Introduction
AWS Marketplace is one of the most powerful and underleveraged sales engines for B2B software and services companies. While listing your solution is a crucial first step, too many vendors stop there, waiting for inbound leads that never come. The real value comes when you treat Marketplace not as a catalog, but as a go-to-market flywheel that transforms a simple listing into pipeline, co-sell momentum, and closed enterprise deals.
This article presents the Marketplace Acceleration Blueprint a signature framework designed to help companies move from passive listings to repeatable revenue through AWS Marketplace. Whether you’re an ISV, a data platform, a security vendor, or a services partner, this is your guide to operationalizing AWS Marketplace as a growth engine.
Phase 1: Launch – Get Your Listing Right
Product-Market Fit for Marketplace
Start by ensuring your offer aligns with how enterprises buy on AWS:
- Cloud-native, AWS-deployable architecture
- Pricing models that map to usage (SaaS contracts, hourly, metered)
- Enterprise trust elements – support for VPC deployment, PrivateLink, or bring-your-own-key encryption
Technical Readiness
- Complete FTR (Foundational Technical Review) to build AWS trust and unlock co-sell potential
- Ensure deployment documentation, architecture diagrams, and billing integration are clean and compliant
- Choose the right listing type: SaaS Contract, AMI, Container, Professional Services, etc.
Phase 2: Activate – Go-to-Market with AWS
Enable Co-Sell with AWS
- Register in the ACE Pipeline Manager and begin sharing opportunities
- Work towards ISV Accelerate or AWS Service Delivery to qualify for co-sell and seller incentives
- Engage your AWS Partner Development Manager (PDM) or ISV Success Manager
Target EDP & Marketplace Budgets
- Train your sales team to identify accounts with Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) budgets
- Align messaging around:
“We can transact through AWS to save time, reduce procurement friction, and let you use pre-committed spend.”
Bundle for Better Adoption
- Create fixed-scope onboarding packages, training sessions, or assessments as Professional Services listings
- Bundle software + services to deliver complete solutions that close faster
Phase 3: Accelerate – Build Pipeline and Demand
Run Joint Campaigns
- Launch Marketplace GTM campaigns using AWS MDF (Marketing Development Funds)
- Participate in AWS-led industry campaigns (e.g., GenAI, Financial Services, Sustainability)
Use AWS Marketplace Analytics
- Monitor listing views, conversions, and private offer activity
- Use insights to refine pricing, offer structure, and targeting
Streamline Private Offers
- Standardize private offer templates to accelerate deal velocity
- Enable your sellers and channel partners to generate private offers on demand
Phase 4: Scale – Win Enterprise Deals at Speed
Integrate Marketplace into Sales Process
- Train AEs and channel reps to position Marketplace as a deal accelerator
- Use the “AWS is the seller of record” pitch to ease legal and procurement objections
- Emphasize billing consolidation and security/compliance trust layer
Capture Win Stories & Evidence
- Package successful deals as co-sell wins
- Develop Marketplace-specific case studies that showcase fast procurement and security alignment
- Feed success stories back into AWS teams to deepen co-sell alignment
Advance to Competency & Strategic Tiering
- Use Marketplace performance to qualify for:
- AWS Competency programs (e.g., Security, Data & Analytics, AI/ML)
- APN upgrades and Marketplace funding tiers
Conclusion
A Marketplace listing is not the end of your AWS GTM, it’s the beginning of a scalable, high-trust, enterprise-aligned growth strategy. The Marketplace Acceleration Blueprint turns your presence into pipeline, your offers into co-sell motion, and your partnership into predictable revenue. Companies that activate all four phases, Launch, Activate, Accelerate, and Scale, aren’t just Marketplace vendors. They’re AWS-aligned revenue engines.
If you’re listed but not yet winning, this framework is how you change that.
