Microsoft internal sales executives who manage a large number of accounts operate in a challenging environment. They sell a rich suite of products using an assortment of different sales tools and fragmented data. As a result, they spend too much time gathering and verifying customer information, and too little time helping customers realize how they can achieve their business goals through Microsoft technologies. Microsoft is hardly alone in this. Distilling compelling insights from disparate, siloed information systems has historically been a complex and time-consuming task for sales executives in all industries. A holistic view of data and insights at the commercial-account level simply hasn't been available. For sellers, the challenge is that too many tools take too much of their time away from focusing on their customers.

Peter Schlegel's job is to build trust with Microsoft customers, and he's using AI to do it. "Specialists are solution sellers," says Schlegel, a data and AI specialist for Microsoft Digital Sales. "We help customers solve problems with an eye toward helping them move down the path of digital transformation. To do this, we also must develop high-quality relationships with them." Schlegel introduces customers to Microsoft technologies that can help them efficiently address their business needs.