Read this part from "This Is How You Do It, Kid: The Inventorpreneur's Handbook"

byFrancisco Guerra

Now pretend that you are Mr. Guerra's attorney and legal advisor.Tell him why he is proceeding according to your advice, or suggest an alternative course of action.

Remember, you are giving legal advice.If you agree or disagree, you must give support for your answer.

STEP FOUR: Prepare Your PresentationIt's Showtime! "Forewamerforeonned; to be pmgarerf is afre victory " Mr'guef o'e Car-Jamar: Undoubtedly, this step is one of the most intimidating, particularly if\" you're an inexperienced public speaker or struggle with being the center of attention. You know what makes it easier? Practice. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Know your information backward and forward. Present to friends until you're comfortable with every aspect of your pitch, until it feels utterly and completely nature]. In addition to your working prototype, which we will get to shortly, put together an executive summary. This short essay will give you key talking points and help keep you on track when your tongue starts to get too big for your mouth or your hands begin to sweat. Additionally, it will keep your audience engaged in what you're sellingkey thing, thereand will prevent them From answering texts or playing games on their phones. The instant you hear the tell tale sounds of Candy Crush you can Forget it, chief. You've lost them. Game oyer. ppt'lunity wasted. You've only got one shot at making a good impression and it' you blow it... It's onto the next meeting or learning how to say, \"Do you want Fries with that?\" No pressure, right? Wrong. And that's a good thing. Because pressure is what's going to make sure that you're as prepared as you can be. Pressure will ensure that you've dotted all your 1's and crossed all you're T's. Pressure will urge you to check and recheck your working prototype. Ah, the working prototypethe single-most important tool in the arsenal of your presentation. Ultimately, nothing else you're going to say is going to matter if you're unable to communicate the purpose of your invention, and nothing is going to showcase it better than visible proof of its soction. Let me give you an example. Awhile back I had a cliettt come through the door who'd been issued a design patent on half of a duck butt. Yes, you read that right. Hoffofo duck bust. This gentleman owned a hunting company and sold hunting supplies and novelties. A large portion of his business was generated through avid duck hunters. When he tossed his prototype onto my desk, I'll admit that inially I was a bit skeptical and slightly repulsed. On one side were the pretty duck feathers, the other three large suction cups. It was designed to stick to the windshield of a car or truck, so that it looked like the duck had been struck by the vehicle and had launched through the glass. Not anything I'm keen to affix to any of my own cars, I can tell you, but I'm not a duck hunter, so... At any rate, when we landed our rst presentation, the buyer we were targeting was just as mystied as I had been...until I walked around her desk and stuck it to her computer monitor. Boom. Done. She got it. Would she have been able to get it via a blue print or drawing\"?I It's possible, but probably not. That visual gave it the wow-factor, and that's the goal. You want the buyer to look at the product, see its purpose or mction and know exactly why they want it on their shelves. Here's another example, this one with a less than stellar outcome. Once upon a time in a land called China, me and my friend and current President of Global Home Retail, Peter Rocheleau, were pitching the snow machine to K-Mart. Big account, right? Very, very big deal. While Peter and I were in favor of going in and handling the presentation ourselves, another agent at K-Iviart was certain she could do a better job and insisted on presenting on our behalf. This was a mistake. In the rst place, the inventor inevitably becomes the master at whatever it is that he's invented. He becomes the specialist in the eld. Why? Because it's his mvention. Because it's his area of expertise. Because he's taken it apart, put it back together, made improvements and modifications that have either not worked or have made it perform better. He knows the purpose of every nut and bolt, every gear, every bit of hardware from one end of the mechanism to the other. Admittedly, the version of the snow machine that we were pitching that day wasn't at its best. There were two different switches, one that activated the solution and another that distributed the snow. When our overzealous representative went in and explained that, as a result of our machine, their customers would be able to not only produce snow for various occasions birthday parties! bar rnitzvahsl Amriversaries! and weddingslas well as the Christmas season, but also \"make it snow in July!" our initial hopes were pretty high. Until she turned on turned on the snow distributer. .. And we watched in sickening horror as a giant blob of foamy, gelatinous snow shot across the boardroom table like an arrow to a bulls eye and, to the tune of a collective startled gasp, landed right smack in the middle of the current President and CEO of KMarl, Inc's chest. The sound it made as it found its target resonated like cannon re in the eerily quiet room. Peter and I looked at each other, muttered a few choice words, then glanced back at the CED, whose face had gone an alarming shade of red. The rep who'd inadvertently soiled and humiliated her boss shot us a death ray glare, then immediately launched into repair mode, but it was too late. The damage had been done. She'd activated the solution a little too soon, which caused a build up and, well. -. You know the rest of the story. Guess what? We didn't sell our snow machines in K-lvlart and, in fact, have yet to sell anything to that company. First impressions, kid. You only get one shot at it. Which brings me to tip nurnber twobe a professional. What do I mean by that\";I Let's start with the obvious- Dress the part. If you drink it's cool to walk into a meeting in a pair of stained pants and a lab coatthe proverbial absenbninded inventorthen you'd better think again, lack. Suit and tie, matching seeks, clean shoes. Privately you can be as eccentric as you want to be, but when it comes to conducting business in the corporate world, nobody