Millions of dollars are spent by state governments to recruit companies for location or expansion into their respective states, yet none to my knowledge recruits new products to their state's manufacturing facilities. These manufacturers are already in place paying taxes and providing jobs. But what is being done for them?

Virtually nothing.

This is what the Oklahoma New Products Coalition is all about--recruiting products to Oklahoma.

When I worked for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, we asked private investors and venture capitalists to invest in new Oklahoma products. They must have thought we were joking, because they just laughed and gave us a plethora of very good reasons why they would not invest in new products.

Number one on the list was they knew very little about the industry into which the product would be sold. Further, they had no contacts they could trust to tell them (A) whether the product was any good, (B) how to make and sell enough to incur little risk of losing the principal and (C) make at least ten times the amount of the original investment within a couple of years.

Number two was that inventors (after doctors) were perceived as notoriously bad in business. They were thought to be ruled by an emotional attachment to their product, not by the goal of a high investment return.

Notice that neither of the above reasons had anything to do with the efficacy or worthiness of the new product. Yet they were sufficiently powerful reasons to discourage the serious consideration of an investment.

After hearing this many times, we realized we had been chasing the proverbial red herring. It wasn't until we "discovered" the concept of licensing that we were able to solve many of the problems discussed above.

Transferring the manufacturing and marketing rights to a company in exchange for a royalty paid to the intellectual property owner required finding companies in the same industry into which the invention would be sold. Such companies would have an understanding of whether or not the product might be profitable and a knowledge of how to make and distribute it. We also realized they usually did not require an exorbitant profit margin.

Once licensing was established as the preferred vehicle from which to launch products, we licensed and joint ventured over fifty new product ideas until I left the department in March, 1993. At that time, we were averaging about one every month.

Our success resulted from establishing on-going relationships with only those companies looking for new products. This is one aspect of the technology transfer process (among many) at which the so-called "invention development" companies have failed miserably. They have only done one thing well: trick new product owners into sending them thousands of dollars why giving them nothing in return.

While I was at the Department of Commerce, the Invention Submission Corporation had the audacity to send its attorney to ask us to stop saying "bad" things about them. We were apparently hurting their business.

During the meeting, I asked the attorney how many employees worked for his client. He estimated about 200 nationwide. I then asked him why 200 employees with a multi-million-dollar budget never licensed or joint ventured any products on behalf of its clients when we had done fifty such deals in five years with only three employees and an annual budget of $240 thousand.

The attorney had no answer. I will never forget him walking to his car after the meeting with a local TV news reporter at his heels yelling, "Why have you never done any deals?" He simply kept walking.

In considering the above issues, my advice to those of you trying to get your product or idea to the marketplace is this: think through your options, spend your limited capital wisely and target your potential licensees not with a shotgun approach, but with a rifle.

This is what the Oklahoma New Products Coalition is doing--helping inventors realize their dreams. Manufacturers from across the state have joined the Coalition for the purpose of being able to view new products. Only those companies aggressively searching for new products to manufacture, license or joint venture are members. The coalition staff works on behalf of member manufacturers to locate new products that can be made in Oklahoma.

While presenting products to member manufacturers, the staff is in a unique position to obtain the thoughts and comments directly from the market regarding the product's potential. We report to the inventor precisely what the market thinks.

In addition to the above benefits, subscribing inventors will also receive two hours of free attorney consultation time--a excellent opportunity to determine the potential of your product. Coalition subscription rates for inventors are currently $145.

Inventors should have both a plan and a vehicle to get their products into the hands of the public. Those roles can be filled by an organization skilled in new product development. That's what the Oklahoma New Products Coalition is all about--recruiting products to Oklahoma.

If you would like your product idea considered for manufacture in Oklahoma, call or write for more information to: 4617 S. Quincy Place, Tulsa, OK, 74105. The phone number is (918) 712-2446. You may also fax the Coalition at (918) 745-9815.

Tom Mosley, president of the Oklahoma New Products Coalition, spent five years as a new product developer with the state Department of Commerce. His book, Marketing Your Invention , has sold more than 10,000 copies nationwide. The book can be ordered at $21.95 plus shipping and handling from Dream Merchant