227: How to Sell Your Invention Direct to Companies as a Promotional Product

Product Startup · 24 May 2024 · 22m

What this episode covers

Jeff Lerner, CEO of Misnomer and former Google marketing lead, explains how hardware startups can bypass traditional retail to sell inventions directly to corporations as promotional products. He outlines a strategy of identifying a specific 'champion' within a target organization who faces a problem your product solves, allowing that person to look good by bringing the solution to their team. Lerner emphasizes that these products must offer unique value—such as improving efficiency, aiding employee retention, or enhancing sales processes at trade shows—rather than being generic items like pens. He advises starting locally through networking groups and chambers of commerce to generate early case studies and validation before scaling to larger, faceless B2B transactions.

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