Becoming a UK distributor for a foreign inventor?

[Tweek]

Hi there!

I've had this idea for a while now, basically building up a team of salespeople and a distribution network that invite overseas inventors to use us to target the UK market.

Obvioulsy this isn't an established business it's merely a concept but how would I go about finding foreign inventors?

Once I find one, I could use the royalties on the product I make from the agreement with the inventor to begin setting up a distribution network and a network of buyers that will tempt other inventors to come to me as opposed to finding them myself.

Thanks!

 

[Y.Gunay]

hi tweek

As a sales person you can only sell what you believe in, inventors take there products to company's which have finance to back them up.

i would recommend you first look at the gap in UK market, search for it in foreign countries if you can convince your self and friends that this is the ultimate product, simply buy a ticket visit the manufacturer bring some samples and see how good your team is in sales.

 

[Tweek]

hi tweek

As a sales person you can only sell what you believe in, inventors take there products to company's which have finance to back them up.

i would recommend you first look at the gap in UK market, search for it in foreign countries if you can convince your self and friends that this is the ultimate product, simply buy a ticket visit the manufacturer bring some samples and see how good your team is in sales.

Thanks alot for you're reply. The only problem i'm struggling with is finding inventors and/or products to sell. I want to gather up 5-6 inventors and travel to them and view there products and come to some kind of agreement where I will launch that product into the UK for them. I just don't know how to find them

 

[forumsme]

There are a lot of innovative products out there...

Are you looking to pick up an invention and manage the production / logistics also? Or are you more interested in purely setting up a sales network?

Can you provide a little info on your network? Direct or retails etc? and geography?
- I may be able to put you in contact with a very exciting product.

 

[Tweek]

There are a lot of innovative products out there...

Are you looking to pick up an invention and manage the production / logistics also? Or are you more interested in purely setting up a sales network?

Can you provide a little info on your network? Direct or retails etc? and geography?
- I may be able to put you in contact with a very exciting product.

Thanks alot for the reply.

I don't have any network at all yet. I know very good sales people and they are more than happy to step into this project with me, so all I have at the moment is a sales team.

What i'm really looking for is someone to put trust in me to sell there product, sell it, create a network and then move onto being a distributor with my own delivery service, logistic network etc. But as of currently, all I have is a team of talented, young sales people who have all excelled and met targets in there current jobs, including me.

 

[forumsme]

Can you PM me your email/phone details? Wll put you in contact with someone that I think may be a good fit...can take it from there...

 

[Tweek]

Can you PM me your email/phone details? Wll put you in contact with someone that I think may be a good fit...can take it from there...

Of course, thanks alot.

 

[Dave.F]

I have a small unique builders / diy tool that I developed for Woolworths PLC that never made it to the shop floor due to Woolies demise just as the product was finished....

I am based in the UK but the factory that makes the product is in China, I own the design and mould tools etc....

Thinking about it, I also have another product (kitchen/home related) that I designed in 1999 and never really pushed.....

Dave.

 

[Tweek]

I have a small unique builders / diy tool that I developed for Woolworths PLC that never made it to the shop floor due to Woolies demise just as the product was finished....

I am based in the UK but the factory that makes the product is in China, I own the design and mould tools etc....

Thinking about it, I also have another product (kitchen/home related) that I designed in 1999 and never really pushed.....

Dave.

If you're interested, Dave, maybe we could come to some sort of agreement?

 

[Dave.F]

Full details sent in a PM

 

[Tweek]

Full details sent in a PM

Thanks alot, i'll get straight to it tonight.

 

[firstmarket]

Hi there!

I've had this idea for a while now, basically building up a team of salespeople and a distribution network that invite overseas inventors to use us to target the UK market.

Obvioulsy this isn't an established business it's merely a concept but how would I go about finding foreign inventors?

Once I find one, I could use the royalties on the product I make from the agreement with the inventor to begin setting up a distribution network and a network of buyers that will tempt other inventors to come to me as opposed to finding them myself.

Thanks!

This is similar to the role we provide to UK based inventors and companies. The majority of inventions start in their home country and grow outwards via licencing the product.

There are a large amount of companies/garage inventors that look for a suitable company to licence their product to as can be a massive financial burden to start and manage a sales team particularly in a foreign country. If you get the right product and get in early enough then the rewards can be great.

