There are two possibilities for this kind of issue:
1. Hardware connection. Please confirm all connections are correct to the ISP header. The connecting should be pin to pin. eg. MOSI pin to MOSI pin. All GND pins on the ISP header should be connected to the GND of your target chip. The ISP header pinout please see: h**p://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=343 Also, the target chip need to be powered externally. The ISP programmer does not power the target chip.
2. Target configuration. Please confirm the chip fuse bit are set to the correct setting for the ISP feature. ....a. The ISP bit must be enabled so that to accept the ISP programming mode request. If this bit is disabled, then there are no way to program the ISP via ISP mode and only can enable this bit by parallel programming. ....b. The clock divider bit must not be set. The CKSEL fuse bit is another one need to care. ....c. All the default fuse value should work for the ISP programming. So, try with a brand new chip to eliminate the fuse setting factor.