Seven Strategies

The seven strategies are based on various forms of partnering used in today's business world. Frankly, there are more than seven when you consider the variables and some of the more uncommon approaches.

Developing an innovation centers around team building with marketing being the focal point of all decision making. Team building is what successful inventors do best. Unsuccessful inventors are unable get a team built.

The team concept we refer to in the Strategic Guide system is where most inventors should devote their time and effort. From this effort opportunities invariably emerge that can be exploited. Your job in the early development stages is to get familiar with the various forms of partnering so you can employ them to the benefit of your innovation.

To give you a feel for the powerful concept of partnering, think about this:

• Marketing partners can be your employees or hundreds of outside commissioned sales reps.
• Dazzling inventions attract the best marketing partners.
• With respected marketing partners on your team, your manufacturing partners will willingly spend their money to ramp up a new innovation - even $millions.
• JDA's (Joint Development Agreements) are surprisingly easy to structure with major US corporations - the same ones that overtly say they won't consider outside invention submissions!
• Licensing can be a welcome alternative - there are four excellent variables and two approaches you can use.

If you'd like to find out more about these concepts and how to find, evaluate and partner with marketers, read Part three in From Patent to Profit.