Co-Selling: The Complete Guide to Partner Co-Selling (2026)

Co-selling works in any industry where two companies serve the same buyer with complementary offerings: a manufacturer and its distributor, a bank and a fintech, a software vendor and a systems integrator, an agency and a platform.

For software companies, the most important co-selling partners are now the cloud providers: AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud. Their field sellers already own relationships with the enterprise buyers software vendors want to reach, and those buyers already have committed cloud budget that a marketplace purchase can draw down.

This guide covers what co-selling is, how it differs from reselling and referrals, how a co-sell motion works end to end, and how to co-sell with each hyperscaler.

It also covers how to build and measure a co-sell program, and what changed in 2026. It's written for ISV founders, partner and alliance leaders, and RevOps teams building partner-led revenue.

Co-selling is a collaborative sales approach in which partner companies jointly pursue and close deals with a shared customer, each contributing its own relationships, expertise, and sales resources to the same opportunity.

The defining feature is that both parties actively work the deal. That's what separates co-selling from a referral, where one side hands over a lead and steps back, or from reselling, where one side buys and resells the other's product.

Co-selling usually happens between companies whose products complement each other. A security vendor co-sells with a cloud provider like AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. A data platform co-sells with a systems integrator that implements it. A CRM add-on co-sells with the CRM vendor such as Salesforce or HubSpot.

In each case, the customer gets a more complete solution, and each partner gets access to accounts and trust it didn't have on its own.

Co-selling isn't limited to software. Any two companies that serve the same buyer with complementary offerings can co-sell.

1. Software and cloud: an ISV co-sells with AWS, Microsoft, or Google Cloud and closes through the cloud marketplace. Two SaaS vendors with an integration co-sell to shared accounts.

2. Platform ecosystems: apps co-sell with Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, HubSpot, Snowflake, or Databricks account teams and list on their marketplaces.

3. IT services and MSPs: a managed service provider co-sells with a hardware OEM or security vendor to deliver a bundled, managed solution.

4. Consulting and systems integrators: a consultancy brings strategy and implementation; the product vendor brings the platform.

5. Manufacturing and distribution: a manufacturer's sales team and a distributor's reps jointly work a large account or tender.

6. Financial services: a bank co-sells a fintech's payments, lending, or treasury product to its business clients.

7. Healthcare and life sciences: a medical device maker co-sells with a health-IT or services partner into hospital systems.

8. Telecom: a carrier co-sells connectivity with a device or IoT vendor to enterprise customers.

9. Agencies and martech: an agency co-sells a platform license alongside its services.
   

What stays the same in every industry: shared target accounts, a clear owner on each side, agreed rules of engagement, and both teams getting credit for the win. What's different in cloud co-selling is the marketplace: it gives the cloud provider's sellers quota credit and lets customers spend committed budget.

For an independent software vendor, co-selling most often means selling alongside a hyperscaler's field team.

The ISV registers a sales opportunity in the cloud provider's partner portal. The cloud provider's account team helps validate, advance, and close it. The deal then transacts through that provider's cloud marketplace.

That last step is what makes cloud co-selling different from traditional partner selling. The marketplace transaction lets the customer apply committed cloud spend to the purchase, and it gives the cloud provider's sellers credit toward their own targets.

So both sides of the partnership have a direct financial reason to close the deal.

Co-selling differs from reselling, referral partnerships, and co-marketing in how involved each partner is in the deal and who owns the customer relationship.

These aren't mutually exclusive. A mature partnership often runs all four: co-marketing builds demand, referrals and co-selling turn it into pipeline, and reselling covers accounts where a partner already holds the paper.

Co-selling matters now because enterprise software buying has moved toward cloud marketplaces, and partners sit in the middle of those transactions.

Omdia forecasts that hyperscaler cloud marketplace sales will grow from $30 billion in 2024 to $163 billion by 2030. It expects partners to facilitate nearly 60% of those transactions.

The money funding those purchases is already committed. Omdia puts total committed spend across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud at roughly $470 billion.

