Quick Snapshot — Your One‑Minute Reality Check

• What's the single biggest outcome you need from partner-sourced deals this quarter? Options: Hit consumption quota, Increase transactable listings, Close competitive losses, Drive partner-sourced pipeline, Improve deal velocity, Other
• Briefly state the concrete target tied to that outcome (eg. $ consumption, % quota gap, number of transactable SKUs).
• How urgent is closing that gap for you personally and for your leadership (pick the best fit)? Options: Immediate (this quarter), Short-term (next quarter), Medium (this year), Longer-term, Unclear
• Which role on your team feels the most pressure to solve this—who will be judged if it fails? Options: Partner Development Manager, ISV Alliance Lead, Marketplace Program Manager, Field Co-sell Coordinator, Sales Leader, Other
• Share a recent small win or success with a partner that gives you confidence this approach can work (what happened and why it mattered).

What If Partners Aren’t the Missing Link — Are We Wrong?

• Why do you believe partners — not internal initiatives — are the best lever to close your current consumption or marketplace gap? Options: Broader reach into accounts, Integrated IP that drives platform usage, Faster ramp to revenue, Existing customer relationships, Cost-effective scaling, Other
• Tell me about a time your assumption that a partner would drive consumption didn’t play out—what was the story and what surprised you?
• How many quarters has this gap persisted, and how has the forecasting changed during that time? Options: This quarter only, 2–3 quarters, 4–6 quarters, More than a year, Not tracked
• What internal initiatives have you tried to close the gap, and why did they fall short compared with a partner approach?
• If we redesigned partner engagement to guarantee measurable consumption uplift, what would need to be different tomorrow?

Where Deals Slip — Real Loss Stories

• Describe a recent deal you lost where the competitor’s ISV ecosystem or marketplace presence was the deciding factor—what specifically tipped the scales?
• Which of these reasons best describes what the competitor offered that you didn’t? Options: Pre-built integration with platform services, Better marketplace transactable offer, Stronger field references, Pricing bundled with platform credits, Faster proof-of-value, Other
• How did the buyer phrase the reason for choosing the competitor—was it technical fit, ease of procurement, perceived support, or something else?
• How frequently do you see that same pattern across accounts that matter to your quota? Options: Almost always, Often, Occasionally, Rarely, This is the first time
• Looking back, what early warning signs did you miss that could have allowed you to influence the opportunity earlier?

Who Actually Controls the Playbook?

• If one person’s buy-in would immediately unlock co-sell adoption across your field, who would that be and why? Options: Regional Sales Director, Field Co-sell Lead, Partner Development Manager, Sales Ops, Marketplace Program Owner, Other
• Map the other stakeholders who must be aligned for a pilot to succeed (select all that apply). Options: Account Executive / Field Sellers, Solutions Engineers, Partner Success / CS, Finance / Procurement, Legal / Compliance, Platform Partner Programs, Marketing
• How do your field sellers currently get credited for partner-sourced activity—and where do disputes typically arise?
• Tell me about a specific moment when seller incentives discouraged partnering—what was said, and what was the outcome?
• Who would you expect to own attribution governance and dispute resolution once the program scales? Options: Partner Dev Manager, Sales Ops, Field Sales Leadership, Marketplace Program Team, Joint Governance Board, Other

Marketplace Listings — Are They Speaking the Customer’s Language?

• When was the last time a marketplace listing led to a meaningful seller or customer conversation? Options: Within 30 days, 30–90 days, 3–6 months, More than 6 months, Never
• What’s the single biggest reason your listings don’t convert into pipeline today? Options: Messaging doesn't match buyer language, Missing certifications/compliance, Non-transactable SKU/pricing, Discoverability/search issues, Field sellers unaware, Other
• Give an example of a listing title, blurb, or feature description you think is failing and how customers reacted when shown it.
• How often are listings reviewed, tested, or refreshed for buyer resonance? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, Never
• Who currently owns marketplace messaging, and who would need to sign off on changes for a pilot? Options: Product Marketing, Partner Marketing, Partner Program Team, ISV Partner, Field Sales Lead, Other

Can Sellers Trust This Won’t Waste Their Time?

