Co-Sell RACI Reference Card

Co-Sell Deal Execution: RACI Reference Card

Six roles. Five phases. