If no one has heard of what you are offering, you have absolutely nothing. Marketing encompasses all the things you do to promote your business and your products or services. Without a proper marketing effort, you will never stand out from the crowd. These are the principles you must keep in mind to achieve an effective and measurable marketing effort in sales.

1. Identify your target group. Focus your marketing campaign on a specific category. Effectively selling a product to teenagers requires a completely different pitch than selling it to people in their 40s. Instead of spreading your message to the whole world, target only a certain segment of the market and you will have a better chance of success.

2. Know your customers. After selecting your target group and before sending your marketing message, understand the needs and wants of your potential customers. You need to see what their reasons are for buying your product and then sell to those particular concerns. Learn to speak their language.

3. Be enthusiastic about your company and product. If you present a genuine passion for your business to those around you, soon everyone will be interested in your product. Nothing beats natural ease and enthusiasm when it comes to presentations and sales.

4. Learn to deal with negatives. When you’re trying out various methods to increase your sales, some will work, some won’t. Don’t be afraid of people saying “no”. If you want to see which marketing approaches really work, you need to try them out first.

5. Be different. If you want to set your business apart from everyone else in the industry, make sure your actions are not similar to those of your competitors. Free advertising is always a good way to go. Try to draw attention to your business whenever you can.

6. Don’t give up. Failure is part of success. Don’t give up on believing in yourself and your business if you run into tough times. Instead, learn from your mistakes and from others.

7. Always keep “dirty” in the back of your mind. This means that all your actions have to be aimed at increasing your sales. Write your marketing copy with this in mind, make the presentation with sales in mind.

Don’t waste precious time and put all these principles to work. And when you do, your marketing efforts will soon result in the true measure of marketing: increased sales!