Invent It, Sell It, Bank It!: Make Your Million-Dollar Idea Into a Reality (32 page)

Though all the above selling venues should play a role in your selling strategy, in my opinion there is simply no better selling medium for a new inventor than a shopping channel like
QVC. A few minutes on QVC can open up a whole world of retail opportunities. In addition, it puts you in the same company as brands like Apple, Nikon, Bose, and Wii for electronics; Philosophy, Clinique, and L’Occitane for makeup; and Calvin Klein, Lucky Brand, and Dooney & Bourke for fashion, among thousands of others. Every big brand wants to be on QVC. It’s king. It’s an $8.5 billion retailer that shipped more than 166 million products in 2012 across its global markets. Its viewing audience is comparable in scale to major networks like Lifetime, Bravo, and A&E, and it ranks no.2 in mobile commerce among multi-category retailers, second only to Amazon.

WHY TELEVISION STILL MATTERS IN THE INTERNET AGE

I made my career on TV because I happened to invent highly demonstrable products, so that’s where I knew I would see my biggest success. There’s nowhere else I know of where you can sell thousands of units within minutes (their first time on QVC, the inventors of FiberFix, one of my
Shark Tank
deals, sold 16,000 units in ten minutes, the equivalent of $300,000 at retail). As discussed in
Chapter 2
, demonstrable products are items that can be physically demonstrated in front of consumers so they can immediately witness and experience the product’s features, benefits, and problem-solving capabilities.

It’s all about the visuals. A lamp is not demonstrable—unless it can adjust its brightness according to the amount of natural light coming into a room. A picture frame just hangs there, inanimate. But a frame that shows over a hundred photos with the press of a button, one flipping to the next to the next, is demonstrable and could possibly sell well on television. Even ordinary objects that don’t usually bear a second thought can become demonstrable. For instance, everyone thinks they know what a
vacuum cleaner does, until they watch one pick up glass, nails, sand, and even bowling balls. Suddenly, the consumer becomes aware that all vacuum cleaners are not the same.

With a demonstrable product, the consumer can see physical proof that one item is better than another. Jewelry is an example of something that is not demonstrable, yet it sells really well on TV because people can decide instantly whether or not they like it; and TV shopping channels bring jewelry to the consumer in an affordable, informative, and fun way. It’s an impulse buy. Television allows consumers to understand products in a way that even the best packaging displayed on a retail shelf cannot.

Aside from demonstrability, the questions you’d ask to determine whether you product is right for TV are similar to the ones you’d ask of any other product you wanted to sell:

• Is it unique?

• Is there a need for it?

• Is it a good price point?

• Have you done research that indicates the market wants it?

• Is it affordable? Typically, for a product to sell on a TV shopping channel, the cost has to be at least $14.00 or more to the consumer, because once you factor in the cost of shipping you don’t want the consumer to pay more for shipping and handling than they do for the product. So QVC, for example, does not sell products for under $14.00, and it’s why inexpensive items under $10.00 are usually sold in a set of two or three on shopping channels.

• Is it a manageable size? Your product can’t be too massive because it needs to be something that can easily ship or for which people would be willing to
pay shipping and handling. The larger and heavier the item, the higher the shipping and handling costs.

If your product meets all of these criteria, you probably have the makings of a successful television sales item.

WHO BUYS FROM TELEVISION SHOPPING NETWORKS?

It is not primarily for grandmothers, as Kevin O’Leary once sniped on
Shark Tank
. I get along great with Kevin, but as I joked right after he said it, that day his comment made me want to pull out my driver and hit his bald, white, dimply head a hundred yards away from me. Here’s how badly misinformed Kevin is.

Television shopping networks do appeal to a highly female demographic, but so do most retail sellers: women are the main buyers in all consumer categories except electronics. However, men shop on television, too. At QVC, 15 percent of customers are men. Twenty-three percent of customers are 25 to 44-year-old women; 48 percent are 45 to 64 years old.