For ISVs, that means a growing share of the enterprise budget is reached through a cloud provider's account team and marketplace, not around it.

Access to accounts you can't reach cold

A hyperscaler account manager already has a relationship with the buyers you're trying to reach, often at the executive level.

Their introduction gets you a meeting that months of outbound might not. AWS also shares AWS-originated opportunities in ACE, so co-selling can bring you pipeline you never had to source yourself.

Credibility with buyers

A recommendation from the customer's own cloud provider carries weight that a vendor's pitch doesn't.

It shortens the trust-building part of the cycle, especially for a smaller ISV selling into an enterprise that has never heard of it.

Shorter sales cycles

AWS reports that 65% of its partners close deals faster by co-selling with AWS.

Much of that speed comes from procurement. When a co-sell deal closes through the marketplace, vendor onboarding, billing setup, and standard contract terms are already in place, so legal and security review take weeks less. Google reports that ISV partners close deals two to four weeks faster through its marketplace.

Larger deals

Co-sell deals tend to be bigger because the partner helps position your product as part of a wider solution, and because committed cloud spend gives the buyer room to buy more.

Google reports that its Marketplace vendors close deals 112% larger. Multi-year private offers add to that: terms can run up to seven years on Google Cloud and up to 10 years on Microsoft Marketplace.

Budget that's already approved

Deals that transact through a marketplace can draw down the customer's cloud commitment. That's an EDP or private pricing agreement on AWS, a MACC on Microsoft, or a Google Cloud commitment. So the buyer isn't asking for new money. They're spending budget already set aside for the cloud provider, and that pool of committed spend runs to roughly $470 billion across the three hyperscalers.

Higher revenue growth

AWS reports that 51% of partners see higher average revenue growth from co-sell motions.

That growth comes from the combination above: more pipeline, higher win rates, and bigger deals, all from the same sales team.

Partner incentives and funding

Co-selling gives the partner's own sellers a reason to push your deal. AWS account managers earn an incentive for co-selling ISV Accelerate partners' products through Marketplace private offers. On Microsoft, Azure IP co-sell eligible offers count toward the customer's MACC and the Microsoft seller's quota. Google Cloud's Marketplace Customer Credit Program gives customers up to 3% back in Google Cloud credits on their first purchase of an eligible ISV solution.

Stronger standing in partner programs

Co-sell results are what move you up each hyperscaler's partner tiers. AWS ISV Accelerate requires a minimum number of launched and qualified ACE opportunities. The Google Cloud Partner Network now counts your contributions to closed-won deals toward your tier automatically. Higher tiers bring more field-seller attention, funding, and visibility, which makes the next co-sell deal easier.

Better retention and expansion

Co-sold customers are anchored to both you and their cloud provider, which makes them harder to displace. Google reports a 14% improvement in customer retention among its Marketplace vendors. Renewals and expansions can also run through the same partner relationship and marketplace, with lower fees on renewals on all three clouds.

A co-sell motion works as a repeatable sequence: pick the right partner, find overlapping accounts, register the opportunity, sell jointly, close through the marketplace, then expand together.

Choose partners with real account overlap

Co-selling only works where your target accounts and your partner's customers overlap.

For most ISVs, that means starting with the one hyperscaler where your product runs and where your ICP already has committed spend.

Three to five focused partnerships consistently outperform a long list of logo-only alliances.

Map accounts and align on targets

Account mapping compares your pipeline and target list against your partner's accounts to find where you both have a reason to show up.

Share the short list with your partner contacts, agree on which accounts to pursue first, and name an owner on each side.

Register the opportunity

With cloud providers, co-selling starts with registering a qualified opportunity in the partner portal: AWS Partner Central, Microsoft Partner Center, or Google Cloud's partner portal.

Registration makes the deal visible to the right field sellers and protects your claim. A complete, accurate registration gets reviewed and accepted faster.

Sell jointly

Once a registration is accepted, both teams work the deal. Your team leads on product, demo, and technical fit.

