????Aria Systems, a San Francisco tech company, lost an early deal because its sales team didn't know that three departments of the target firm had to sign off. Founder Edward Sullivan (right) says that once his company created separate marketing materials for each group of "influencers" in prospective firms, it won deals from Disney and Ingersoll-Rand. Sullivan is using this approach at his latest startup, G2Link, which monitors customer creditworthiness.
3. Tap supplier diversity programs
????If you're a minority-owned business, big companies will teach you how to work with them. Says George Gendron, a board member at Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a Boston nonprofit: "They don't just help you find large customers but also help you make sure you have the capacity to deliver to them." A corporation that likes doing business with you may help you expand, offering free consulting services, says ICIC vice president Steven Pedigo.
4. Stand out