First, let me go on the record with this: I love the Wall Street Journal. I’ve been a subscriber for years to both the print and online versions, and when I don’t get to them daily I stack them up and do a marathon reading session when I have time. It’s the best paper being published, not only for business news, but lifestyle, entertainment, and their sports are great.

OK, enough of a lovefest. They aren’t perfect. Case in point is this article: "How to Get Face Time With Sales Prospects."

The article is by Mike Michalowicz, author of "The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur," and also as I found out, has a very informative and entertaining small business blog,

But, he’s out of his league on this one. The gist of his advice on how to get time with a sales prospect is, ask for their advice. That’s right, don’t come across as sounding like a salesperson (which of course is correct), and just tell them you’re looking to improve your product and/or service and would like 15 minutes of their time and buy them a coffee.

Huh? Oh yeah, busy decision makers who don’t have time for all of their own work that is piling up by the second will be happy to travel to a coffee shop and dispense free advice. 

He’s right in the beginning of his article, in that decision makers don’t like cold calls. And that if you can get a referral, do so. But, the best way to get a decision maker to agree to even spend time with you beyond the first 10 seconds, if they did not contact you and don’t know you, is through a Smart Call.

I do applaud Mr. Michalowicz though… he was able to get an article in the Wall Street Journal, and get other people talking about it. That’s probably in his section on PR and Marketing.

Your thoughts on this article and technique? Please comment below.