The Most Valuable Channel Most ISVs Leave Dormant

Co-selling with cloud providers — the structured motion where your sales team and the cloud provider's field organization engage jointly on deals — is consistently the highest-ROI activity available to ISVs with marketplace listings. Deals influenced by co-sell have higher win rates, larger average contract values, and shorter sales cycles than any other channel.

And most ISVs never activate it.

What Co-Sell Actually Means

Co-sell is not a vague concept. It is a structured engagement model where your sales team registers opportunities with the cloud provider's partner program, the provider's field sales team evaluates whether to engage, and when they do, they bring their customer relationship and influence to bear on the deal.

Each cloud has a specific co-sell system:

• AWS: ACE (APN Customer Engagements) portal, managed through ISV Accelerate
• Azure: Partner Center co-sell referrals, managed through IP Co-Sell program
• GCP: ISV Solution Connect, managed through Partner Advantage program

Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1–4)

Before you can co-sell, you need operational readiness:

1. Ensure your marketplace listing is transactable (not just a free trial)
2. Qualify for the co-sell program (ISV Accelerate, IP Co-Sell, or ISV Solution Connect)
3. Build your partner relationship — know your PDM by name
4. Create a joint solution brief the cloud sales team can use

Phase 2: First Pipeline (Months 2–3)

Start with your existing pipeline. For every active opportunity where the buyer is on AWS, Azure, or GCP:

• Register it in the appropriate co-sell system (ACE, Partner Center)
• Include enough context for the cloud seller to evaluate: company name, deal size, use case, timeline
• Request specific help: introduction to the account team, committed spend intelligence, procurement navigation

Phase 3: Scaling the Motion (Months 4–6)

Operationalize co-sell across your entire sales organization:

• Make co-sell registration part of your standard deal qualification process
• Track co-sell influenced pipeline as a distinct metric
• Run monthly pipeline reviews with your PDM
• Measure win rates for co-sell influenced vs. non-influenced deals

The Math That Makes Co-Sell Worth It

ISVs who activate co-sell consistently report: 60% higher win rates on co-sell influenced deals, 2x faster time-to-close, and 40% higher average selling prices. The cloud seller's involvement pre-qualifies the account, provides committed spend intelligence, and creates urgency through the provider relationship.

Common Mistakes

• Spamming the co-sell system with low-quality opportunities
• Not following up when the cloud seller engages
• Treating co-sell as a one-time event rather than a continuous motion
• Not training your full sales team on the mechanics

Automatum's platform integrates with ACE and Partner Center to streamline co-sell workflows. Visit automatum.io to activate your co-sell channel.