Compare and count 2 columns

I have 2 columns... one which has a status ( eg IP, CO etc) and a date column. I would like to count a particulat status which lies between 2 dates which are present in the second column.

Can anyone please let me know how this is done. I have tried using a COUNTIF function within an IF statement but didnt get the required result.

Thanks

Column A = status
Column B = Date
Column C

=SUMPRODUCT((A5:A12="Status")*(B5:B12>=startdate)*(B5:B12<=enddate))

Where startdate is a cell containing the date you want to count from and enddate is the last date to be included.

Thanks for your reply. However when I give the enddate, I am not getting the result.

This is what I have written
=SUMPRODUCT((A2:A8="IP")*(B2:B8>=4/12/2005)*(B2:B8<=4/16/2005))

Can you please tell me where I am going wrong??