AWS partners who co-sell grow 51% faster, close 65% more deals, and land 54% larger contracts (Canalys 2024). That’s the power of aligning with Amazon Web Services’ vast salesforce and global reach.
But unlocking those opportunities isn’t automatic. It requires strategy, alignment, and the right tools. In this guide, we’ll break down what co-selling with AWS really means, how to maximize its benefits, and how Labra’s SCAP platform makes the entire process faster and frictionless.
What Is Co-Selling With AWS?
Co-selling with AWS is the process where AWS and its partners jointly pursue sales opportunities. Instead of working in isolation, AWS partners — ISVs, consulting partners, and service providers — use AWS’s sales channels and relationships to identify, nurture, and close deals together.
Through programs like the AWS Partner Network (APN) and tools like the AWS Partner Central portal, companies can:
- register opportunities,
- gain AWS seller support, and
- access valuable customer introductions.
In simple terms, co-selling is about combining the partner’s solution expertise with AWS’s brand strength and customer access to drive mutual wins.
What Are The Benefits?
Why co-sell with AWS? Because the numbers and the outcomes are too big to ignore.
- Increased Visibility: Gain exposure within AWS’s global ecosystem and be recommended directly to customers by AWS sellers.
- Enhanced Credibility: Association with AWS builds trust among customers, especially enterprise buyers.
- Accelerated Sales Cycles: Customers are more likely to move forward when solutions are co-endorsed by AWS.
- Access to New Opportunities: AWS sellers often introduce partners to prospects that may not have been reachable otherwise.
- Funding and Incentives: AWS provides programs such as Market Development Funds (MDF) and Proof of Concept (POC) credits to support joint opportunities.
How To Co-Sell With AWS?
Creating a co-selling motion with AWS requires a structured approach.
Step 1: Join the AWS Partner Network
Joining the AWS Partner Network (APN) is free, but it is necessary to start co-selling with AWS, as you will be able to enroll in their Partner Programs.
Although there are many to choose from, most ISVs opt for the following three programs as they offer the most co-sell benefits:
- ISV Accelerate: exclusive co-sell program for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) with solutions running on or integrated with AWS.
- APN Customer Engagements (ACE): a program for collaboration with AWS sales teams to align sales efforts.
- Global Startup: an invite-only initiative designed for venture-backed startups that have achieved product-market fit and are looking to scale rapidly with AWS support.
We’ve broken down each of these programs in our guide to AWS Partner Programs.
Step 2: List Your Solution On AWS Marketplace
Although it’s not mandatory to list your product on the Marketplace to start co-selling, it’s often recommended for its many benefits:
- Your solution is easily discoverable, enabling customers to deploy your software.
- Standardized licensing cuts down legal and compliance timelines.
- Private Offers allow you to tailor your pricing, licensing, and terms to meet your customers’ specific needs.
A recent commissioned Forrester study found that transacting on AWS Marketplace yields an aggregate of 377% ROI with payback within 6 months.
Step 3: Build AWS-aligned Go-to-Market Plans
Next, ISVs must clearly show AWS teams how their solution is different from and/or better than the competition.
The best way to do this is through a strong “better together” story that highlights the unique value the solution delivers to AWS customers.
That story should then be used to create an AWS Field Readiness Kit (FRK) — an internal enablement tool that helps AWS teams and customers quickly understand your solution and drives co-selling success.
Just as you equip your own sales team to sell effectively, you need to ensure AWS field sellers are confident in your product, positioning, and target personas.
Step 4: Invest in Enablement
This is not a one-and-done process. You need to equip your sales and partnerships teams actively with enablement material to keep them on top of the game.
These include:
- One-pagers for all your offerings
- A document detailing how you work with AWS
- Process to keep all deals updated at any given time
AWS has also developed a 6-step framework to be co-sell ready. Read all about it here: Characteristics of Successful Sellers (COSS) Framework.
Teams Involved in Co-Selling with AWS
Successful co-selling requires collaboration across several groups:
- AWS Partner Development Managers (PDMs) – Help partners navigate AWS programs and create go-to-market strategies.
- AWS Sellers (Account Managers, Solution Architects, Specialists) – Directly engage customers and co-sell alongside partner teams.
- Partner’s Sales Team – Owns the customer relationship and opportunity execution.
- Partner’s Marketing Team – Aligns campaigns with AWS to generate joint leads.
- Partner’s Technical Team – Ensures the solution is well-architected on AWS and customer-ready.
Tips to Ensure Success
- Invest in Relationships: Build strong connections with AWS sellers and PDMs—they are your advocates.
- Be Customer-Centric: Highlight how your solution drives business outcomes, not just features.
- Stay Aligned with AWS Priorities: Map your solution to AWS’s strategic industries and service focus areas.
- Register Early and Often: Always log opportunities in the ACE portal to involve AWS sellers as soon as possible.
- Showcase Customer Wins: Share success stories with AWS to build credibility and increase referrals.
Labra’s SCAP – Simplifying Co-Sell Automation
While co-selling brings immense value, the process can often be complex, manual, and time-consuming – from registering opportunities in ACE to keeping stakeholders updated.
That’s why we built Labra SCAP (Sales Co-Sell Acceleration Platform), to take the pain out of AWS co-sell motions.
With SCAP, you:
- Eliminate Manual Work: CRM-to-ACE automation means no more late or missed registrations.
- Get Real-Time Visibility: See your co-sell pipeline alongside your own deals, no more blind spots.
- Reduce Errors, Close Faster: Automated workflows keep AWS sellers in the loop without your team chasing updates.
- Scale Co-Sell Motions: Free up sales to focus on what matters, closing business, not managing spreadsheets.
Labra SCAP turns co-selling from a manual grind into a growth engine.
Ready to scale faster on AWS? Book a demo with Labra!
