The untapped potential of your AWS partnership
Most ISVs treat AWS Partner Sales Managers (PSMs) as a last resort. Meaning, they tend to only reach out when a deal is stuck or needs a marketplace push in the final hour. This reactive approach leaves significant revenue and relationship-building opportunities on the table.
The reality? PSMs can be one of your most valuable assets for scaling co-sell success, but only if you approach the relationship strategically. Here’s how to transform PSM engagement from one-off transactions to a sustainable growth engine for your AWS partnership.
Understanding the PSM role: More than deal rescue
AWS PSMs act as the bridge between ISVs and AWS Account Managers, helping partners cast a wider net for co-sell and marketplace activity. Unlike AWS Account Managers who are deeply embedded in customer accounts, PSMs are specifically goaled on helping AWS Partners reach the right people and drive solutions through the marketplace.
This distinction is crucial. While Account Managers focus on customer relationships, PSMs focus on partner success—making them uniquely positioned to help you scale your AWS go-to-market motion.
The three-tier PSM engagement strategy
Tier 1: One-Off Transactions
A lot of ISVs engage PSMs too late in the cycle, typically when they need a strategic transaction to go through the marketplace. This is obviously not an effective workflow, as it doesn’t drive the kind of co-sell value you’d expect within a single deal.
The key is to approach them strategically, even in reactive scenarios. It’s important to leave these interactions with an understanding of the PSM’s territory (and hopefully account list). This creates opportunities for future collaboration, and these relationships can be incredibly valuable to your overall co-sell success and partnership growth.
Key actions for one-off engagements:
- Understand the PSM’s territory and coverage areas
- Request an account list for future collaboration opportunities
- Leave the door open for ongoing partnership discussions
Tier 2: Repeat Engagement
When you secure account lists from PSMs, you create opportunities for repeat engagement, and this is where the real value starts to compound. There will be certain territories and sales plays that make working with specific PSMs and groups of PSMs consistently worthwhile. Some ISVs leverage their relationship with a single PSM to work their way into team and territory meetings, while others choose to approach them individually.
When striving for repeat engagement, it’s useful to make sure you’re repeating your short “better together” story whenever possible. Think emails, quickly at the beginning of meetings, and never assuming everyone fully understands your partnership status. Repeat engagement with individual PSMs has the potential to drive net new introductions in accounts where you already have a presence AND accounts where you don’t.
Running those account lists against your internal pipeline and through your prospecting tools is a good way to find additional opportunities to work with the same PSM in the same territory. This approach can also help alleviate some of the pain ISVs feel around AWS’s verticalization of their field teams versus most companies’ geographic sales approach.
Tactics for sustainable repeat engagement:
- Acquire and maintain account lists from PSMs to facilitate ongoing collaboration
- Cross-reference PSM territories with your internal pipeline and prospecting tools
- Consistently reinforce your partnership value proposition in all communications
Tier 3: Group Engagement
Working with groups of PSMs is where you can start to drive a positive reputation and an understanding of how partnering with your company benefits AWS and the PSM team. This is a good forum to share wins, talk more about your partnership, and explain the ways you want to continue working together. This is not a good forum to work individual deals, but rather to explain the value of your software and your partnership to a large group of AWS employees.
This sort of engagement can also help get you in front of Account Managers and different influencers and executives inside of AWS. The goal is building your reputation across AWS teams and demonstrating consistent value, which creates a multiplier effect for your individual PSM relationships.
Best practices for group engagements:
- Focus on partnership value and success stories rather than individual deals
- Use these forums to educate AWS teams about your software and competitive differentiation
- Leverage group settings to expand your network to Account Managers and AWS executives
From $1M deal to strategic partnership: A real success story
One of our customers shared this compelling example of how strategic PSM engagement transformed their AWS relationship for the better.
The initial transaction: “Last year we closed a $1M deal through the marketplace with PSM support during the final mile. When our customer went dark toward the end of the quarter, we reached out to AWS for help. The PSM brought up our deal with the customer’s CTO during a scheduled call the following week, which helped push it across the finish line.”
The strategic follow-through: “The real value came after the transaction. The PSM understood our competitive story and got us invited to the capital marketplace team’s SKO happy hour. At the AWS office, we met sales managers who then invited us to their team kickoff in Houston.”
The compound returns: “Our presentation at their kickoff resulted in new logo meetings with AWS account teams at major financial services companies. These meetings gave us intel and relationships into accounts without current subscriptions.
The network effect: “We discovered that our PSM also covers other major accounts in our target market. Because of the goodwill established through previous co-sell deals, we’re not working together to land our first deal at a new prospect.”
This story illustrates the exponential value of treating PSM relationships as long-term strategic assets rather than tactical resources.
Building your PSM strategy
AWS PSMs can be transformational partners for ISVs ready to move beyond transactional interactions. By implementing a three-tier engagement strategy (from one-off transactions to group engagements) you can build the relationships and reputation needed to scale your AWS co-sell motion sustainably.
The key is starting where you are and being intentional about building upward. Whether you’re rescuing a stuck deal or presenting to a room full of PSMs, every interaction is an opportunity to demonstrate your value and strengthen your AWS partnership for the long term.
Ready to transform your PSM relationships? Start by mapping your current touchpoints and identifying your next opportunity to shift from transaction to partnership mode. Want more help? Contact us today!
