Most ISVs list on AWS Marketplace and wait for revenue to appear. It does not. The listing itself is not the growth engine. Co-sell is.

Co-selling with AWS means your sales team works alongside AWS account managers to jointly pursue enterprise deals. When it works, it transforms your pipeline. AWS sellers bring warm introductions to accounts you could never reach alone, buyers get the validation of an AWS-endorsed solution, and deals close faster because procurement runs through a channel buyers already trust.

But activating co-sell is not automatic. It requires specific qualifications, pipeline discipline, and a deliberate alignment between your sales motion and AWS programs.

This guide covers everything: what co-sell actually is, how to qualify, how to set up your pipeline, and how to scale once the deals start flowing.

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TL;DR

• Co-sell connects your sales team with AWS field sellers to jointly close enterprise deals
• The primary co-sell program for ISVs is AWS ISV Accelerate
• Qualification requires a live marketplace listing, at least 5 launched and 15 qualified opportunities in ACE
• The SaaS Co-Sell Benefit gives AWS sellers quota retirement credit on your deals, incentivizing them to actively promote your product
• Co-sell is not a feature you turn on. It is a sales motion you build.

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What Co-Sell Actually Means on AWS Marketplace

Co-selling on AWS is not a vague partnership concept. It is a structured commercial relationship managed through two systems:

APN Customer Engagements (ACE) is the pipeline management platform inside AWS Partner Central. This is where you share opportunities with AWS, receive AWS-originated leads, and track deal progress. In 2026, ACE activity is mandatory for maintaining AWS Specializations.

ISV Accelerate is the co-sell program itself. Once enrolled, AWS field sellers receive quota retirement credit when they help close your marketplace deals. This is the single most powerful incentive in the AWS partner ecosystem: it makes AWS sellers financially motivated to recommend your product.

The combination of ACE (pipeline mechanics) and ISV Accelerate (seller incentives) is what makes AWS co-sell work at scale.

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How to Qualify for ISV Accelerate

ISV Accelerate is not open to every listed ISV. You need to demonstrate traction and commitment. Here are the requirements as of 2026:

• Software Path status: Validated or Differentiated on the AWS Software Path
• Marketplace listing: At least one GA (Generally Available) product listed on AWS Marketplace
• ACE pipeline activity: Minimum 5 launched opportunities and 15 qualified opportunities submitted within the past 12 months
• Co-sell training: At least one person on your team must complete the Co-Selling with AWS learning course
• Foundational Technical Review (FTR): Your product must pass the FTR for the listing to be eligible

These requirements are not arbitrary. They exist to ensure that when AWS sellers start working your deals, your team can actually close them. An ISV that cannot manage a basic ACE pipeline will waste an AWS seller's time, and AWS protects its sellers from that.

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Setting Up Your ACE Pipeline

ACE is the backbone of co-sell. Every deal that touches AWS runs through this system. Here is how to set it up properly:

1. Connect your CRM. AWS now offers Partner Central APIs that sync directly with Salesforce and HubSpot. This replaces the old, slow S3 file-based transfers. With the API integration, opportunities flow bidirectionally between your CRM and ACE in real time.

2. Submit opportunities consistently. Every qualified deal where the buyer uses AWS should be submitted to ACE. Even if you do not need AWS seller support on that specific deal, the submission builds your pipeline history, which directly impacts your ISV Accelerate standing.

3. Update opportunity status. AWS tracks whether your opportunities move from submitted to launched to won. Stale or abandoned opportunities hurt your co-sell score. Keep your pipeline clean.

4. Accept AWS referrals. AWS sellers will send you opportunities through ACE. Respond quickly. A slow response signals low commitment, and AWS sellers will stop sending leads.

Apify reduced their deal registration to a single page using Awssome's platform, with co-sell selected by default on every submission. This removed friction from the process and ensured every deal automatically entered the co-sell pipeline.

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The SaaS Co-Sell Benefit: Why AWS Sellers Care

The SaaS Co-Sell Benefit (formerly SaaS Revenue Recognition) is the mechanism that makes AWS sellers financially motivated to promote your product.