The partner's team adds account context, executive access, and help moving the deal through the customer's procurement.

Close through the marketplace

Most hyperscaler co-sell deals close as a marketplace private offer, with pricing and terms negotiated for that one customer.

Transacting through the marketplace is what lets the customer draw down committed spend. It's also what credits the cloud provider's sellers for the deal.

Expand and renew together

Co-selling doesn't end at signature. Renewals and expansions can run through the same partner relationship and the same marketplace.

Each closed deal also builds your standing in the partner's program, which unlocks deeper co-sell support over time.

Co-selling takes several forms, depending on who the partners are and who leads the deal.

Multi-party co-selling is growing quickly because the marketplaces now support it directly; Omdia expects partners to facilitate nearly 60% of hyperscaler marketplace transactions by 2030.

Each hyperscaler runs co-selling through its own partner portal, program tiers, and marketplace, but the underlying motion is the same: register the deal, earn field-seller engagement, and transact through the marketplace.

Co-selling with AWS runs through ACE (APN Customer Engagements), the opportunity-sharing system inside AWS Partner Central.

Opportunities flow both ways. You submit Partner Originated opportunities from your own pipeline, and AWS shares AWS Originated opportunities where its sellers see a fit for your product.

Deeper co-sell support comes from ISV Accelerate. It gives AWS account managers an incentive to co-sell your product through AWS Marketplace private offers.

To qualify for ISV Accelerate, AWS requires:

• At least one product generally available on AWS Marketplace

• Validated or Differentiated status in AWS Partner Central

• An Amazon Payee Central account

• At least 5 launched opportunities (via ACE or AWS Marketplace private offers) and 15 qualified ACE opportunities in the past 12 months

• At least one person who has completed the "Co-Selling with AWS" learning module

• At least $2,000 in recognized AWS Account revenue at enrollment & ACE program eligibility

For a deeper walkthrough, see SaaSify's guides to the AWS ACE program and the fastest path to AWS co-sell readiness. The complete guide to selling on AWS covers the Marketplace side.

Co-selling with Microsoft runs through Partner Center, where you share opportunities with Microsoft sales teams and other Microsoft partners.

Microsoft recognizes four types of co-sell engagement: co-selling with Microsoft sales teams, partner-to-partner selling, private deals shared for reporting, and Solution Assessments.

For Azure, your offer progresses through In-market, Co-sell ready, and Azure IP co-sell eligible statuses. Co-sell ready exposes your solution to Microsoft sellers.

Azure IP co-sell eligible is the status that matters most. It lets your offer count toward the customer's Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC), and it earns the Microsoft preferred solutions badge.

As of fiscal year 2027, which began July 1, 2026, Microsoft is making Marketplace the primary path for Azure IP co-sell. Co-sell credit is now recognized through Marketplace Billed Sales. The older Partner Reported Azure Consumed Revenue (PRACR) model no longer operates as a broad co-sell mechanism.

SaaSify's 2026 guide to co-selling on Microsoft Azure Marketplace breaks down each status and threshold. For how Microsoft's own sales process shapes co-sell timing, see co-selling with Microsoft MCEM. The complete guide to selling on Azure covers the Marketplace side.

Co-selling with Google Cloud means working deals with Google's account teams and Customer Engineers, with Google Cloud Marketplace as the transaction layer.

Your standing in the Google Cloud Partner Network shapes how much support you get. Its three tiers, Select, Premier, and Diamond, are based on validated customer outcomes, including your contributions to closed-won deals.

Since the network rolled out in Q1 2026, Google automatically applies each successful customer engagement toward your tier and competency progress. So every co-sell win also builds your program standing.

In practice, ISVs that co-sell well with Google flag Marketplace-eligible deals early, share the projected Google Cloud consumption impact with their Google counterparts, and keep opportunity records current.

Building a co-sell program means turning one-off partner deals into a repeatable motion, with clear ownership, shared targets, and systems that keep partner portals and your CRM in step.