The audience includes shoppers from every socioeconomic demographic. Eighty-eight percent are homeowners with an average net worth of $249,000; a significant number live in the tony 90210 California zip code. Once QVC wanted to reward all the people who spent $500,000 a year or more with the channel by inviting them to a special event. As the attendees streamed through the doors of the studio, it was enlightening to see what a diverse group they actually were. They represented the typical customers you’d see walking down the street in any major city—all ages, all ethnicities, moms with daughters, husbands and wives.

At one time, people might have been reluctant to admit that they shopped on television, but like Internet dating, it has
gone mainstream, and is considered a welcome convenience in our busy, busy lives. Most if not all of the networks have mobile apps that allow consumers to watch the shows and shop on their digital devices.
Shark Tank
, too, has added to people’s awareness of the medium, not just because I’m on it but also because entrepreneurs know the extreme value of getting on QVC. Give an entrepreneur a shot at QVC, which is by far the largest of the TV shopping networks (HSN and ShopHQ, previously ShopNBC, are second and third, respectively), and they act like you’ve given them the moon.

The reason entrepreneurs love television shopping networks is that they offer inventors a number of advantages:

•
Tremendous reach
. The audience is massive—
both QVC and HSN command an audience in slightly fewer than one hundred million U.S. homes.

•
Instant sales
. If your product is right for the medium, meaning it is highly demonstrable and desired, you have the potential to sell literally thousands of units in minutes. A typical sell on QVC lasts between six and eight minutes. That represents a lot of units sold in an extremely short amount of time.

•
Free marketing and advertising
. Your presentation can greatly increase your consumer’s familiarity with your brand. Television sales don’t just sell your product on TV; they help you sell it everywhere else.

•
Free market research
. In retail stores, you could wait months to find out whether consumers want your product and if it will sell well. When you present on television, however, you know immediately whether your product is a hero or a zero.

•
Instant customer feedback
. It’s so exciting and gratifying to see the big numbers sold. You can see the ticker on-screen going from a hundred to a thousand to five thousand in just minutes. The best, of course, is seeing the sold-out sign come up. If you’re selling good numbers, it’s a great gauge of how people feel about your product.

After airing on a TV shopping channel, some entrepreneurs see explosive sales spikes both online and in-store as well—sometimes as high as 30 percent. When you look at a product on a retail shelf, you don’t know half of what it does until you can take it home and try it yourself. The packaging does all the talking. But on a television sales show, your product has a voice.

When I demonstrate my no-mess cooking utensils, I can show home cooks how they never need to mess up their counters by setting dirty utensils on them or using a dish as a spoon rest, just by stirring and hanging my utensil on the side of the pot. Viewers can watch me close the lid over the utensils, how I can touch the handles and not get burned because they are silicone coated, and how they are great as cooking utensils and serving utensils, too. I can also try the same experiment with a competitor’s cooking utensil, and show what I call the submarine spoon that dives under the surface when you set it alongside the rim. Viewers can see for themselves the difference, and why my product is better. I can dramatize the problem, and show you the solutions.

You can’t get the same perspective when you see cooking utensils dangling from a cardboard hangtag in a store. The demonstration makes the item for sale seem alluring and seductive. The product looks wonderful, you’re showing off its usefulness,
and how much you enjoy using it, and suddenly, the consumers just have to try it for themselves. And if you produce good quality products, they’ll be glad they did.

As for the instantaneous feedback, television retailers often let you speak directly to your consumers while you’re selling. QVC, for example, will often put up a testimonial phone number on the screen to give people a chance to call in and express their opinions about a brand or product. Customers call in to order and are asked to speak on air, or they can ask to do it. I love talking to my customers live! In addition, customers can post comments and reviews online for you to review and respond to. With so many ways for customers to offer their opinions, it doesn’t take long to know whether your product is a hero.

HOW TO GET ON THE AIR

Something not many people know is that I was actually rejected by QVC the first time I tried to sell my product there. I became familiar with the channel because my mother had started watching it after hurting her back and shopping had become difficult for her. She loved how easy it was to pick up the phone, place your order, and see your items show up on your doorstep a few days later. She was hooked, and I was amazed at how engrossing it was.

