AI-powered growth platform Proton.ai and recently launched inside sales consulting firm Revenue Optics have partnered on a shared mission to solve what the companies say is the distribution industry’s outdated inside sales model.

The partnership leverages the combination of Proton’s AI technology that analyzes customer and transaction data to identify account opportunities and Revenue Optics’ outbound playbook that gives inside sales teams structure and coaching to be proactive and productive. 

The firms say the partnership delivers a “modern inside sales engine” that helps sales reps move faster and capture more revenue from existing customers.

“Most distributors have millions of dollars sitting in under-covered accounts,” said Ali Hasham, Founder and CEO of Revenue Optics and a 25-year distribution industry veteran. “This partnership helps unlock that value by giving sales teams the focus, process and follow-through to close more deals,” Revenue Optics’ Founder and CEO Ali Hasham said in a Nov. 13 news release.

Before launching Revenue Optics this past July, Hasham spent the previous five years at MRO and automation products distribution Motion, most recently as its North American Vice President of Sales. Prior to that, he held sales leadership roles at TruckPro (2014-2020) and Wesco International (2000-2014), where he built and expanded inside sales teams, supported field locations and national accounts and contributed to company-wide growth initiatives.

Hasham has since added fellow ex-Motion executive Pamela Sims as Strategic Marketing Advisor; former Envoy Solutions CFO Matt Zimmerman as finance and operations advisor; former McKinsey analyst Akanksha Nehra to manage delivery and data analytics; and customer-facing AI expert Akansha Jaiswal to lead growth and AI enablement.

Meanwhile, Proton has been providing distributors with AI-powered CRM since 2018 under the direction of Founder and CEO Benj Cohen. In the past six months, Proton has launched two major AI innovations: Pronto, an AI feature that connects to ERP, CRM and product data to answer reps’ questions in real time, and Proton PIM, a standalone product that uses AI agents to enrich and organize incomplete product data. The company has also added 37 new team members to accelerate development and deliver new tools to distributors faster.

“Reps do their best work when they know exactly which customers to focus on,” Cohen said. “Our AI gives them that clarity by surfacing opportunities buried in their data, and Revenue Optics provides a clear playbook along with high-caliber sales talent to turn those insights into better follow-up, better conversations and better performance.”