This. When I was at Bell Labs, during one of the periods of disruption between divestitures, we went to a vendor meeting. They had a better org char for us than any of us had seen.
Of course it depends on the deal. Buying something is one thing, I suspect a merger sets off all sorts of complicated SEC rules, so the lawyers get involved.
I wish we had a “like”/+1 button sometimes. C’mon, SDMB, get with the times :).
I work for customer service for a medium-sized company. Large companies call to do business with us all the time–call the main number and press “1” for customer service. Simple as that. Sometimes these people are buyers, and sometimes they are engineers who are interested in using our stuff for prototypes, etc.
If there is large account potential there, they will be put in touch with an account manager. Sometimes, they have an assigned account manager/CSR and don’t know it (someone else at the company, for example, who hasn’t personally worked with us before). In that case, once I look up their account, I transfer it to the person who usually deals with that company, and I can give them that phone number so that they can skip the call queue.
Yeah.
If it’s sales - “we want to buy a thousand copies of MS Office 2015” - any decent sized US corporation already has a sales rep to look after that account (or, depending on the size, a team.) If the negotiations and volume get too large, say “we’re buying half a million, we want a bigger discount” then the respective departments kick it upstairs for the higher-ups to discuss. The Microsoft guys have no problem sharing the VP of Marketing direct office number with BoA if necessary. Of course, like in the movies, unless the guys are drinking buddies (by the 4th month of negotiations) either the assistants set up the calls, or more likely, they email meeting requests back and forth to have a conference call where the entire team for both sides will sit around the phone. (Using the MS Outlook “Schedule a Meeting” feature, of course.)
If it’s mergers or other high level talks, the same process applies - the assistant of A will call/email whatever contact they have in B and ask to be bumped up the totem pole. Beyond a certain level, the big shots are a matter of public record. There’s always some way to connect… Common supplier, your law firm knows theirs, etc. Never underestimate cold-calling. At a certain point, it’s hard to fake a legitimate call - you can’t hijack corporate email that easily, even the mid-level people are Google-worthy, since many large corporations like to advertise notices in the business pages “John K Smith has been promoted to Mid-West Sales Manager for Acme Inc.” (with picture). For hundred-million dollar deals, tasks forces from each side will no doubt visit the other’s HQ and hold meetings.
It’s pretty hard to fake this level of interaction with phone calls, gmail and phony letterhead.
(I recall a review of “9 To 5” when the movie came out. The reviewer said that obviously whoever wrote the script knew nothing about business. Even a lower level boss spends most of his time with his boss, in meetings, and on conference calls, planning projects and performance/budget analysis. One could not simply disappear for a month and be replaced by a bunch of memos and fake signatures.)
Or they can walk to each other’s board rooms via their vast network of underground tunnels. That’s why most of them have Manhattan offices.