• What’s the most common seller pushback when you propose a co-sell engagement with an ISV? Options: It gives away margin, Adds complexity to the deal, Slows negotiation, Unclear if they get credit, Lack of partner trust, Other
• Tell me about a deal where seller objection prevented partner involvement—what did the seller fear, and what were the tangible consequences?
• How do your sellers prefer to be enabled: playbooks, short battlecards, embedded CRM prompts, joint calls, or hands‑on deal support? Options: Playbooks, One-page battlecards, Embedded CRM prompts, Joint discovery calls, On-demand technical enablement, Other
• What single piece of evidence would convince a skeptical seller that co-sell saves them time or helps close faster?
• Would an at-a-glance seller artifact (eg. 1-page win card) change behavior today? Options: Yes — definitely, Maybe — depends on content, Unlikely, No

What Success Actually Looks Like — Beyond Vanity Metrics

• If you could choose one hard business outcome that proves co-sell is working, what would it be? Options: Incremental platform consumption ($), Partner-attributed pipeline ($), Reduction in average sales cycle (days), Increase in win rate (%), Net partner satisfaction score, Other
• What are the current baselines for that metric (numbers, time periods, or examples)?
• Which attribution model feels fairest and most defensible to your stakeholders? Options: First-touch, Last-touch, Weighted multi-touch, Split attribution (pre-agreed), Platform-assigned credit
• How many attribution disputes have you had in the last year and what typically resolves them? Options: None, 1–2, 3–5, More than 5
• What pilot acceptance criteria (quantitative and qualitative) would make you greenlight scaling the program?

Pilot Ready — The Small Test That Proves It

• If we could run a high‑learning, low‑risk pilot in one territory, which partner and account would expose the truth fastest?
• What is the single riskiest assumption we need to test in that pilot (eg. seller adoption, attribution, consumption uplift)? Options: Seller adoption, Marketplace discoverability, Attribution integrity, Partner operational readiness, Customer willingness to buy via marketplace, Other
• Which cadence and milestones would give you confidence to evaluate a 90‑day pilot? Options: Weekly ops + milestone demos, Bi-weekly tactical syncs, Monthly executive reviews, 30/60/90 checkpoints with KPIs
• Who must be named as milestone owners (roles or people) for this pilot to run without blockers? Options: Partner Dev Manager, Field Sales Lead, Solutions Engineer, Sales Ops, Marketplace Program Manager, Partner PM
• What single metric will be the decisive 'go/no-go' at pilot end, and what threshold must it hit?
• What would cause you to stop the pilot early—list the top 2–3 dealbreakers.

What's at Risk If We Do Nothing?

• If you maintain the status quo for 12 months, what negative headline do you fear from your leadership or peers?
• How would that outcome affect your role, incentives, or team structure (pick all that apply)? Options: Miss quota/targets, Reduced bonus, Headcount changes, Reduced investment in partners, Reputational impact, Other
• How are your current partner engagements feeling—energized, neglected, transactional, or promising? Options: Energized, Neglected, Transactional, Promising but unproven, Mixed
• What would feel different in your day-to-day if partner-sourced deals reliably contributed to consumption targets?
• Who else on the leadership team should be part of this discovery conversation next, and why?

• Pilot Context & Current-State Diagnosis
• Pilot Scenario Walkthrough — Proof of Future State
• Field Seller Workflow Simulation & Roleplay
• Data & Metrics Deep Dive — Measurement Plan
• Pilot Governance, Acceptance Criteria & Go/No-Go

