by Don Debelak 1997, 356 pages, $19.95, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN-0-471-15750-3 (paperback).

This book's author, Don Debelak, is a strong believer in inventors marketing their ideas. However, he also covers the licensing approach. He realizes that raising money is the number one problem and he covers the whole spectrum -- from doing it with zero dollars to how to raise a million dollars.

His advice is based on ten years as a new product marketing consultant. Throughout the book, he gives examples of the right and wrong moves people have made. My quick count (examples are in italics) indicated 106 examples.

Don estimates that in any given year, in the USA, about 200,000 individuals are working on product ideas but, at most, 500 will succeed in introducing their idea. In other words, one in 400 will succeed!

He stresses that in addition to the money problem, inventors should recognize the importance of three things -- that many revisions will be needed, that you can do it, and that you will need help from people experienced in your specific market area.

The author emphasizes entrepreneurs believe many myths about money. One common myth is that you should not borrow money until you have spent all of yours. Actually, in startup situations, banks expect you to have cash on hand equal to the loan requested. He emphasizes getting investors early in the process. If more money is then needed, investors will generally seek to protect their investment by investing more money.

Inventors often have no idea as to what the ratio of the selling price is to the cost of manufacturing. Quite often the selling price must be four to five times the cost of manufacturing the item. Few inventors seem to be aware of what sales, marketing and administration costs will be.

Many inventors fail to do even elementary market research. Can you communicate your product's benefits in 5 to 10 seconds? Is it significantly better? Have you consulted an impartial panel or are you still in the dream world of kind words from friends and relatives? The author gives several suggestions for doing low-cost market research.

You know your invention inside and out -- but do you know your buyers "hot buttons"? That is their motivations for buying products like yours. Don describes four basic reasons why people buy products. Unless you understand these, your sales pitches and your ads may fail miserably.

He points out that everyone loves a winning product. Therefore, it is vital to give your product the appearance of gaining momentum. Don't crank out a mountain of product and hope it will sell -- get a mountain of orders and work around the clock to fill the orders.

Don't assume a big blast of advertising is the answer. Many of the big advertisers succeed because they have established their brand names by years of advertising. Ads are expensive. Advertise, but analyze your results. He lists eight factors to be considered when analyzing the results of your ads.

While Don feels making your own product is better than the licensing approach, he does list 12 key steps to licensing an idea. Ideas don't sell themselves. Dramatic presentations and your ability to create a sense of urgency are vital when going the licensing route.

He gives an extensive check list for growing a company and for making it a smooth-running operation.

Surprisingly, he does not discuss business plans until later in the book. He feels they are overrated. A budget is vital at the very start, but until you gain some experience from producing and selling your product, a business plan will probably consist of wishful and wild estimates.

In summary, the message to inventors and entrepreneurs is that you can do it -- often at low cost -- but you must be prepared to work hard and, most of all, to work smart.