Here is how it works: when an AWS account manager co-sells your SaaS product through a marketplace private offer, they receive quota retirement credit for that transaction. In simple terms, your deal counts toward their sales target. This is the same incentive structure that drives AWS sellers to push AWS's own services.

As of re:Invent 2024, this benefit was expanded from invite-only large partners to all ISV Accelerate partners, including startups. This is a game-changer for smaller ISVs who previously could not get AWS seller attention.

According to a 2024 Canalys study, frequent co-selling partners experienced 51% higher average revenue growth, 65% of partners reported higher close rates, and 54% saw larger deals as a result of co-sell motions.

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Scaling Co-Sell: From First Deal to Revenue Engine

Getting your first co-sell deal is a milestone. Scaling to ten, fifty, or a hundred requires operational maturity.

Enable your full sales team. Co-sell cannot be the job of one partnership manager. Every rep needs to understand how to submit opportunities, position marketplace procurement to buyers, and follow up on AWS referrals. Apify achieved this by extending Awssome's platform access across their entire sales and growth team.

Ensure compensation neutrality. If your reps earn less commission on marketplace deals than direct deals, they will avoid the marketplace. Compensation neutrality means a deal is a deal, regardless of how it closes.

Build relationships with AWS account teams. Co-sell is a human motion. The AWS sellers who cover your target accounts need to know who you are, what your product does, and why their customers should care. Regular check-ins, joint planning sessions, and shared customer success stories build these relationships over time.

Track the right metrics. Win rates on co-sell deals versus direct deals. Average deal size through marketplace versus direct. Time to close. These numbers tell you whether your co-sell motion is actually working or just generating activity.

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Common Co-Sell Mistakes ISVs Make

Waiting too long to start. Many ISVs treat co-sell as a "Phase 2" project, something to think about after listing. This is backwards. Co-sell readiness should be planned during listing, not after. Most ISVs who never make a sale failed because they did not activate co-sell early enough.

Submitting low-quality opportunities. Flooding ACE with unqualified leads does not impress AWS. It damages your credibility. Only submit opportunities where you have a real buyer with a real timeline.

Ignoring AWS referrals. When an AWS seller sends you a lead, they are putting their reputation on the line. Slow follow-up or poor execution on a referral will shut down future referrals fast.

Not passing FTR. The Foundational Technical Review is a prerequisite for ISV Accelerate. ISVs that skip or delay FTR cannot access co-sell benefits. MontyCloud partnered with Awssome specifically to automate and accelerate the FTR process for ISVs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get into ISV Accelerate?

It depends on your starting point. If you already have a live listing and active ACE pipeline, enrollment can happen within weeks. If you are starting from scratch, plan for 2-3 months to build the required pipeline activity.

Can I co-sell without ISV Accelerate?

Technically, yes. You can submit opportunities to ACE and engage with AWS sellers. But without ISV Accelerate, AWS sellers do not receive quota retirement credit on your deals, which significantly reduces their incentive to actively co-sell with you.

Does co-sell work for early-stage startups?

Yes, especially after the 2024 expansion of the SaaS Co-Sell Benefit to all ISV Accelerate partners. Startups with strong products and clean pipeline activity can now access the same co-sell incentives as large enterprise ISVs.

What is the ACE pipeline requirement?

You need at least 5 launched opportunities and 15 qualified opportunities submitted within the past 12 months. These must be real, progressing deals with identified buyers.

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Keep Reading

• How to List on AWS Marketplace: The Complete Guide - Start here if you have not listed yet.
• Top 6 AWS Marketplace Revenue Growth Strategies - Broader revenue tactics beyond co-sell.
• How to Use Case Studies in Marketplace Marketing - Proof stories that make co-sell conversations easier.

Real ISV Results

• Apify: $175K+ in 4 Months - Full co-sell activation across the entire sales team.
• MontyCloud Partnership - Accelerating FTR and co-sell readiness for ISVs.

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Ready to activate co-sell on AWS Marketplace? Talk to the Awssome team. We help ISVs go from listed to co-selling in weeks, not months.