• Confirm reporting cadence and escalation rules so decisions can be made quickly during the pilot.
• Assign proof-point owners to instrument monitoring (marketplace analytics, CRM tags, seller activity capture).
• Objective & Success Criteria for the Simulation
• Confirm sellers can execute the workflow and identify precise friction points.
• Obtain seller buy-in on the scripted pitch and registration steps to be used in the pilot.
• Define the minimal enablement materials required for pilot launch.
• Produce a 1-page seller play card capturing pitch, registration steps, and incentive triggers.
• Record roleplay learnings and update rebuttal scripts and training slides.
• Schedule a 30-minute seller enablement session prior to pilot kickoff with confirmed attendees.
• Baseline Metrics Review
• Agree on baseline metrics and the exact calculations used to quantify consumption uplift and pipeline impact.
• Lock the dashboard and instrumentation requirements with named owners for implementation.
• Introductions & Meeting Objectives
• Deliver baseline metric extracts and access to the dashboard owner to begin dashboard build.
• Create a short data dictionary defining each metric and its source system.
• Set up the initial pilot dashboard with at least daily refresh and share with stakeholders.
• Review Accepted Success Criteria & Decision Gate
• Lock the acceptance criteria and the exact Go/No-Go decision rules for the pilot.
• Agree attribution and incentive mechanics so field sellers are clear on benefits and tracking.
• Assign milestone owners and confirm the pilot kickoff date.
• Publish the pilot governance doc (RACI, incentives, attribution rules) and circulate for signatures.
• Resolve any outstanding data or access blockers required for the kickoff and confirm resolution owners.
• Schedule the pilot kickoff meeting and invite all milestone owners and reporting stakeholders.
• Produce and lock the single-sentence current state that the experience will address.
• Surface and quantify the primary consequences of the current state in measurable terms or identify data owners to quantify them.
• Agree a clear, outcome-focused future-state sentence that the pilot must prove.
• Confirm territory, partner, and stakeholder roster for the pilot.
• Create and circulate the one-sentence current state and one-sentence future state as plain text so all parties use identical language.
• Deliver baseline datasets (quota attainment, recent deals lost to competitor, marketplace listing analytics, and seller activity logs) to the pilot data owner.
• Assign an owner to produce a quantified consequence statement (revenue at risk or quota gap dollars) within 3 business days.
• Review Pilot Scope, Success Metrics, and Timeline
• Agree a single pilot scenario that, if observed, will prove the future-state outcome.
• Lock the success metrics, required proof points, and the assumptions behind the consumption uplift model.
• Identify and assign owners for each proof point and risk mitigation action.
• Produce a short pilot runbook outline capturing events to monitor and who validates them.
• Draft the pilot scenario script (customer journey with timestamps and expected events) and circulate for sign-off.
• Build and share the consumption uplift spreadsheet with all assumptions and sensitivity tests.
• Define Leading & Lagging Indicators
• Attribution & Incentive Rules
• One-Sentence Current State
• End-to-End Customer Journey Scenario
• Walkthrough of Seller Workflow (Live or Screen Walk)
• Roles, RACI, and Escalation Path
• Explicit Consequence — Quantify the Cost
• Roleplay — Common Seller Objections & Rebuttals
• Seller Touchpoints & Workflow Mapping
• Dashboard & Instrumentation Requirements
• Consumption Uplift Modeling (Inputs & Assumptions)
• Reporting Cadence & Escalation Triggers
• Pilot Timeline & Milestone Owners
• Stakeholder & Territory Mapping
• Marketplace-to-Field Handoff Check
• Proof Points — What Must Be Observed
• Training & Enablement Gaps
• One-Sentence Future State (Success Statement)
• Validation & Data Quality Checks
• Final Validation & Kickoff Commitment
• Risk Review & Mitigations
• Validation & Pre-work Assignment

• Publish Transactable Marketplace Listing
• Configure Marketplace Metering and Billing
• Create Joint Account Plans for Strategic Accounts
• Deliver Field Seller Co-sell Training
• Implement Deal Registration in CRM
• Build Joint Reference Architecture Documentation
• Activate Co-sell Playbook Templates in SE Portal
• Deploy Partner-Sourced Pipeline Dashboards
• Align Deal Attribution to Field Incentives
• Launch Pilot Co-sell Campaign with Strategic Partner
• Localize Marketplace Listing for Enterprise Buyers
• Submit Cloud Certification and Compliance Evidence
• Integrate SSO and Entitlement for Consumption
• Provide Co-sell Deal Desk Support for Wins

