The Distribution Blog

Ali Hasham has spent more than two decades in distribution building inside sales teams that actually work. From his early days making outbound calls to leading a 90-person sales organization, he’s learned what it takes to turn inside sales into a reliable growth driver.

In this episode of In the Mind of a Distributor, Benj Cohen sat down with Ali to talk about how to build, scale, and lead an inside sales motion that are order takers, not just order makers. Here are Ali’s five tips for getting it right.

1. Hire for mindset, not just industry experience

Ali’s first rule: hire for grit and curiosity.

“You’re not looking for people with ten years of experience,” he said. “You’re looking for people who have desire, hustle, grit, curiosity, and the willingness to be coached.”

He looks for people who want to learn, take feedback well, and are driven to grow. Because product knowledge can be taught. The right attitude cannot.

Pro Tip: When it comes to interviewing candidates, screen for drive, not lengthy industry experience. A curious, coachable person with energy will outperform a “tenured” rep who’s just going through the motions.

2. Shorten ramp time with a focused onboarding plan

Many distributors assume it takes 1-2 years for new reps to fullyramp up. Ali has seen sellers find success within their first two weeks.

“If you’ve got a solid five- or six-day onboarding program, there’s no reason a seller can’t have success by day seven or eight,” he said.

Here’s Ali’s onboarding approach: During week one, new hires learn the basics of the business. They focus on understanding which products to lead with, how those products fit into a facility, and what questions uncover customer needs. Once they start making calls, confidence builds quickly.

Pro Tip: Keep your onboarding simple. Focus on the top products, core talking points and questions to ask, and common objections. Your goal is momentum, not mastery.

3. Use technology to guide every call

Inside sales teams are most productive when reps spend their time selling, not researching.

Ali sees AI as the key to efficiency and scale.

“If you’re not using AI in your inside sales motion today, you’re donating EBITDA to your competitor.”

AI-powered tools like Proton's CRM helps reps focus on the right accounts, spot cross-sell opportunities, and get alerts when customers stop buying a key product. These insights turn raw data into actionable steps that drive more revenue.

“Every transaction is a breadcrumb,” Ali said. “The winners are the ones who follow the trail.”

Pro Tip: Use your CRM to do the thinking for your team. When reps start their day already knowing who to call and what to pitch, activity turns into progress.

4. Keep inside and field teams aligned

Inside sales succeeds when everyone is on the same page. Ali often sees teams stall when field reps see inside sellers as competition instead of partners.

He encourages distributors to reward both sides when an account grows. For example, when an inside rep develops an account that later transitions to the outside sales team, that inside sales rep continues to earn a portion of the commission for a set period.

He also recommends organizing inside sales territories by geography. This helps reps build strong relationships with local branch teams and stay in sync on customer needs. Collaboration creates consistency, which ultimately leads to growth.

Pro Tip: Treat inside and outside sales as one team with shared wins. If success feels fair to both sides, collaboration becomes natural.

5. Build the playbook by doing the work

When Ali built his last inside sales organization, he started alone. He made the calls himself before hiring a single rep.

“You can’t lead a team to success in a job you’ve never done,” he said. “I spent two months making outbound calls before hiring a single rep.”

That experience gave him firsthand insight into what worked and what didn’t. It also helped him separate real challenges from excuses once the team started to grow.

Leaders who take time to understand the daily work build stronger teams. When leaders are involved, teams feel supported and know their efforts matter.

Pro Tip: Before you roll out a new playbook, test it yourself. The best leaders build trust by proving they understand what the job takes.

Enjoy these tips? Check out the full podcast episode to hear more of Ali's hard-earned advice on building a high-performing inside sales team, drawn from 25 years in the field.