SalesForce is out with its second annual state of sales survey. In this report, readers can learn what top sales organizations are focused on this year. Can you guess which topic is the top key performance indicator and how it will impact your sales?

SalesForce analysts say it’s all about the customer experience these days. In the B2B world, it’s more important than ever for sales reps to serve as trusted advisors. Your prospects and clients don’t want you pushing your latest product at them. They want you to listen, understand their problems and then explain how what you’re offering will help them out of the difficult situation they’re in.

Another key sales trend, which will carry into next year, is cross-​department collaboration. This trend makes perfect sense. Our digital world means customized solutions are more readily available than they ever have been. You want to offer your clients the best and latest features, but it’s hard to stay up-​to-​date with what the technical staffers have been doing to your product, isn’t it? To better serve your clients, you may end up bringing a colleague from the technical side of the house on a sales call. At least 60% of surveyed sales reps agree that collaborative selling is the way to increase productivity, and ultimately, customer loyalty.

The end of the year is also a good time to ask yourself if you’re making the most efficient use of your time. Only 36% of work time is spent selling, according to SalesForce data.  Similarly, the results of the Voice of the Sales Rep survey from SalesFuel found that only 16 hours of the work week are devoted to selling to new or existing accounts. If you feel you’re in the same situation, do what other reps are doing. Use the automated tools available to you. Access the knowledgebase to get the answers your clients need, tap into the report using your phone or tablet and promise yourself that you’ll finally learn how to use your company’s CRM system to stay organized.

Reviewing and improving your work means you’ll shift gears from a good sales rep to a high-​performing professional.