MIKE: The growth of this company has been steady
but slow. One thing we've always tried to do are in-house sales.

We've always tried to do in-house marketing, so we've never had a good firm come in and do these things that would really probably boosted us above that level sooner. And we went on reputation only for a lot of years.

HATTIE: But let's talk about that. You must have wanted it that way.

MIKE: You know, it just never seemed like we had enough money to really go out and find a good marketing firm to do the marketing for us.

HATTIE: (Voiceover) John Wargo suggests that Mike could have grown quicker with a stronger marketing effort. Should we set aside a certain percentage of our gross sales for marketing and sales efforts?

JOHN WARGO: That probably is the most difficult question any business has. And the answer is yes, you should set aside a percentage. And it should be as much as you can afford, not as little as you can get away with. For example, a lot of businesses will put their money into the physical goods of the product, then they'll build the infrastructure and the administration and then try to cut back on the marketing expense. Big mistake, because you bought the goods to be sold. Most small businesses succeed because they sell.

HATTIE: We shouldn't be afraid to say, `For every dollar, I'm going to spend 20 cents on marketing and sales.'

JOHN: Right. I don't believe you should be afraid, and I think you should continue to test and continue to add money to your selling budget to see if you're getting more than $1 back. Just watch it. When you get less than $1 back for $1, then start cutting back. Don't predetermine you're gonna try to get away with just a couple bucks, 'cause your competitor will clean your clock.