Frame your solution as an essential, simple add-on to a larger purchase your channel partners already make. Sensei packaged its adoption platform as the necessary 'fries' for MSPs selling Microsoft Copilot 'burgers,' making the value proposition instantly clear and easy to sell.

The most effective partner marketing strategy isn't about getting partners to resell your product. Zendesk's Amy Avalos argues it's about enabling them to sell their own unique value, with your technology as the engine. This positions them as trusted advisors and strengthens their brand.

Instead of broad partner presentations, ISVs should bring a concrete opportunity to Microsoft sellers. Winning that first deal together creates a lasting impression and makes future co-selling more likely because the solution becomes memorable and trusted.

When creating partner marketing assets, avoid bespoke one-offs. Instead, build foundational tools that the partner with the fewest resources can use 'out of the box.' This ensures scalability, as more advanced partners can still adapt and customize the core components for their own needs.

When co-selling, ISVs should understand that Microsoft's primary goal is platform adoption. For Microsoft's sales reps, the key is ensuring the solution runs on Azure, making it a platform win, even if Microsoft has a competing first-party product. This mindset is crucial for navigating competitive overlap.

To balance platform and partner needs, think of your product as a mall. The mall provides a managed, curated discovery experience. But once a customer enters a specific "store" (a merchant's page), the merchant controls the environment completely, preventing cross-promotion of competitors.

Satya Nadella states that Microsoft's core philosophy for platforms like Azure and GitHub is that they are only successful if the ecosystem partners building on top of them capture more economic value than Microsoft does. This partner-first approach is central to their strategy.

Many organizations mistakenly view partner marketing as a series of disconnected activities like webinars. True partner marketing is a comprehensive go-to-market strategy that defines the end-to-end plan for launching joint solutions and messages.

Smartsheet's Scott Strubel argues that vendors who truly succeed in marketplaces like AWS are those who approach it with proactive enthusiasm. A reluctant, obligatory presence is insufficient. This mindset shift drives deeper integration, better sales alignment, and ultimately, accelerated revenue.