1. Get executive sponsorship and a named owner

Co-selling touches sales, partnerships, marketing, and finance. Without an executive sponsor and a single accountable owner, it stalls at the first internal conflict.

Name the owner, give them a revenue target, and make co-sell pipeline part of regular sales reviews.

2. Become co-sell ready with your priority hyperscaler

Before field sellers will engage, you need the basics in place: a transactable marketplace listing, a complete partner profile, and co-sell collateral. That collateral usually means a one-page solution brief, a pitch deck, and at least one customer reference.

3. Align sales compensation

If your reps lose commission or credit on partner-involved deals, they'll avoid registering them. Make sure marketplace and co-sell deals count fully toward quota, and consider a small spiff for registered co-sell opportunities in the first year.

4. Enable your partner's sellers

Hyperscaler reps cover hundreds of products. They'll bring yours into an account only if they can explain in two sentences who it's for and why the customer should buy it through Marketplace. Give them short, specific positioning, proof points, and a clear contact on your team.

5. Connect your CRM to partner portals

Co-sell data lives in two places: your CRM and each cloud provider's portal. Keeping them in sync by hand is where most co-sell programs lose time and accuracy. Integrate your CRM with ACE, Partner Center, and Google's portal so opportunities, statuses, and seller contacts flow both ways automatically.

6. Measure, review, and expand

Review co-sell pipeline, win rates, and cycle times monthly with your partner contacts.

Once one hyperscaler motion is working, extend the same playbook to the next.

Co-selling success is measured by how much pipeline partners create or influence, how often those deals close, and how much faster and larger they are than direct deals.

Compare every co-sell metric against the same metric for direct deals. The gap between the two is what justifies further investment in the program.

1. AWS Partner Central agents qualify every co-sell opportunity

AWS made Partner Central agents generally available on March 16, 2026, and expanded them on June 16, 2026.

The agents now qualify every co-sell opportunity in real time. They assign an Opportunity Quality Score that updates as the opportunity improves, and they recommend next steps.

Each opportunity is routed to one of three engagement motions: AWS field-engaged, agent-engaged, or partner-led. The agents are also available to third-party CRMs through an MCP server, so partner teams can work co-sell data outside the AWS console.

2. Microsoft moves Azure IP co-sell to a marketplace-first model

On July 10, 2026, Microsoft announced that co-sell is shifting to a Marketplace-first approach in fiscal year 2027. PRACR no longer operates as a broad co-sell mechanism. Partner impact is recognized through Marketplace Billed Sales instead.

If your Microsoft co-sell motion still relies on self-reported consumption, move it onto a transactable Marketplace offer now.

3. Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace consolidates Microsoft's ISV programs

Announced July 29, 2026, and launched in September 2026, Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace combines ISV Success, Marketplace Rewards, Azure IP co-sell, and certified software designations into one pathway.

4. Existing partners transition automatically at renewal.

Customers can request private offers directly on Microsoft Marketplace xince July 20, 2026, Microsoft Marketplace listings include a "Request private offer" option. Requests flow into your existing referral and lead management systems.

That turns your listing into an inbound source of co-sell-ready opportunities, not just a catalog entry.

Partnering with too many companies at once

A long list of partners spreads your team thin, and no single partner gets enough attention to produce results.

How to fix: start with the one or two partners where account overlap and committed spend are highest, and add more only once those are producing pipeline.

Registering low-quality opportunities

Vague or incomplete registrations get rejected or ignored, and repeated low-quality submissions erode trust with the partner's sellers.

How to fix: register only qualified opportunities, with complete customer details, a clear use case, and a realistic close date.

Leaving your own sales team out of the motion

If reps see partners as a threat to their commission, they won't register deals or loop in partner sellers.

How to fix: make co-sell deals count fully toward quota and train reps on when and how to bring in a partner.

Treating the marketplace listing as optional

Hyperscaler co-sell incentives increasingly depend on marketplace transactions. Microsoft now recognizes co-sell impact through Marketplace-billed sales, and AWS ISV Accelerate incentives are tied to private offers.

