As open innovation flourishes, more and more companies are asking inventors to submit their product ideas to them via online forms. How great! You don’t even have to call companies to get in anymore. What you sound like and where you’re calling from simply doesn’t matter. The way I see it, there are two main reasons why companies are employing online submission forms. Companies that receive a lot of submissions need a better way of keeping track of them, which makes sense. But I also think companies not very serious about licensing ideas are making use of them too. In the latter case, the forms are simply a screening mechanism.
So, should you submit your product idea to a company using its form? Yes. It always helps to follow the procedure a company has in place. Your job is to take away risk, to make it as easy as possible for a potential licensee to say yes. What you must do first, though, is read the fine print carefully.What exactly are you agreeing to when you submit your idea? You need to know.
Companies that aren’t sincere about open innovation include language that is absolutely ludicrous on their forms. For example, I’ve read forms that essentially commit the inventor to giving up their rights to their ideas! Who in their right mind would agree to that? It doesn’t make sense. It is nave to assume the company has your best interests in mind. What you should assume, though, is that whatever you sign is binding.
When it comes to these kinds of forms, what you don’t want to do is submit your idea into a black hole. So when you fill out the form, type a variation of the following statement in the comments section.
“Hi, my name is [your name]. I’m a product developer with [name of your company]. I’m wondering if someone is actually reading these forms. If so, could you please email me to let me know? My email address is [your email address].”
InventRight coach David Fedewa has had great success doing this. Most of the time, he says, someone does email him back to confirm that his submission was received. In his words, this approach is a “double-sword of awesomeness,” because you now know that someone has actually received your submission and you have a contact to follow up with. If the company is receiving a lot of submissions, it’s important that you stand out. Doing this is one way of accomplishing that. It also creates a paper trail, which helps protect you.
Remember, when it comes to pitching potential licensees on your idea, you’re trying to get a dialogue going. You’re trying to create a connection with a human being who can give you some feedback!
So you might try calling the company, even if you know that it wants you to submit your idea using its online form. Ask an employee what the company’s procedure for processing submissions is. When he inevitably tells you to fill out its form online, thank him and ask, “Can you give me the email address of the person who receives the form?” That way you have someone’s contact information.
You could also decide to call a company after you’ve submitted your idea online, particularly if the form you sign doesn’t ask you not to. When an employee inevitably tells you, “Oh, we only look at ideas that come through our website,” respond with, “Great! I’ve done that. When can I expect to hear back?”
Knowing what kind of timeframe you’re working with is very helpful. They could review new ideas bi-yearly! It’s fair of you to ask what to expect.
What you shouldn’t do is submit your idea and wait around for something to come of it. You need to touch base and follow up with a human being. Following up is essential, actually. Reviewing new product ideas can so easily slip to the bottom of someone’s to-do list.
Originally published on Inc.com September 25th 2015.
