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•Nine Greatest Selling Innovations 9

The invention factory was a very profitable arrangement as the bulk of the prof-
its came from the licensing of patents to companies. This meant that every patented
idea that was turned into a product contributed to the profits of the invention fac-
tory in direct proportion to the sales of the products. During the six years that Edison
was with the factory there were 400 patents produced. In the whole lifetime of the
factory the number exceeded 1000.

The selling of the idea rather than the product has been reflected in later years,
recently in the USA by Jay Walker the Chief Executive behind Priceline Idea 73.

Ask yourself

• Are you involved in the most profitable part of the business you are in?
• Is there some way that others could be found to take over some of the risk in

bringing your product or your skills to market?

Idea 5 – Check your mortgage at 3.00 am? Certainly, sir
(First Direct)

Customer service and banking are two concepts that do not always go together. The
retail banking business has been under constant pressure for some years, as compe-
tition erodes lending margins and technology continuously reduces the need for
face-to-face transactions. This is an industry more known historically for its conser-
vatism and resistance to change than for welcoming new ideas.

A lecturer in marketing and selling, who was speaking to a group of retail bank
managers at Manchester Business School in the early 1980s, found himself fielding
statements from the delegates such as ‘I would like to make it clear that I did not join
the bank to be a salesman’, and ‘What is all this about stealing customers from the
other high-street banks? I know the other managers well, they are first class people
and there is plenty of business for everyone.’ Well, up to a point, Mr Mainwaring.