OK, so I invented the TV Pedaler™ (www.tvpedaler.com), an exercise
device that easily connects to your TV.  You sit in your own
comfortable chair and you have to pedal in order to view the screen. 
Stop pedaling and the screen goes blank.  As a physician I think it's
a great idea for those who need a bit more motivation in order to get
exercising.  According to some statistics I've read that's millions
and millions of Americans and it is leading to a multi-billion dollar
epidemic of premature disease in adults and children in this country.
So why am I having such a hard time marketing it and why can't I get
some one or some company interested in licensing it?  If I have to do
it all myself, how can I get a government grant to help build my small
business?  What ablout a celebrity endorsement?  Why do I constantly
read to stay away from invention marketing firms that ask for up front
money, but can find none that work on a contingency basis?  Would the
government itself be interested in promoting it?  How about McDonald's
or Burger King.  95% of companies I've contacted don't let me get past
the secretary answering the phone?  How should I proceed?

and remember..."Just Say NO, to the COUCH POTATO!"®

That's a lot to answer. I just want to post a comment in relation to
one of my pet peeves - "invention marketing" companies that make their
money not by finding markets for investions, but by charging enormous
fees to investors. (Why don't they work on a contingent fee basis?
Because they rarely find buyers for inventions, and exist primarily to
defraud inventors.)

A few months ago I heard an inventor being interviewed on NPR,
describing his own experiences trying to market inventions. He found
that most companies simply weren't interested in acquiring other
people's inventions, even when they could obviously benefit from doing
so. One of his most lucrative inventions was not producing royalties
after a sale - it was producing royalties after he successfully sued a
compan for infringing his patent. It can be a difficult world for
inventors.

First issue is that no matter how much you hate the reality, and no
matter how great your invention or technology is, the Thomas Edison
quote of "1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" still very much
applies. In the end, nearly all businesses are nearly 99% about sales,
marketing, and operations and NOT about the technology. Second issue
is that, in my opinion, you are selling something that people
fundamentally have no compelling reason to buy. Nearly everyone who
has an interest in bicycle-like home exercise can buy a "real"
exercise bike for around the same price and probably has already done
so. You are basically asking them to not use their existing bike but
instead to set it aside and buy a new one. A suggested approach would
instead provide an attachment to existing home exercise bikes (a MUCH
bigger market!) so that they have a renewed reason to use and justify
their prior purchase. A $19.99 add-on to existing home exercise bikes
would seem infinitely more appealing to the potential buyer and thus
also to potential licensees, investors, etc... Best, Ed

You are probably having trouble because the area is already saturated
with somewhat similar devices. The concept has been around for several
years and nobody has been successful with it.

For example see: U.S. Patent 5,246,411,
and numerous web sites talking about the idea (it has also been
mentioned in the concept of video games several times)

NO Free Ride
http://sincentral.jrn.columbia.edu/sloth/sloth2.html

Article: Exercise bike televisions: a new treatment for childhood
obesity?
Pediatrics
June 2001

Unless your version has very significant advantages over those
previously proposed (cost, features, benefits) there is no reason for
anyone to license it over the exisiting versions or to prevent them
from just creating their own version. A thorough search of the prior
art before filing for your patent could have anticipated this problem.

One solution is to produce it your self. But since none of the prior
art has had great success in the marketplace, it might be a very risky
undertaking.

Digger