"What am I doing wrong?" That's a question business owners often ask themselves when business is slow. Often, the answer is... "You're not doing anything wrong. You just need to do some things better or more of it. In addition, you need to start doing a few things you've been neglecting."

Here's a small list you can use to evaluate your own sales & marketing efforts. It includes what I've found to be the 7 most important sales & marketing principles contributing to the success of ANY business.

Way 1: Target Specific Niche Markets

Everyone may be a prospect for your product or service. But your marketing efforts will produce the best results for the lowest cost when you target prospects with the greatest need for what you offer. Identify a niche market.

Customize your promotional material to appeal to their greatest need. Then multiply your results by defining several other niche markets and slanting your promotional materials to appeal the biggest need of prospects in each market.

Way 2: Promote Your Own "Unique Selling Proposition".

Your USP is the compelling reason why a prospect will do business with you instead of with your competition. You'll attract the maximum number of customers when you offer a benefit they cannot get from your competitors. If you don't already have a USP, create one by adding something to your business you're not already offering. Convert it into a benefit statement and include that statement in all your advertising.

Way 3: Never Advertise Without An Offer

Always include a powerful offer in your advertising. Offer free information related to your product or service to generate inquiries or Web site traffic. Then make the most compelling discount or bonus offer you can afford -- to convert these inquiring prospects into paying customers. This automatically leads to the next marketing principle...

Way 4: Collect Contact Information and Use It To Follow Up

Most prospects won't buy the first time they hear or see your sales message. You need a system to collect contact information enabling you to reach them again with periodic reminders and offers. Many businesses develop over 50 percent of their sales by following up with prospects who previously requested information but didn't buy -- yet. Advertising is expensive. Maximize your return on it by following up periodically with the prospects it produced to convert more of them into customers.

Way 5: Remove the Obstacle of Risk

Do you know the major reason why people don't buy something they want or need? They don't want to take the chance of getting something different than they expect and maybe even losing money. You can eliminate this risk by guaranteeing satisfaction. If you sell products, offer a liberal money back guarantee. If you provide a service, offer to continue working without additional charge until the promised result is achieved.

Way 6: Diversify

It's easier and less expensive to get more business from satisfied customers than to find new customers. Continually find or develop new products and services related to what you sell -- and offer them to your customers. Affiliate programs offer a quick and low-cost way for Internet based businesses to add new products and services to their inventory.

Way 7: Never Stop Testing

Continually test and evaluate the effectiveness of everything you use or do to promote business. Here's a highly effective 80/20 guideline you can use. Invest 80 percent of your advertising budget and effort in proven promotions and 20 percent in testing new variations. Most businesses using this system continue growing -- even in a highly competitive market.

Take a few minutes to evaluate how well you're implementing each of these seven marketing principles in your business. A small improvement in just one of them will boost your sales immediately. An improvement in several will generate a big increase in your total sales volume.