Doing Business with

Corporate America

Presented by Michael TobolskiNovember 19, 2008

Marriott International

• Marriott is a leading lodging company with

about 3,000 lodging properties in the United

States and 67 other countries and territories

• Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with

approximately 151,000 employees

• Sales in 2007 were $13 billion

• 19 Brands

• Began in 1927 as 9 seat root beer stand in

Washington, D.C.

MBE Certification

Many U.S. corporations including Marriott will not

consider doing business with minority-owned

companies unless they are certified as an MBE.

• Verifies minority ownership status

• Deters minority “front” and „fraud” companies

• Used by buying organizations for reporting

expenditures and vendors utilized for various

governmental, marketing, and social requirements.

• Saves internal corporate resources to do individual

certification

Current State of Corporate America

• Large Companies today are:

– Reducing the overall number of suppliers

• Increases leverage

• Reduces transaction costs

• Reduces labor costs

– Looking for new ideas to reduce costs and increase revenues (Innovation)

– Growing E-Commerce

• Reduces Errors

• Reserves Inventory

• Provides detailed reporting

• E-Payment processing

Tips for doing business with

Corporate America

• Research the company you are targeting and

determine if you are selling what they want to buy

• Seek to understand the company‟s procurement

process

• Understand that large companies are not quick and

agile, but often slow with very rigid processes

• An internal advocate can be a key to success. If you

have a contact, try to involve them in contacting the

correct person and working with you on the proposal

Tips con’t.

• Determine how you can add value

• Be competitive in quality, service and price

• Need to meet insurance requirements

• Follow-up; find a balance between persistence and

annoyance

• Concentrate on building relationships

• Stay positive in all contact with the company

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses and get

help

• Do not be afraid to partner with another firm to

handle a larger contract

Tips con’t.

• Utilize all of the resources available to you, e.g.,

classes, networking and trade organizations

• Ask for company contacts within their industry

• If you are a minority-owned business, become

certified as an MBE

• Marriott.com/corporateinfo/supplier

• mwbe@marriott.com

Contact Information