Publish Transactable Marketplace Listing

• Do you currently have an existing listing for this product in any cloud marketplace? Options: Yes, No
• Which marketplaces do you intend to publish to for this phase? Options: AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, Google Cloud Marketplace, Other
• What pricing and commercial model will the listing use? Options: SaaS subscription, Usage-based / metered, Bring-your-own-license (BYOL), Marketplace AMI/VM image, Free/trial, Other
• How many SKUs or distinct offering tiers will the listing include? Options: Single SKU, 2-3 SKUs, 4-10 SKUs, More than 10
• Which listing assets are ready (marketing copy, logos, screenshots, contracts)? List missing items if any.
• What is your target launch timeframe for the transactable listing? Options: < 2 weeks, 2-6 weeks, 6-12 weeks, More than 12 weeks

Configure Marketplace Metering and Billing

• Do you plan to use the marketplace provider's metering APIs or your own billing system for consumption tracking? Options: Marketplace metering APIs, Vendor-managed billing, Hybrid (both), Unsure
• Which metering model will you implement? Options: Per-seat, Per-instance, Consumption (bytes/ops), Tiered usage, Flat fee, Custom
• Are telemetry and usage events already instrumented to feed marketplace metering? Options: Yes, fully instrumented, Partially instrumented, No, not instrumented
• Do you require assistance mapping product events to marketplace meter dimensions? Options: Yes, No
• Which billing/finance integrations must be supported (e.g., ERP, billing platform)? Options: Stripe, Zuora, SAP/ERP, Internal billing, Other
• Are there customer invoicing or taxation requirements that impact marketplace billing? Options: Yes, No

Create Joint Account Plans for Strategic Accounts

• How many strategic accounts will be included in the initial joint account planning phase? Options: 1, 2-5, 6-20, 20+
• What level of account detail do you require in each plan (stakeholders, prioritized opportunities, consumption targets)? Options: High-level (exec + goals), Detailed (contacts, opportunity list, timelines), Custom per-account
• Who will own joint account plans from your side and the partner/platform side? Options: PD Manager, Field Seller, Partner Account Owner, Customer Success, Other
• Do you need a templated account plan artifact we can populate? Options: Yes, No
• Are there existing CRM records or mappings we must import to build the joint plans? Options: Yes, No
• What success metrics should each joint account plan include (e.g., consumption target, pipeline $)? Options: Consumption target, Pipeline value, Number of co-sold deals, Time-to-close, Customer satisfaction, Other

Deliver Field Seller Co-sell Training

• Which seller audiences need training in the pilot (field sellers, SEs, AE leaders)? Options: Account Executives, Sales Engineers, Channel/Partner Reps, Sales Leaders, Customer Success
• What delivery formats do you prefer for training? Options: Live workshop (virtual), On-site workshop, Recorded eLearning, Quick reference guides, Hands-on labs
• What is the desired training duration and cadence for the pilot group? Options: 1 session (1-2 hours), Multi-session (2-4 weeks), Ongoing enablement (weekly)
• Do you need role-specific playbooks (AE playbook, SE battlecards)? Options: Yes, No
• Are there existing internal seller incentives or KPIs we should align training to? Options: Yes, No
• Would you like certification or completion tracking for trained sellers? Options: Yes, No

Implement Deal Registration in CRM

• Which CRM system will host the deal registration workflow? Options: Salesforce, Dynamics 365, HubSpot, Other, Unsure
• Do you have an existing partner deal registration field/process we must extend or a new workflow to create? Options: Extend existing, Create new, Unsure
• What minimum information should be captured at registration (account, contact, TAM, expected consumption)?
• Which users should be able to submit and approve registrations (partner rep, AE, channel manager)? Options: Partner rep, AE, Channel/Partner Manager, Deal Desk, Other
• Do you require automated rules for registration approval, expiration, or conflicts? Options: Yes, No
• Are CRM integrations required to sync registration with marketplace attribution or billing? Options: Yes, No

