What does a well-structured co-selling process look like from your perspective?

A good co-selling process is designed to eliminate ambiguity early and enforce role clarity all the way through close. It starts with deal registration as a quality gate, not a rubber stamp. Partners submit real opportunities with enough context to evaluate intent, and we respond quickly - usually within 48 hours - so expectations are set before the deal goes anywhere. Next comes joint qualification and routing. Within a few days, the partnerships team and the assigned AE decide whether this is a true joint pursuit or a partner-led fulfillment motion. If it’s joint, we assign a single AE owner and a clear partner champion. This step alone eliminates most “phantom pipeline.” The core of the motion is the joint pursuit. Weekly partner–AE syncs, clear ownership of responsibilities, and shared customer-facing artifacts keep deals moving. In practice, partners tend to own procurement and executive relationships, while we own technical validation and solution fit. Deals sourced this way consistently outperform AE-only deals in the same segments. Finally, close and attribution need to be clean. Commercial terms are defined at registration, partner influence is tracked even when they’re not transacting, and CRM hygiene ensures we can actually learn from what happened. The non-negotiables are simple: agreements in place before co-selling, one point of contact on each side, and a cadence that’s frequent enough to matter. Monthly is usually too slow.

For an effective co-selling process, understanding the partner-prospect dynamic during preparation is paramount. Key questions include the partner's prior sales history, their personal relationship with the client or decision-maker, and their desired role in the sales cycle. Identifying these areas early allows the vendor team to strategically "fill gaps," ensuring a robust and structured selling motion. Many sales professionals are adept at selling their own offerings but may be less comfortable integrating external parties and delegating responsibilities. This can be challenging for direct sellers, making it crucial to establish clear roles and responsibilities early in the process to optimize the overall sales motion.