Right after I created my first product, I realized how highly demonstrable it was, and I knew it would be perfect for TV sales. So even as I successfully stalked retailers with my redial button, landing a contract with JCPenney and eventually Marshall Fields, among other retailers, I made the television channels my other main goal. I sent QVC a sample of my product. They promptly returned it to me with a “No, thank you.” It’s somewhat easier to get on now, but back then, once you were turned away, that was
it. The wall was virtually impenetrable. I was disappointed, but there were other fish in the sea. I decided to set my sights on the Home Shopping Network, as HSN was then called.

Once again, I spent weeks hitting the redial button, trying to reach the Home Shopping Network buyer’s office in Tampa. Finally, one evening right before 5 p.m., a woman picked up the phone. I blurted out my quick line about my revolutionary new product as fast as I could, and then told her that I was going to be in Tampa, and I would love to introduce myself in person (as usual, I did not have a ticket to Tampa, but if she said she’d meet me, the very next call I made was going to be to the airlines). That’s when the woman interrupted me. “Let me stop you,” she said. “I’m only going to be the buyer two more weeks. I’m moving to Chicago, so I really won’t be able to help you.”

Famous last words. I replied, “Funny coincidence, I’m from Chicago. If there’s anything you need or want, or any information I can give you about Chicago to get you set up, I’d be happy to help. Would you please just pass me on to whoever is the next buyer?”

And she said, “You know, I actually could use some help. Sure.”

And that’s how I got my big break on television. I flew down to meet the new buyer, a woman named Laurie Meyer, and showed her my earring organizer. Next thing I knew, she had ordered three thousand units and told me to be ready to go on the air in six weeks. My product was made in the United States, and injection-molded manufacturers typically make thousands of units a week, so I could place an order and get it to their warehouse right away. That’s another huge benefit of making a product in the United States—you don’t need the thirty-five to forty-five days on the water, through the port, and trucking to a warehouse the way products made overseas do.

PITCHING FOR TV BUYERS

Which shopping networks should you aim for? Shopping networks generally carry similar types of items—home goods, cosmetics, jewelry, electronics, and apparel—though brands and price points vary.
QVC is known for showing a wide variety of products in quick succession, more than a thousand per week; HSN keeps products on the air for longer periods of time. Not everyone is going to open the door for you, especially if you have only one item to sell. The TV shopping channels want the next big thing! It helps if you are an entrepreneur who knows the ropes, but that doesn’t mean an inventor with one terrific product can’t get a spot on any of these channels. It just means that there is a bigger learning curve and it will be more of a challenge than if you had several items to offer. The channels seem to be moving toward opening up more to new entrepreneurs than before, based on the establishment of initiatives like QVC’s Sprouts program, which allows viewers to vote on which new inventions will get a shot on the air.

You pitch differently to a television buyer than to a buyer for a brick-and-mortar store. A good product is a good product; they’re both going to want it. But there are considerations a brick-and-mortar store buyer must think about that a television buyer does not. Packaging, for example. In a brick-and-mortar setting, it’s understood that your packaging is going to do a lot of your selling for you. It’s also going to determine to a degree whether the item is easy for the store to stock and display. Size matters a lot. Shape matters. Retailers have space considerations that television channels do not.

I sell a fun and hugely popular item called CordaRoy’s Beanbag Bed. It was one of my
Shark Tank
deals. It’s a comfy beanbag that unzips and turns into a plush full-size bed! It’s packaged in
a large box, though, so when we wanted to sell it to retailers, we had to figure out ahead of time how to address their inevitable concern about how they were going to store and display such a big piece. Our solution was to suggest they display one beanbag bed but pack the colorful slipcovers separately in little hanging bags. That way people could see the shape and size of the bed, and choose from an array of colors, but the store didn’t have to stock a large box for every color, which would take up too much shelf and warehouse space. This goes back to thinking ahead when you are pitching and trying to address every question a buyer could possibly have, anticipating any problem, and showing that you have a solution ready.