wants to work with a nut. Prospective clients need to be able to trust you. 1|Want to wave a big red flag at potential customers? Come in looking like you wandered off the set of Honey I Sat-uni: the Kids and see how swiftly you're shown the door. This is a no-brainer. Be a professional. So what else does that mean, exactly? It means that you have to be a good communicator. It means that you've got to be able to get your message across in a way that engages the audience and convinces them a} why your product needs to be on the market and b.) that you believe wholeheartedly in it. Do you know what gets people excited? Excitement. It's infectious. Don't be afraid to be in love with your invention. Don't be afraid to share your passion about it. That sort of enthusiasm is hard to fake and even harder to igttore. It gives you an instant connection with a potential client and once that connection is made, it's easier to get buy-in. And do you know what happens once you've got buy-in? You've got the client invested in your product to the point that it's not just your productit's theirs too. That sense of ownership is critical because it creates a team mentality, a we're-in-this-together, how-can-we-make-this-better kind of environment that's the breeding ground of successful business relationships. When pitching your product, be sure to explain how it's going to solve a problem, because the best inventions always do. For instance, Peter ouce developed a Christmas tree that sprang from the box and instantly bloomed into shape. What's the number one complaint from people who assemble and erect articial bees? Putting them up, shaping the branches, making sure there are no unseemly holes in the foliage. It detracts from the ftm part, which is hanging the omaments, decorating the tree. Peter's design eliminated that problem. Made From spring steel, for marketing purposes we renamed it \"Memory Metal" and it sold like hotcakes. I actually invented a bubble wand that emerged from the bottle with a gentle squeeze, eliminating the need to dip your ngers into the solution and fish around for the instrument. When demonstrating I pretended like I'd lost the wand. \"Hmm. Where is it? I must have misplaced it. I pretended to look for it, while I secretly gave the bottle a squeeze, making the wand lift past the solution. \"It's there,\" my potential buyer said, trying to be helpful. \"What?" \"'I'here. In the bottle," she said with a nod. I smiled, and her eyes widened. \"Ah. Clever." She got it. Said. See? It's not that difcult. Here's the deal. These people want to see you. They want to see what you've got. They're all looking for the next big thiitg, the next wow! product that's going to give them an edge against their competitors. They're in the market of buying and you're in the market of selling. Use that re your advantage and don't be discouraged if the person you're pitching to doesn't get it. Sometimes they don't, but it doesn't mean they're right. Keep plugging away. When trying to get your feet in the door, he sure to utilize professional organizations like Linkedlnoom. Emails should be short and to the point, and should be devoid of links or trigger words that will land your correspondence in the spam lter. These people are busy. Don't waste their time with a long-winded message or hard sell when the purpose of the note is to secure a meeting. I receive literally hundreds of emails and text messages a day. Hundreds. Anything longer than a paragraph From an unknown person or a company that I don't recognize gets relegated to the bottom of the pile. This is net the ideal place to be, trust me. Here's another tip to keep in mind when attempting to garner that meeting. 1|When conventional methods don't work, then consider sending the same message via a different source. I recently used this approach myself A client contacted me and wanted me to get in touch with a fonner president of the United States on his behalf. This particular past president is super insulated, is materialist}: difficult to reach, but where others had failed, I succeeded. With a fax. Ingenious, right? In an age where email and cell phones dominate the communication business, the humble, outdated fax machine did what those other methods couldn't. 1va fair was hand delivered into his ofoe. Mission accomplished. Additional things to keep in mind when contacting various companies ask fast for the research and development department. If they don't have one, ask for engineering. If that doesn't world move onto sales and marketing. If you strike out there, go directly to the top, to the CED of the company. Frankly, I typically have more luck there than I do with any other department. Can you guess why? Because that guy is like-mindedwe're both entrepreneurs. Here's something else tn keep in mind. Always go into a meeting with what we call a \"hip-pocket\" concessionsomething that you've already decided that you're willing to give up. Why? Because it demonstrates exibility and makes the buyer feel like he's getting a little something eana in return. Everyone needs to feel like a winner. In the event you aren't able to give the potential client a working prototype to have on hand after the initial meeting, then definitely be prepared with a leave-behind. A leave-behind? 1|tit-That's that? At the very least it's a business card with your contact infomiation, but ideally a cut- sheet, detailing your productan overview, cost to produce, potential markets, etc... You never want to walk away without giving the potential client tangible proof of your product and your contact information. Back to preparation, have non-disclosure documents on-handyou're a professional, remember?but don't get upset if the client refuses to sign them. There's always the possibility that they're working on a similar design and signing your document would tie their hands. It's not in their professional interests, and it shouldn't be a deal breaker for you. At the end of the day, you want to build a lasting relationship with these companies. You don't want to he a one-hit wonder. You want to add more and more to your inventory and, ultimately, into theirs. You're not just selling your product, you're selling yourself, and your iture business. Remember, you want this relationship to last. You're not in it for a quick buckyou're in it for the long haul. Be prepared. Be a professional and, above all, make it count, kid