The Value of Co-Selling on Cloud Marketplaces and How to Master it
In the world of B2B partnerships, co-selling with partners can be one of the most lucrative revenue channels for ISVs of all shapes and sizes, from smaller startups just getting their foot in the door to major enterprises. As traditional marketing and sales approaches shift and evolve and new markets arise, co-selling will play an even more important role in B2B sales.
Co-selling alongside the cloud marketplace giants like AWS, Azure, Google and Salesforce, with their wide ranging influence across the globe, will become even more instrumental for ISVs looking to outplay, outwit, and outlast the competition.
What is Co-Selling?
Co-selling is the process of leveraging ecosystem partners to sell complementary solutions and drive more value for shared customers.
When it comes to GTM (go-to-market) with cloud providers, co-selling focuses on how cloud sales reps at tech companies such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, HubSpot and Salesforce partner with ISVs to help sell solutions that are listed on their employer’s respective cloud marketplace – AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, Google Cloud Marketplace (GCM), and the Salesforce AppExchange.
Formstack Sees 7x Increase in Salesforce Pipeline Working with Invisory
Invisory’s methodology takes a large and complex ecosystem and shrinks it down to tangible steps, allowing us to strategize how to make the biggest impact with our largest partner... We’re showing a 7x increase in pipeline generated from Salesforce AEs and SEs compared to the first quarter of the year thanks to the program built with Invisory.
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9 Steps to Co-Selling on Cloud Marketplaces
While each cloud marketplace has its own steps for co-selling, in general you will need to follow these steps…
Get buy-in for your partner program
You will need buy-in across your organization, especially from executives and the sales team. Set-up a strategy to incentivize, not penalize, sales reps in order to close marketplace deals.
Show progress
Unless you're a well established brand, you'll likely be required to close your first few deals on your own before getting the attention of inside sales reps or a PAM/PDM.
Streamline co-sell
With built-in co-sell features on Invisory’s Cloud GTM platform, ISVs can better manage their cloud marketplace listings and partner relationships – all in one place.
Identify the right reps
Work with your PAM, PDM, or ISV Specialist to identify where you should start your co-sell journey - target verticals, horizontals, and segments.
Understand what’s in it for your partners
Inside sales reps at AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Salesforce are looking to co-sell marketplace solutions that retire quota, upsell more of their company’s products, burn down committed spend and drive tangible value for shared customers.
Prepare your better together story
Your better together story explains how selling your solution benefits your partner and should be elaborated on in 1-pagers, solution briefs, and first call decks.
Engage with referrals in a timely manner
Whether via phone, email, Slack, or the partner portal, be prepared to act on a referral from a partner as quickly as possible to keep the momentum going.
Measure results of your co-sell motion
Track partner KPIs such as leads, average deal size, average sales cycle length, revenue generator, and partner sourced vs. partner influenced to really understand where to lean in.
Communicate wins
Register successful deals in your Partner Portals and communicate key wins to your partner team, as well build case studies, win tiles, and other social proof to showcase how others can co-sell your solution.
Nintex Sees Co-Sell Success and ROI Working with Invisory
How Invisory helps ISVs reach co-sell success on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Marketplace, and Salesforce AppExchange
Co-selling on cloud marketplaces is a team sport, requiring various players to reach success.
With Invisory, ISVs can achieve co-sell success on cloud marketplaces faster and with fewer hurdles. Our solution includes:
- API integrations to get you listed, transactable, and co-sell ready on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Marketplace in business days, as opposed to months or never
- Co-sell playbooks for each ecosystem, with strategies for navigating cloud partner programs, building a relationship with your partner and sales reps, and more
- GTM asset library for templates such as 1-pagers, solution briefs, first call decks, case studies, and other assets
- Messaging exercises to fine-tune your “better together” story for each ecosystem
- Cloud GTM Platform to help you manage co-sell deals across every ecosystem, as well as metering, private offers, and CRM integrations
- A seasoned CSM who is an expert in helping you build your cloud marketplace journey, including co-selling
- All without charging transaction fees for the deals you successfully co-sell
Listed but not seeing co-sell success? Not listed but interested in getting started? Book a strategy call with one of our experts today.
