When a company launches a new product into a new market, the temptation is to ramp up sales force capacity immediately to gain customers as quickly as possible. But hiring a full sales force too early just causes the firm to burn through cash and fail to meet revenue expectations

Many companies today are faced with large, complex selling situations--they sell expensive equipment that affects many parts of a customer's company, they work on sales that may take several years to consummate, or they arrange mergers with other organizations

Despite millions of dollars spent on combating the high turnover rate among insurance agents, the rate— approximately 50% within the first year and 80% within the first three years--had remained steady for the more than 35 years preceding the publication of David Mayer and Herbert M. Greenberg's 1964 article