Livemercial’s own Jennifer Crawford sat down to give us her recap of the first day of Pitch It to the Pros at the 2009 ERA D2C Convention. Jennifer has been instrumental in organizing and running the Pitch to the Pros events, and her perspective from behind the scenes gives a unique look at what makes these sessions so special.

According to Jennifer, the turnout for day one exceeded expectations. Inventors traveled from all over the country to pitch their products, and the panel of industry professionals brought years of combined experience in direct response television, online marketing, and retail distribution. The feedback was direct, constructive, and in many cases, exactly what the inventors needed to hear to take their product to the next level.

Jennifer noted that several of the products pitched today showed real potential for the direct-to-consumer market. Without giving away too much, she hinted that a few of the pitches caught the attention of panel members who expressed interest in follow-up conversations. That’s the magic of Pitch to the Pros — it’s where real deals start.

For those who couldn’t be there in person, Jennifer reminded everyone that the Livemercial social media team was broadcasting live on UStream and posting updates on Twitter throughout the day. The team captured video of the pitches that will be edited and posted to YouTube in the coming weeks. Stay connected and you won’t miss a thing.