Unfortunately it's also a huge financial burden on the company that is managing the sales process. It depends greatly on the product but just to give you an indication over the last five years I have probably held face to face meetings with over 100 companies looking to build a sales team. Out of those we chose to work with three. That's not to say 97 of the inventions were no good but the structure in which they were to be sold was either not suited to field sales or the numbers just didn't stack up for the two parties.

Payment is also a stumbling block. We tend to structure payment around the companies growth or take a % of the company that we then give back when certain targets or conditions have been met.

One company we started working with three years ago only really started making us any money in month nine of our relationship. We built up a sales team including field sales, telesales and engineers to cover the whole of the UK and for each sale we take an override.

It's a very long lead time bringing products to market but it can also be very profitable if you get the right product and manage it effectively

 

[Dave.F]

This is similar to the role we provide to UK based inventors and companies. The majority of inventions start in their home country and grow outwards via licencing the product.

There are a large amount of companies/garage inventors that look for a suitable company to licence their product to as can be a massive financial burden to start and manage a sales team particularly in a foreign country. If you get the right product and get in early enough then the rewards can be great.

Unfortunately it's also a huge financial burden on the company that is managing the sales process. It depends greatly on the product but just to give you an indication over the last five years I have probably held face to face meetings with over 100 companies looking to build a sales team. Out of those we chose to work with three. That's not to say 97 of the inventions were no good but the structure in which they were to be sold was either not suited to field sales or the numbers just didn't stack up for the two parties.

Payment is also a stumbling block. We tend to structure payment around the companies growth or take a % of the company that we then give back when certain targets or conditions have been met.

One company we started working with three years ago only really started making us any money in month nine of our relationship. We built up a sales team including field sales, telesales and engineers to cover the whole of the UK and for each sale we take an override.

It's a very long lead time bringing products to market but it can also be very profitable if you get the right product and manage it effectively

Do you only deal with 'Market Ready' products?

Or do you get involved with product development also?

 

[firstmarket]

Do you only deal with 'Market Ready' products?

Or do you get involved with product development also?

We may start the sales process prior to the product being completely ready.

However, whilst it is something we may move towards in the future at this moment in time whilst we're keen to maintain links with inventors in their early stages of development we are not in a position to assist in terms of manufacturing and patent applications.

 

[Kevh1981]

I work for Loven Patents & Trademarks based in Lincoln.

A good source of information of foreign inventions is the publication pages of individual patent offices. The UK Intellectual Property Office publishes new patents each week. Other countries patent offices will also publish patent applications on a regular basis.

It is worth remembering that any inventor who has any business sense will not deal with you unless the product is subject to a patent application in any country where you may wish to sell it. This is because without patent protection, there would be no obligation on you to enter into any form of license agreement.

What sort of product are you interested in? If you let me know in a private message, I will have a look for you and give you some examples and how to search yourself.

Kevin

 

[juliehiking]

Hi there!

I've had this idea for a while now, basically building up a team of salespeople and a distribution network that invite overseas inventors to use us to target the UK market.

Obvioulsy this isn't an established business it's merely a concept but how would I go about finding foreign inventors?

Once I find one, I could use the royalties on the product I make from the agreement with the inventor to begin setting up a distribution network and a network of buyers that will tempt other inventors to come to me as opposed to finding them myself.

Thanks!

Hi, tweek, nice to meet you here! we think we can coordinate between you and china vendors, as long as you tell us your interested products.

 

[ADS-MARKETING]

Good Afternoon All

We are a marketing agency based in the UK. We have been involved in a unique DIY product for about year with a local inventor. He has developed two product ideas which we are in the process of developing with a UK design house. The inventor has patents on both the products and we hope to be manufacturing next year once we have final CAD drawings.

At present with a few trial orders booked with some UK retailers and some interest from outside of the UK too. We are looking for more DIY Buyers in the UK so that we can setup meetings early next year to hopefully secure further trial orders before manufacturing takes place. In addition, we may also seek an investor to help the business grow more quickly and easier.

If you have any UK DIY Buyers in your contacts list which will help our mailing list grow or you may have an interest as an investor please can you get in touch with us. We hope to hear from you soon.