Four things leading partners teach their sellers to turn a Marketplace listing into co-sell growth

About the author: Reis Barrie is not just the Founder and CEO of Carve Partners, a growth advisory firm assisting software companies in developing and scaling their Microsoft partnerships; he’s also an expert in co-selling, Marketplace strategies, and operational efficiency. Reis and his dedicated team support software development firms in both crafting strategic approaches and managing the necessary operational elements. With a client list that includes some of the fastest-growing partners within the Microsoft ecosystem, Reis frequently shares insights within the partner community.

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Software companies face the challenge of reaching more clients, speeding up sales cycles, and boosting recurring revenue streams. The most successful partners tackle this by creating consistent buying experiences that enable customers to easily discover, purchase, and activate solutions via the Microsoft Marketplace.

Becoming transactable is just the first step; the real work lies in seamlessly incorporating Marketplace into the company’s go-to-market strategy. This way, sellers can align customer requirements with a straightforward purchasing path.

The Microsoft Marketplace aids this process by bridging customer interest, commerce, and opportunities for co-selling alongside Microsoft and its partner network. When sellers grasp how to leverage Marketplace, qualify opportunities, and tap into available incentives, their live offerings can serve as a basis for sustainable growth.

In this article, we will discuss:

• Why the effort to create sales momentum goes beyond the mere listing itself

• The four essential actions that leading partners instruct their sellers to undertake

• Key metrics to assess and enhance Marketplace performance throughout your sales pipeline

• What the most successful partners do differently to achieve faster results

By the end of this read, you should have a clearer understanding of your current sales approach and identify areas for improvement.

This guidance is particularly relevant if you’re already transactable and eligible for Azure IP co-sell. If not, focus on achieving that first; nothing mentioned here can replace that foundational step. If you’re nearly there, the quickest way to make your first transaction is often to move an existing customer onto the Marketplace during their next renewal. Once you do, Microsoft sellers can easily recognise you.

After establishing an offer, your aim should be to build sales momentum, enhance forecasting accuracy, and provide customers with a purchasing experience that fits their technology-buying preferences.

Top partners view Marketplace as integral to their go-to-market strategy, rather than merely a publishing milestone. They equip their sellers to naturally weave Marketplace discussions into customer interactions, clarifying how an eligible purchase can contribute to a customer’s Azure commitment.

This fluency aids in efficiently transferring customers from interest to purchase while cultivating opportunities for co-selling and business expansion.

It’s vital to integrate Marketplace discussions into the exploration and qualification stages, refraining from treating it as a separate sales operation.

Consider these two effective conversation starters:

• Discovery: “Does your organisation have a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment?”
• Positioning: “An eligible purchase made via Microsoft Marketplace could apply towards your Azure commitment, allowing you to make the most of your investment.”

Sellers shouldn’t need to oversee every transaction detail. Instead, a clear handoff process should be established where the seller identifies the opportunity, presents customer value, and connects necessary partnerships or teams to support the transaction.

Before releasing specific eligibility or transaction information, ensure it is consistent with updated Microsoft documentation.

It’s crucial to provide sellers with relevant Marketplace and account insights before they engage with customers. Depending on the data and benefits accessible to your team, useful CRM fields might include:

• Marketplace purchasing indicators
• Azure commitment details
• Microsoft account relationships
• Relevant engagement or propensity signals

These indicators should guide prioritisation rather than serve as strict qualification criteria. Factors such as account context, customer needs, purchasing readiness, and active sales opportunities are vital aspects to consider.

Train your sellers to assess whether an opportunity has a clear customer requirement, an active purchasing motion, and a definite purpose for Microsoft engagement.

Key considerations might include:

1. Does the customer have an Azure commitment?
2. Is Microsoft actively engaging with the account?
3. Has the customer purchased through Marketplace before?
4. Does this opportunity align with shared customer and business objectives?

While these indicators can aid in priority setting, they shouldn’t be presented as an infallible co-sell eligibility test.

When communicating with a Microsoft seller, start by presenting customer context, showing demonstrated progress, and making a specific request. Use partner-led visibility if no direct seller engagement is needed, but ask for active involvement when Microsoft’s participation is necessary.

Customer incentives can bolster qualified opportunities when they meet specified deployment, migration, or adoption needs. These should enhance the customer value proposition, not replace it.

Establish a consistent program featuring:

1. An owner: A designated person or team responsible for funding and program guidance
2. Clear criteria: Published information outlining suitable use cases and approval requirements
3. Tracked outcomes: Metrics on which opportunities received support and how it impacted results

Always confirm current availability, eligibility, and terms prior to mentioning specific funding or sponsorship schemes.

Common areas for improvement include:

• Viewing an offer as merely a source of demand without linking it to a wider go-to-market strategy
• Limiting Marketplace knowledge to operations teams only
• Seeking active co-sell engagement without a clear role defined for Microsoft
• Neglecting to integrate available account insights into seller preparation
• Applying incentives without proper opportunity qualification
• Allowing outdated opportunities to linger in the pipeline
• Waiting for inbound interest instead of proactively building momentum through existing customer relationships

Fluency, account insights, qualification, and incentives function best as an interconnected system. When sellers are fluent, they can effectively use account insights. Improved insights lead to better qualification and, in turn, assist teams in applying incentives more effectively.

Leading partners typically:

• Incorporate Marketplace as a core part of the sales process
• Provide sellers with valuable account context prior to customer discussions
• Align co-sell requests with customer and Microsoft priorities
• Manage incentives with clear ownership and guidelines
• Establish early momentum through active customer relationships

At Carve Partners, we support software companies in making these best practices repeatable by enhancing seller readiness, integrating account insights into sales workflows, strengthening qualification processes, and developing practical incentive programmes.

Join our How leading partners drive co-sell success with Marketplace session on September 10th at 8:30 AM PT, where we will delve into real-life examples of these practices in action and share practical tips for enhancing your Marketplace sales strategy.

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