Mom Invented

The direct response companies that have called my office always have made it difficult, if not impossible, to find out exactly what they were proposing -- other than a chance to sell a lot of my product on TV.

After the initial interest-grabbing sentence, the callers are quite skilled at steering the conversation. The "producer" engages the inventor in discussion about how terrific his product is, expresses a need to do good "planning" in order to "purchase" sufficient inventory. The producer will also tout her experience and skill at producing winning TV ads and the ability to purchase cable advertising spots across the country at a significant discount.

One inventor sent me the direct response company's proposed agreement. Not only did it lack any meaningful protection for the inventor, the agreement itself required exclusivity.

When we ask these "producers,"  "Are you an infomercial company?" the answer has typically been an indignant, "No, we are a direct-response company."

The kicker is how long it takes the caller to get to the topic of the "production fee." When my callers finally get to it, it has ranged from $15,000 to $25,000 -- so much for the benefits of "selling my product wholesale."

Perhaps it's a matter of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. Besides, I've been around enough by now to know that there can be a thin line between skillful sales and deceptiveness. Still, my experience with these calls has tilted too far toward deception.

Read Tamara's full August "Inventions" column, including 5 steps to avoid a costly mistake when considering direct response, on Entrepreneur.com.

Tagged as: business advertising, business marketing, direct response marketing, TV