Just because you're a small business doesn't mean you can't do business with big business. In fact, there are some advantages to having the Fortune 500 as your target prospects. For one thing, you've only got 500 prospects, give or take, not 500,000 or 500 million. For another, while they rarely pay quickly, they also rarely pay slowly, and any entrepreneur who's been in business a while knows what a pain collecting from small businesses or individual consumers can be.

Some buying decisions are made by middle management, but company-wide purchases are usually made at the "C" level -- CEO, CFO, CTO, etc. And C-level executives are notoriously difficult to reach and get their undivided attention.

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies (Compare Prices), has some excellent advice for entrepreneurs on accessing C-level decision-makers:

1. Target 5-10 companies that fit your ideal customer profile.
2. Do your homework on each company.
3. Determine the value proposition your company can bring to the prospect.
4. Prepare a loose script for making an executive-level call.
5. Enlist the executive's assistant's help in setting a meeting.
6. Be prepared to make the right pitch.

For more good ideas on how to reach those executives, check out Geoffrey James' recent blog entry, Four Ways to Sell to a CEO.