Sales managers have three frequent and recurrent complaints about sales training in the UK. They are fed up with hearing that the latest "fad" was the answer to all their sales problems. They are just as fed up with training that quickly "wore off" ­ most sales staff soon went back to their old habits, so the training was largely a waste of time, effort and money. They no longer have time for sales systems and training that might work in theory for the XYZ Widget Company, but did not apply to their business, their staff, their customers or their prospects. These home truths were among the key findings of research we carried out among scores of readers of The Grocer. They had sent for, and acted upon, our free report, The 10 Critical Mistakes Most Companies Make That Kill Sales Growth. Sales managers said they needed a new approach to sales training that gave a deeper understanding of how to cater for today's more demanding and discerning customers and prospects. The most frequent story to emerge from our research among readers of The Grocer is that many businesses are turning their backs on the usual how to sell' courses. They are demanding a bespoke, best practice approach that builds genuine competencies among the sales staff and so equips them to grow sales, profits and customer loyalty in a way that is deliberate, predictable and long lasting. Increasingly, sales managers are looking for sales training that puts equal emphasis on developing positive attitudes among the sales team towards customers and their needs, as it does on techniques like how to close a sale and how to overcome objections. By basing recruitment practices on common misconceptions of what makes a perfect sales person, UK businesses may in fact be spending millions of pounds a year between them on costly recruitment drives and recruitment agencies looking for the wrong people. In addition, these businesses are spending huge sums on training, trying to turn people into sales superstars who are just not cut out for it. Meanwhile, individuals who do have the qualities of genuine potential sales superstars are not being hired or are being overlooked for advancement because they do not fit the skewed perceptions of the perfect person for the role. {{TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT }}