Even if you have the greatest product in the world, you will never sell anything if you don't capture the attention of the right people and present them with a sufficiently compelling reason to buy from you.

Without conversion initiatives there will be no prospects, and without prospects there will be no sales. It sounds like common sense, but it's also a common blunder. Sales lead generation is as important in e-business as it is everywhere else.

You only have to do two things to be successful in e-business, and you only need to do one of them on a regular basis. If your online endeavours are not as successful as you'd like them to be, do yourself a big favour and return to the basics.

First of all, you need to develop a profitable e-business model. Until it has been proven that you have a viable product or service which can be sold across the web, and an alluring method of packaging and selling it that turns a profit, anything else is premature and every pound spent on attracting visitors is another pound down the drain.

Once you have determined that your e-business model is sound and web-friendly, concentrate on promoting it. Use pay per click campaigns, and search engine optimisation to drive as many people to your website as possible. If you make £10 per sale, you simply need to find 100,000 customers to make a million pounds. Basic stuff, but a stark reminder that effective internet marketing is the key to generating sales leads.

A successful online business isn't built overnight, it is the result of many late nights. If anyone says that they can teach you to make a substantial amount of money without hard work, take it with a large pinch of salt.

The internet is a communications tool. It was created for this purpose, and you'll get the most out of it if you use it as such. There has never been an easier or more cost-effective way for a business to reach its target audience.

Acquisition, conversion, retention. If you focus on one without the others, you will fail to harness the power of the internet to reach millions of customers all over the world – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - and then use it to provide them with the sort of customer service that used to be impossible.

Don't forget that business is about people, and that the internet is nothing more than a great way to interact with them. So start interacting – get your site into conversion mode and turn your traffic into sales leads that can make money for your business.

For an analysis of your website, or to find out more about how we can help you build a successful e-business website, call us on 01423 529300 or email info@webeventseurope.com.