Create Your Business Profile in Partner Center
Templates for Communicating Value Proposition Effectively
Best Practices for Maximum Engagement
Maximizing engagement with Microsoft sellers requires a strategic approach to sharing pipeline, running effective meetings, and maintaining pipeline hygiene. Following these best practices will enhance your co-selling opportunities and build stronger partnerships with Microsoft sellers.
Help Sellers Understand your Active Co-sell Deals
- Select a specific call to action when sharing active Co-sell deals. Depending on the CTA you choose, it will get routed to the appropriate person.
- Include detailed notes for the seller when sharing referrals. Provide context to help the seller determine whether they wish to accept the referral and engage.
- Once the deal is accepted by the seller, reach out to engage right away. Find the seller contact in the deal details section of the referral. Include an overview of your solution, relevant case studies, win wires, a link to the referral ID, and an ask to set up an introductory meeting for you to pitch your solution.
Only Share Qualified Pipeline
- Establish a definition for qualified pipeline within your org. Use this to determine which deals from your CRM to share with Microsoft.
- Co-selling opportunities you share should be real, not aspirational. Do not engage Microsoft sellers if you do not have a real opportunity and a clear ask. Sharing aspirational leads will lead to lower seller engagement.
Run Effective Meetings with Sellers
- Come prepared and own the agenda. Have a solution one-pager and a battlecard ready to present.
- The ideal agenda will cover the following topics:
– 5min: Intro & rapport building
– 10min: Company and solution overview + review current initiatives you have within the account
– 10min: Seller review of other accounts they manage, align on messaging, confirm priorities
–5min: Establish next steps
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Make it easy for Microsoft sellers to help you! Take ownership over the engagement journey and be proactive in your outreach.
Maintain Good Pipeline Hygiene
- Update all referrals with estimated close dates in the past. A pipeline that has a high volume of referrals with a past-due estimated close date indicates to the seller that the Partner is not active in their Co-selling motion.
- Update referral details as they change. This includes deal size, assigned team members, and help needed.
- Close out deals as they are won/lost. Determine the right cadence to reconcile your Partner Center pipeline with your CRM.
- Indicate marketplace intent. Leverage the Marketplace Intent field to signal what deals are likely to transact on Marketplace.
Implementing these best practices ensures that you share only qualified opportunities, run effective meetings, and maintain a clean pipeline. This strategic approach enhances engagement with Microsoft sellers and maximizes your co-selling potential.
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