The Advantages of Private Offers and Private Plans
Cloud marketplaces open new sales channels for software sellers, but navigating the mechanics takes some finesse. Each cloud provider has its own quirks, and sales teams often face a learning curve when adapting their go-to-market strategy for marketplace selling.
There’s one type of deal that consistently drives success across the board: Private Offers and Private Plans.
In this blog, we’ll break down:
- The difference between Private Offers and Private Plans
- Why custom marketplace deals are worth the effort
- How each cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP) handles custom offers differently
- How Tackle simplifies private deal management with one unified platform
What’s the difference between a Private Offer and a Private Plan?
At a high level, these are custom deal structures on the cloud marketplace that allow sellers to tailor pricing and terms for individual buyers.
A Private Offer is a custom quote on a public listing. You negotiate with the buyer, then deliver a tailored version of your marketplace product, often with specific terms, pricing, or contract length. AWS Marketplace and GCP Private Offers follow this model.
A Private Plan is Azure’s version of a Private Offer. Sellers can publish a public offer with one or more associated Azure Private Plans that are shown only to specific customers.
In both cases, think of it like this: the public listing is your “off-the-rack” product. A Private Offer or plan is the tailored version, crafted to fit an enterprise’s exact needs.
Two types of deal flows on cloud marketplace
When selling through a cloud marketplace, most transactions fall into two broad categories: organic purchases or custom, negotiated deals like Private Offers and Private Plans. Understanding when to use each structure and how they vary by cloud is key to building a strong Cloud GTM Private Offers strategy.
Organic purchases
An organic purchase is straightforward: a buyer finds your public listing, either through your marketing efforts or by searching the marketplace, and purchases directly. This structure works well for “try-and-buy” or self-service products, especially when buyers can get up and running without much help. There’s a fixed price and terms, and it works well for many customers who don’t need a custom fit.
Custom purchases via Private Offers and Private Plans
Some buyers, especially large enterprises, have specific needs around pricing, contract length, or legal terms. In these cases, sellers create a Private Offer or a Private Plan with terms adapted to enterprise requirements. These are still marketplace deals, but they feel closer to a direct sale while also drawing on the buyer’s existing cloud budget and provider relationship.
Here are some quick distinctions between platforms:
- On AWS Marketplace, Private Offers let sellers customize price, duration, and end-user license agreements.
- On GCP Marketplace, Private Offers have similar flexibility, including usage-based pricing models.
- In Azure Marketplace, sellers create Azure Private Plans for specific customers, often paired with Microsoft’s field teams via Multiparty Private Offers.
Why Private Offers and Private Plans give sellers an edge
We won’t lie—Private Offers and Private Plans do take a bit more effort to manage than standard listings but we’ve seen time and time again that the payoff is worth it. Here’s why we see sellers use custom deals to accelerate their marketplace selling.
1. Tap into committed cloud spend
Many buyers have large, pre-committed budgets with AWS, Azure, or GCP. When buyers purchase through a Private Offer, it draws down their committed cloud spend, which often makes your product easier to champion internally. This approach often leads to larger first-time deals or expansion at renewal.
2. Boost co-sell engagement
Your marketplace reps can offer an abundance of resources and assistance in working with you to find and close deals. However, cloud provider partners don’t get paid when a marketplace buyer makes a public purchase.
So, if you want to create a healthier co-sell collaboration, a Private Offer or Plan is the way to go. On top of the direct benefits to you as a company, it also helps you invest deeper into the important and strategic relationship with your cloud provider. You can learn more about optimizing your listings in our guide to listing your SaaS offer.
3. Build stronger buyer relationships
A public listing rarely tells the full story. Through custom deal discussions, buyers may uncover additional services or higher tiers worth purchasing—things they wouldn’t notice on a marketplace page. The more you learn about your buyers during the Private Offer, the more you can help them down the line. Plus, more one-on-one time gives buyers a greater connection to your company.
How each cloud provider handles custom offers
Let’s break down each type of cloud provider’s Private Offer strategy so you can choose the plan that best suits your needs.
AWS Marketplace Private Offers
Here are some key components of AWS Private Offers:
- Private Offers enable sellers to customize pricing, terms, and legal agreements.
- Offers can be sent directly to customers or via a Cloud Provider co-sell motion.
- Works well for multi-year or high-value enterprise deals.
Azure Private Plans
Key components of Azure Private Plans:
- Azure uses Private Plans that can be created under public offers.
- Often used alongside Microsoft field sellers for joint sales motions.
- Highly effective for sellers in the Cloud GTM Private Offers strategy.
GCP Private Offers
Key components of GCP Private Offers:
- Private Offers are available for GCP and function similarly to AWS.
- Support for usage-based pricing and billing via GCP.
- GCP tends to be less rigid in structure but offers growing support tools.
Tackle Offers: one platform to manage every deal
A Private Offer or Private Plan sounds simple now, right? But as volume grows across multiple marketplaces, managing them becomes more complicated.
At Tackle, we experienced firsthand how overwhelming it can be to send and track many custom deals. That’s why we created Tackle Offers.
From one dashboard, your team can:
- Create and send Private Offers
- Track deal status and buyer activity in real time
- See which accounts need action, and who owns the next step
No more toggling between portals, spreadsheets, and emails. Metadata, offer details, and team comments live in one place, keeping your Cloud GTM Private Offers organized and scalable.
Curious to learn more about how to craft Private Offers and Plans? Schedule a demo to see exactly how it works.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are AWS Private Offers, and how do they function?
AWS Private Offers allow software sellers to create custom versions of their Marketplace listings with tailored pricing, contract terms, and license agreements. Instead of buyers purchasing off-the-shelf, sellers negotiate directly and then send a private offer through the AWS Marketplace portal. The buyer accepts the offer digitally, and the deal flows through AWS billing, helping them burn down committed cloud spend while giving both sides a smoother procurement experience.
How do Private Plans differ from standard AWS Marketplace offerings?
On AWS, sellers create Private Offers, which are customized deals based on public listings. Azure’s equivalent to this structure is called a Private Plan—a hidden SKU only visible to select customers. While both offer similar benefits (custom pricing, legal flexibility, streamlined approval), the terminology and backend setup differ depending on the Cloud Provider.
What are the benefits of using Private Offers for SaaS vendors?
Private offers help SaaS vendors close deals faster and with more flexibility. You can:
- Align pricing and terms to enterprise needs
- Tap into the buyer’s committed cloud budget
- Strengthen co-sell motions with Cloud Provider field teams
- Simplify procurement for buyers by routing deals through their preferred marketplace