Build Joint Reference Architecture Documentation

• Do you have an existing reference architecture to adapt or must we create one from scratch? Options: Existing to adapt, Create from scratch
• What audience should the documentation target (SEs, customers, architects)? Options: Sales Engineers, Field Sellers, Customer Architects, Technical Decision Makers, All
• Which components must be included (deployment diagrams, integration patterns, security controls, cost estimates)? Options: Deployment diagrams, Integration patterns, Security and compliance guidance, Operational runbooks, Cost/consumption examples
• Do you require device-level or tenant-level deployment examples for major cloud platforms? Options: AWS examples, Azure examples, Google Cloud examples, Multi-cloud patterns, No preference
• What level of review/approval is required from your engineering or product teams before publishing? Options: Formal engineering sign-off, Product owner review, Informal review, No review required
• Should the reference architecture include tested scripts or IaC templates (Terraform/ARM/CloudFormation)? Options: Yes, No

Activate Co-sell Playbook Templates in SE Portal

• Which SE portal or enablement platform will host playbook templates? Options: Internal SE portal, Partner portal, LMS, Shared drive, Other
• Which playbook templates are priorities to activate (lead qualification, value props, objection handling)? Options: Lead qualification, Value proposition scripts, Objection handling, Demo scenarios, Pricing and packaging guidance, Other
• Do templates require role-based views or access controls for different seller types? Options: Yes, No
• Will templates be integrated with CRM or content management for versioning and analytics? Options: Yes - CRM integration, Yes - CMS integration, No integration required, Unsure
• Do you need tracking on playbook usage (who used, when, and outcome)? Options: Yes, No
• Should playbooks include tailored scripts for marketplace-led conversations? Options: Yes, No

Deploy Partner-Sourced Pipeline Dashboards

• Which dashboard platform will you use (native CRM dashboards, Tableau, Looker, Power BI)? Options: CRM native dashboards, Tableau, Looker, Power BI, Other
• What KPIs must the dashboards surface for the pilot (pipeline value, ARR, consumption, deal velocity)? Options: Pipeline value, ARR/MRR, Consumption uplift, Time-to-close, Partner satisfaction, Other
• Do you need role-specific dashboards (partner ops, PD managers, field leaders)? Options: Yes, No
• How frequently should the dashboards refresh (real-time, daily, weekly)? Options: Real-time, Daily, Weekly, Monthly
• Are there data sources that must be integrated (marketplace telemetry, CRM, billing)? Options: Marketplace telemetry, CRM, Billing system, Partner spreadsheets, Other
• Do you require alerting for threshold breaches (e.g., low partner pipeline, missed consumption targets)? Options: Yes, No

Align Deal Attribution to Field Incentives

• Do you currently have formal attribution rules for partner-sourced deals? Options: Yes - documented, Partially defined, No
• Which attribution outcomes are required (field credit, partner credit, split credit)? Options: Full field credit, Full partner credit, Split credit (%), Other
• Which internal incentive programs must attribution align with (quota, accelerator programs, SPIFFs)? Options: Quota credit, Accelerators, SPIFFs, Comp plan adjustments, Other
• Do you have legal/contractual rules that influence attribution or revenue share? Options: Yes, No
• Would you like a governance cadence to resolve attribution disputes (weekly deal desk, monthly review)? Options: Weekly deal desk, Bi-weekly review, Monthly governance, Ad-hoc
• Do you require attribution automation in CRM to prevent manual errors? Options: Yes, No

Launch Pilot Co-sell Campaign with Strategic Partner

• What is the pilot objective (prove consumption lift, validate playbook, generate pipeline)? Options: Consumption uplift, Pipeline generation, Seller adoption, Marketplace performance, Other
• Which partner(s) will participate in the pilot?
• What is the pilot geography or territory scope? Options: Single territory/account, Regional (multi-account), Global
• What success criteria will determine pilot acceptance (consumption delta, # co-sold deals, NPS)?
• Who are the pilot milestone owners and escalation contacts from each org?
• What is the planned pilot duration and go/no-go decision point? Options: 4-6 weeks, 1 quarter, 2 quarters, Other

• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Deal Registration & Qualification
• Attribution & Field Credit Rules
• Incentive & Compensation Addendum
• Pilot Acceptance Criteria
• Marketplace Listing Agreement
• Joint Account Plan Sign-off
• Data Sharing & Reporting Agreement
• Governance & Escalation Plan
• Service Level & Support Agreement (SLA)
• Pricing, Billing & Payment Terms
• Change Order & Termination Procedures
• Compliance & Data Protection Addendum (DPA)
• Contract Execution Checklist & Sign-off

• Pilot Outcomes Validation
• Pipeline & Deal Velocity Deep Dive
• Partner Satisfaction & Operational Learnings
• Governance & Scale Decision Workshop

• Set recurring governance meetings (monthly KPI review, quarterly executive review) and calendar invites with agendas.
• Confirm whether the pilot met the pre-agreed success criteria and decide go/no-go for scaling.
• Agree a single-sentence future state that the scaled program must achieve and the primary KPI to track.
• Produce an executive one-page pilot report that includes baseline, pilot results, consequence calculation, and recommended next step (scale/iterate/stop).
• Update the shared KPI dashboard with validated pilot metrics and mark fields requiring further data validation.
• If conditional pass, create a 30-day remediation plan with owners and measurable checkpoints.
• Partner Sentiment Summary
• Elicit unfiltered partner feedback and map satisfaction drivers to concrete operational changes.
• Create a prioritized backlog of operational improvements with owners and timelines.
• Establish governance and SLAs for the shared communication channel to ensure timely issue resolution.
• Create the partner improvement backlog in the shared workspace and assign owners and target dates for each item.
• Schedule a monthly partner roundtable and a weekly triage slot in the shared channel for urgent items.
• Produce an enablement 'cheat sheet' addressing the top 3 partner pain points for field sellers and partners.
• Executive Recap of Validated Outcomes
• Obtain executive sign-off to scale (or conditional approval with defined remediation).
• Finalize attribution and incentive rules to ensure field seller alignment and prevent disputes.
• Establish governance, review cadence, and owners for rollout execution and ongoing improvements.
• Publish the signed pilot acceptance checklist and distribute the rollout master plan with owners and dates.
• Update compensation/attribution documentation and notify field leadership of changes to incentives.
• Funnel Baseline vs Pilot Comparison
• Quantify pilot-driven pipeline and velocity changes and identify statistically significant impacts.
• Resolve attribution mismatches affecting seller compensation or crediting.
• Define 1–3 experiments to remove top bottlenecks and accelerate deal velocity.
• Tag and backfill source/attribution fields in CRM for all pilot deals and share updated reports with the field leadership.
• Launch agreed A/B experiment(s) to test reduced handoff times or revised seller enablement scripts, with success criteria and owner.
• Produce a short case study of one fast-moving pilot deal that demonstrates the velocity improvement for field enablement use.
• Welcome & Objectives
• Ensure everyone agrees on the one-sentence current state and the quantified consequence of the problem.
• Representative Deal Walkthroughs
• Scale Recommendation & Risks
• Partner Voice — Open Feedback
• Current State Recap (Baseline)
• Attribution & Credit Review
• Incentives & Attribution Policy
• Root-Cause Workshop
• Pilot Results Snapshot
• Bottlenecks & Hypotheses
• Consequence Analysis
• Governance Model & Review Cadence
• Improvement Backlog & Prioritization
• Decisions: KPI Adjustments & Quick Experiments
• Shared Channel Governance
• Future State Definition
• Pilot Acceptance Checklist & Sign-off
• Rollout Milestones & Owner Assignments
• Validation & Alignment
• Decisions & Next Steps