It’s not about who builds better tech, it’s about who’s easier to sell.
Introduction
You’ve built a great cloud product. You’re listed on AWS Marketplace.
Maybe you’ve even passed FTR and gone Co-Sell ready.
But still, AWS field sellers aren’t picking you.
Why?
Because being “approved” is not the same as being recommendable.
In this post, we’ll break down what actually makes AWS field teams bet on one partner and ignore another.
What AWS Field Sellers Are Measured On
AWS field sellers (Account Managers, SA Managers, ISV reps) have one job:
Drive revenue through customer outcomes.
Which means they only recommend partners that:
- Solve a clear customer problem
- Are easy to position and explain
- Have low deployment risk
- Make them look good to the buyer
They’re not choosing the best product; they’re choosing the clearest solution.
5 Traits That Make You “Field-Recommended”
| Trait | Why It Wins |
|---|---|
| Clear ICP and Use Case | They can match you to accounts without overthinking |
| AWS-Aligned Value Prop | Ties directly to AWS services (e.g., “Built on EKS with SageMaker for ML scoring”) |
| Buyer-Ready Content | One-pagers, diagrams, case studies, they can forward immediately |
| Fast Deployment Process | “One-click” or CloudFormation options make you feel low-risk |
| Trust Signals | Marketplace listing, FTR, Competency, CPPO = validation ammo |
What Makes Field Sellers Ignore You
- You sell “horizontal features,” not clear solutions
- Your Marketplace listing is vague or outdated
- You have no architecture diagram or ICP mention
- You require a 6-week onboarding before value
- You haven’t enabled them with content, pitch decks, or answers to common questions
Confusion = friction = no deal.
How to Become a Seller’s Favorite Partner
- Build a Partner Briefing Deck
- Slide 1: Who we are
- Slide 2: Ideal customer profile
- Slide 3: Pain points we solve
- Slide 4: How we work with AWS (Marketplace, CPPO, etc.)
- Slide 5: One-click deployment or trial offer
- Create a Use Case Matrix
- Help field teams match your product to common buyer scenarios
- Bonus if you map it to specific AWS services
- Enable with Ready-to-Send Assets
- Architecture diagrams
- Customer case studies
- One-pagers with ROI and time-to-value claims
- Security FAQ PDFs
- Stay Top-of-Mind
- Run quarterly updates for field teams
- Send win stories + new customer logos
- Offer joint webinars or account mapping sessions
Real-World Example
A small ML startup got picked for a Fortune 100 deal only because their deployment was:
- “One-click on AWS”
- Came with a clean diagram + case study
- Fit a repeatable fraud detection use case
They weren’t the biggest vendor, but they were the most pitchable.
Conclusion
AWS field sellers aren’t just looking for partners.
They’re looking for shortcuts.
If you can help them close deals faster, you get recommended.
If you make them explain too much, you get skipped.
Be the shortcut.
Want a ready-to-send GTM enablement pack for AWS field sellers?
Contact us for more details.
