How can I find the contact information for procurementand pruchasing
departments for large corporations so I can get on their preferred
providers list?

Dear crazywidom-ga,

Hi! Thank you very much for the question.

You can acquire purchasing or other department contact numbers for
free through the individual company websites.  Most of them have
supplier information posted at their websites. This is more ideal if
you want to be a supplier since some individual company websites also
post supplier requirements and forms which could be very convenient
and helpful to your marketing campaign. Since you have indicated your
preference for large corporations I am sending a list of websites so
that you could get their procurement numbers and also the requirements
for suppliers.

The Fortune 1000 list
http://www.fortune.com/indexw.jhtml?channel=list.jhtml&list_frag=list_3column_fortune500_list.jhtml&list=15&_requestid=181558
  
Don’t forget small businesses too. They may require suppliers like
you. In the Forbes website you can organize the lists of top small
companies into according categories. This is helpful so that you could
zoom in on your target market.

Forbes 200 Best Small Companies
http://www.forbes.com/200best/

Meanwhile there are also a number of companies you could buy databases
for contact numbers. In this area the lists can be more concentrated
and targeted to your requirements. At Greatlist.com for example you
can even purchase the contact numbers for federal government
purchasing departments.  Another great list description I found called
“CAHNERS PUBLISHING INFO TECH MARKETPLACE DECISION MAKER DATABASE” are
phone numbers and mailing addresses for key decision maker executives
in the tech industry. To view the descriptions for the list you must
register for free at their website and see if the lists suits your
needs. To view the lists you must buy them.

GreatLists.com
http://www.greatlists.com/

The Google directory for mailing lists gives a comprehensive lists of
mailing lists providers.
http://directory.google.com/Top/Business/Marketing/Direct_Marketing/Mailing_Lists/

Yahoo also gives some very good coverage of mailing list companies
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Marketing_and_Advertising/Direct_Marketing/Direct_Mail/Mailing_Lists/

The Hoover’s Online directory meanwhile provides a “lead finder”. You
can buy lists according to industry and location. But what I find very
nice though is that it also makes available to you other companies
selling databases on the same page.
http://www.hoovers.com/search/forms/lead/index.html

For tips on your company database campaign you might be interested in
the following web pages from the Mailing List Buying Guide website:

Step By Step Guide
http://www.mailinglistbuyingguide.com/stepbystep.html

Planning your Mail Campaign
http://www.mailinglistbuyingguide.com/planningyourcampaign.html

Key Mailing List Success Tips
http://www.mailinglistbuyingguide.com/keysuccess.html

for more mailing list tips please visit 
http://www.mailinglistbuyingguide.com/

Search terms used:
Best Companies list
supplier target market 

I hope this will be of help to you and your business.  Wish you all
the success and thanks for being a part of Google Answers.

Regards,
Easterangel-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by easterangel-ga on 13 May 2002 19:13 PDT

I am sorry for the error in your name "crazywidsom-ga" I wrote it as
"crazywidom-ga". It was an honest mistake. Again thanks for the
question.

---

Clarification of Answer by easterangel-ga on 13 May 2002 19:15 PDT

This time "crazywisdom-ga". Just excited answering your wuestion. Apologes again.

This is one way: {http://www.target-market.net/corporate_email.html}

Many corporations are also putting up web sites, read:
{http://purchasing.about.com/msub-corp.htm}

Depending on your product or service and especially if it's a service
you may see better results by avoiding procurement and going in the
back door. Find someone within the company with signature authority or
the ability to influence someone who does and sell to them. If they
make the decision to buy, you avoid the head to head competition in
procurement and still end up with the purchase order.

Meanwhile your competitor is waiting for the call from procurement.

Good luck!

Good old Thomas Register is online and offers a free membership.  
       http://www.thomasregister.com

You can search on the type of customer you are trying to target ie:
foam manufacturers which will bring up a list of those companies who
list themselves at Thomas Register.  While we would like to think
there is an easy way to list your product or service with the target
companies in some automated way, this is still a developing field. 
You may wish to call the target companies and ask them how you can get
listed for their general purchasing requests.  Generally the
purchasing manager is listed with Thomas Register but you can also
find that receptionists, administrative assistants and other
administrative personnel can be very helpful as well.

Another service listed at Google is DirectLinkUSA.Net.  I searched at
their website:  http://www.directlinkusa.net

They offer a CD for $199 said to 

"Click on the Links, and up comes the Purchasing Department for that
particular organization- No more searching the internet to find out
how to sell to the big companies and Universities!

Find the buyer for your commodity in a matter of seconds!

Register to do business with all of them, and have them call YOU..

No more wasted time searching or calling, I have done it for you!

Links are checked / updated daily. Click on the Links, and up comes
the Purchasing Department for that particular organization- No more
searching the internet to find out how to sell to the big companies
and Universities!

Find the buyer for your commodity in a matter of seconds!

Register to do business with all of them, and have them call YOU..

No more wasted time searching or calling, I have done it for you!

Links are checked / updated daily."

It may be interesting for a rather small investment.

Good luck..

Dear Crazywisdom-ga,

Having been in the procurement game, I've found that the round-a-bout
is usually frowned upon by the buyers, i.e. those who actually make
the decision to purchase and who from.

Your best bet is to target the industry in your market and make
appointments to see the appropriate buyer.  Buyers are always looking
for sources to provide quality products and services for a better
price and/or lead time.  If you find it difficult to get the
appointment the first time, be persistent...we have a hard time
turning new suppliers down who show a sincere desire to do business.

When you find your target companies, make sure to make friend with the
receptionist.  You can't beat a friendly face when you walk through
that door.

You may wish to list your company and product in the Thomas Register
at www.thomasregister.com, Standard & Poor's at www.standardpoor.com,
or any industrial association that relates to your company or product.
 This will give your company a chance to get noticed by buyers you may
not have thought to contact.

Good luck.  I hope I have helped.