Ready to unlock success?
- Designed by experts
- Single platform to manage multiple marketplaces
- Take the hassle out of selling & co-selling
FAQ
Who are key players in the co-sell motion?
Key players in co-selling motion can include software partners, system integrations (SIs), cloud service providers, technology partners, and other channel partners. For the sake of this guide, we’re focusing on co-selling on cloud marketplaces.
Who are the best tech companies to co-sell with?
While more tech companies are leaning into the co-sell model, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Salesforce have the longest track record of helping ISVs co-sell.
By leaning into building that co-sell motion with these tech giants, ISVs can gain exposure as well as take advantage of their partner’s customer base, pipeline, marketing, sales team, distribution channels, and expertise. This alignment between ISVs and marketplace partners helps to build trust faster, accelerates deal cycles, and leads to higher ACV, to name just a few benefits.
How do I get started co-selling on AWS Marketplace?
On AWS Marketplace, ISVs will need to close 2 marketplace deals, build a relationship with their PDM, and join ISV Accelerate to start to see true co-sell success. All deals should be recorded in ACE, AWS’s partner portal, so your AWS PDMs and AEs can keep track of your shared deals.
Read more about co-selling with AWS on our blog.
Can you tell me about co-selling on Azure Marketplace?
Unlike AWS and Google Cloud Marketplace, Azure allows ISVs to get listed without being transactable. However, in order to see the real benefits of co-selling with Microsoft, you will want to get to IP co-sell eligible status, which allows ISVs to close deals using MACC, Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitments or money that has already been set aside by Microsoft customers for Azure and third-party marketplace products.
Read more about co-selling with Azure on our blog.
Co-selling with Google Cloud Marketplace: What steps do I need to take to get started?
To get started on Google Cloud Marketplace, you will need to register on Partner Advantage and complete the technical requirements to get listed. Once there, leverage Partner Marketing Studio to begin creating co-sell assets so that you can begin to build a relationship with your ISV Specialist, who will introduce you to Field Service Reps (FSRs) in your target industry, verticals, and segments.
Note, you will need to show success by closing 2 marketplace deals on your own before you can begin to co-sell with FSRs. Watch our on-demand webinar for co-selling with Google Cloud on our resources page.
I heard that co-selling with Salesforce is slightly different from the hyperscalers. Can you tell me more?
Unlike AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Marketplace, the Salesforce AppExchange does not require ISVs to be transactable in order to co-sell with Salesforce reps.
This changes some of the conversation compared to the hyperscalers, since committed spend is not part of the equation. To incentivize Salesforce AEs to sell AppExchange solutions, Salesforce takes 15% of the solution’s price and applies that towards the AE’s quota.
While 15% is higher than the 1-3% on the hyperscaler marketplaces, you save money and time on building API integrations. More importantly, Salesforce AEs can introduce your solution to new customers, which is where the real value in the relationship begins to emerge. By co-selling with Salesforce, you get access to the CRM giant’s robust collection of branded assets, a larger TAM, and more.
Read our eBook on more about co-selling with Salesforce on our blog.
What are the benefits of co-selling?
- Unlock new revenue streams
- Reduce sales cycles
- Build trust faster with new customers – if they trust your partner, they’ll trust you
- Access new industries
- Stickier solutions, so renewals become easier and retention improves
- Improve the customer experience, from procurement to renewal
- Cut down on sales cycles
- Build long-term, revenue generating partnerships
- Enhance business efficiency
What is the difference between co-selling and re-selling?
While in co-selling both partners are offering unique but complementary solutions to the end customer, in reselling a channel partner is simply reselling another company’s offering, not their own. With re-selling, only one partner is involved and sells the product at a higher price.
Sometimes, the reseller will offer additional services. This is called a “value-added reseller.”
Why would a cloud rep at AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or Salesforce co-sell with me?
Reps at AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Salesforce are responsible for selling their CSP’s proprietary products, but can also retire part of their quote by co-selling third-party solutions listed on cloud marketplaces. For ISVs, co-selling with the tech giants can become a force multiplier.