How to fix: get a transactable listing live before investing heavily in co-sell outreach.

Managing co-sell data by hand

Copying opportunity data between your CRM and three partner portals is slow and error-prone, and it gets worse as volume grows.

How to fix: connect your CRM to each partner portal so registrations and status updates sync automatically.

Measuring activity instead of outcomes

Counting registrations and partner meetings says little about whether co-selling is generating revenue.

How to fix: track co-sell win rate, cycle time, and deal size against direct deals, and report on those.

SaaSify is an agentic cloud GTM platform that automates co-selling across AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud from inside the CRM your sales team already uses.

Reps can create, view, and manage co-sell opportunities for all three clouds without leaving Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Zoho, or Pipedrive. Opportunities sync both ways between the CRM and each partner portal.

Co-sells can be created automatically when a deal reaches a defined stage. AI enrichment fills in missing account details, and live co-sell status, partner seller contacts, and next steps appear directly on the opportunity.

SaaSify also covers the rest of the marketplace motion: listings, private offers, cloud funding, and revenue reconciliation. More than 500 ISVs use SaaSify, across 1,000-plus live listings and more than $5 billion in marketplace revenue managed. Customers report more than 900 hours saved by automating their co-sell motion.

Talk to SaaSify experts about automating your co-sell motion.

1. What is co-selling?

Co-selling is a partnership sales strategy where two or more companies jointly work a deal with a shared customer, each contributing relationships, expertise, and sales effort.

For software companies, it most often means selling alongside a cloud provider's field team, such as AWS, Microsoft, or Google Cloud, and closing the deal through that provider's marketplace.

2. What is the difference between co-selling and reselling?

In co-selling, both partners actively work the deal and share the customer relationship. In reselling, the partner buys your product and resells it, and it owns the customer relationship and billing. Co-selling means selling together; reselling means selling through a partner.

3. What is the difference between co-selling and co-marketing?

Co-marketing creates demand before a specific deal exists, through joint campaigns, events, or content. Co-selling starts once there's a named opportunity, with both partners working to close it. Many partnerships use co-marketing to generate the pipeline they later co-sell.

4. What does it mean to co-sell with AWS?

Co-selling with AWS means registering sales opportunities in AWS Partner Central through ACE so AWS account teams can help validate, advance, and close them. Deals typically close as AWS Marketplace private offers.

ISVs that qualify for ISV Accelerate get deeper support because AWS account managers are incentivized to co-sell their products.

5. How do you co-sell with Microsoft?

You share opportunities with Microsoft sales teams through Partner Center and progress your offer to Co-sell Ready and then Azure IP Co-sell Eligible status. As of fiscal year 2027, Microsoft recognizes co-sell impact through Marketplace Billed Sales, so a transactable Microsoft Marketplace offer is now central to the motion.

6. How do you co-sell with Google Cloud?

You work deals with Google Cloud account teams and Customer Engineers, register opportunities through Google's partner portal, and transact through Google Cloud Marketplace. Co-sell wins count toward your tier in the Google Cloud Partner Network, which Google now tracks automatically.

7. What are the benefits of co-selling?

Co-selling gives ISVs access to accounts they can't easily reach alone, faster sales cycles, larger deals, and the budget the customer has already committed. AWS reports that 65% of its partners close deals faster by co-selling and that 51% partners see higher average revenue growth from co-sell motions.

8. How do you measure co-selling success?

Track partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline, co-sell win rate, sales cycle length, and average deal size, and compare each against your direct deals. Registration acceptance rate and marketplace transaction share are useful leading indicators of program health.

9. Do I need a platform to manage co-selling, or can I do it manually?

Manual co-selling works when you're registering a handful of opportunities a month with one hyperscaler. It breaks down once volume grows, multiple teams touch partner deals, or you co-sell with more than one cloud, because keeping each partner portal in sync with your CRM becomes a full-time job.

That's usually when a co-sell automation platform like SaaSify pays for itself.