introducing products.

3. Possibly find another inventor who would be willing to partner in a joint marketing effort to cut costs.

4. Meet representatives that might be willing to sell the product. You can meet the reps just by going up to different booths and taking sales people’s cards, many will be reps, by just talking to people at lunch and break tables, by going to a hotel bar at night and networking with people.

Use Trade Magazines

The industry has two main trade magazines, Baby Shop Magazine, which includes maternity products, and Playthings, which focuses on toys. The trade magazines will often have information on representatives-but its most important aspect are the new product sections. Those sections allow you to send away for literature from a wide variety of companies with complementary products. Often the literature will come with the names of representatives that are in your local area. You can meet with those representatives and if they like your product they will often give you tips on how to move forward.

Selling Locally

One of the great benefits of the young children’s market is that almost every major city has several small shops where inventors can get their product started. Inventors will have an easier time putting together a rep network to sell their product nationally if they can first prove the product will sell at their local stores. You must be fairly aggressive in marketing to local stores and keep your momentum going if you are to interest sales reps. You can offer products on consignment, where stores only pay for product if they sell, offer product on a guaranteed basis, where you agree to take back any unsold products and give a full refund. You can also pass out coupons, do demonstrations and arrange to have stories in local papers to generate sales momentum.

Develop a List of Manufacturing Sales Agents

Most of the activities I have listed to date are to help you build up a list of representatives that you can approach to sell your product. You may only get one out of 20 reps to sign up to sell your product so you need a big list to start with. The trade shows and trade magazines will help, in some cases you can also check out local gift markets, see http://www.giftmarts.com. Often some of the reps within the marts will also carry children’s gifts and other children’s products. You can also purchase a list of reps here.

Offering Ownership to Well Established Representatives

One of the reasons you want to meet local representatives is that you might want to offer a share of you product to a representative that will take over sales of your product. This is highly recommended for inventors without sales and marketing experience. The rep will know promotional and advertising strategy, what trade shows to attend, plus he or she will have strong contacts with certain retailers and also with reps throughout the country that he has worked with on other products. A 10 to 25% ownership position will attract a good representative if they like the product.

JPMA Safety Products Certification

In some cases, where your product has moving parts, you might want to consider getting a safety certificate from the Juvenile Products Manufactures Association. The safety certificate will help you at many retailers and it will be asset if retailers ask that you have product liability insurance.

Attracting and Signing up Sales Representatives

From the time you first start thinking of introducing your product you should start thinking of the package of materials you will send out to reps. Get lots of pictures of your product being used, testimonials and evidence of the product being sold in local stores. Work with a local representative to explain promotional programs, sales discounts and shipping terms that you will include. Once you have your rep list start sending out mailing packages to 10 to 20 reps at a time. Follow up with some of the reps you don’t hear from to learn what they didn’t like about your offer to see if it can be improved.

You can get local help for develop a manufacturers rep agreement and to ensure you have all of your starting a business paperwork in order from your local SBDC or from SCORE.

When you work as a commercial real estate agent in this market, most of the listings that you chase will be the subject of a presentation and sales pitch from a number of real estate agents.

Many property owners feel that they have to test the market and get comparisons from other agencies before they make a decision on just who they will list their property with. Maybe the idea has merit however many sellers and property owners can be influenced by all the wrong reasons and facts.

The problems that stem from the seller approaching a number of agencies can usually be summarised as follows:

1. Some agencies will be trying to sign the listing by offering discounted or heavily reduced commissions.
2. Some agencies will reduce the marketing costs on the listing or even pay the marketing costs themselves.
3. The associated fees for the marketing of the property can be absorbed by the selected agency.
4. Some agencies will claim that they have qualified buyers on their books now just waiting to inspect and purchase that particular property.
5. The agent offers to take the listing on an open list basis with no exclusivity.
6. The agent takes on the listing at the client’s price that is inflated well above market.
7. The agent offers the client a method of sale that the client is comfortable with however that method does not reflect the best strategy of sale in the current market conditions.

The realities of these offerings and discounts are that they substantially reduce the interest of the listing agent in the true marketing of the property. They can also hinder the sale and marketing process.

These points above are the most common hurdles that you will come across in the sales presentation and pitch process. Any property owner that chooses an agent based on any or all of these facts should not be taken seriously in their efforts to list and sell their property. This property market is fickle, and needs the right approach. The sellers must follow the rules in and marketing of their property; to do otherwise will create a stale listing and waste everyone’s time.

The Real Focus of Agents

Most good real estate agents will only spend their time on the listings that they have exclusive control, and where they can see the most opportunity or the most commission for the amount of effort that they apply.

So if you are coming across these factors in your local property market, the strategy is to practice your presentations to counter propose and discard these issues; they have any little relevancy to the results that a client wants in this market. The property owner and seller will listen to your offer and strategies providing you have the right argument supported by sound logic.

The listing of property is not a debate and should be built around the best price, the best way to attract enquiry, and the best marketing program. Working with a property owner through these three factors will usually allow you to discard the discounts and offerings of other agencies.

No client wants their property to be an experiment with time, price, or enquiry. That is their Achilles Heel that can be used as a lever in you attracting the listing in the best way possible.

Many professionals dread the unthinkable moment in presentations: an angry or aggressive attack. Don’t you wish you had a magic remedy to calm people down — without risking embarrassment and public humiliation?

In most corporate and professional settings, direct attacks are not commonplace. Instead, all kinds of more subtle interactions are the norm. However, from time to time, you are likely to encounter strong emotions, anger, and resentment. All the ‘yucky stuff’ most presenters strive to avoid.

What can you do if the dreaded thing happens?

Apply proven presentation techniques to be persuasive, calm people down, and avoid embarrassment.

Let me ask you a simple question: what do you dread most?

•  Presenting an important project to your boss or supervisor
•  Discussing a critical project with a bully
•  Saying the wrong thing – and not knowing how to recover
•  Putting your foot in your mouth
•  Bearing the brunt of ridicule and abuse from co-workers

These are just a few of the scary moments in presenting. But if you are speaking in public, at one time or another, some of these uncomfortable moments will appear. No doubt, from time to time, your ideas and recommendations will be challenged.

Instead of slinking into the corner and giving up before you begin, what can you do? Get more skillful at handling these difficult situations. There’s good news here. These are interpersonal presentation skills that can be learned.

You don’t have to be born with the gene of communication. You don’t have to be super-human and know how to solve every problem before it shows up. Instead, you can focus on building your skills. In a short time, you can build the right set of skills, feel more confident, and be more effective in front of any group.

Use these 3 tips to win respect and get your ideas heard.

Tip 1: Find Common Ground

First, find common ground. Look for the connection in values, direction, or process that you share with your audience. Hint: there is always common ground. If it’s not obvious at first, keep looking.

Tip 2: Focus On The Big Picture

Resist the urge to immediately jump into all the details of your specific proposal or recommendation. Stick to the big picture. Give the overview — first.

Tip 3: Listen With Total Focus

Listen to what is said with complete focus. Instead of thinking about what you are going to say next, listen. By listening intently you show that you care about what people think.

You may not agree with the content of what they are saying. However, by listening with full attention, you show respect. This often calms people down.

Knowing how to calm people down requires practice, skill and the right tools. You can use body language, words, gestures, and visual sketches to create a calmer environment and encourage open communication.

If you dread conflict, or have ever “lost it” in a professional presentation, this is an important area to develop your skills.

Learn how to calm people down, without embarrassing yourself or them. Knowing what to do in different settings gives you confidence and skill to be more effective in presenting.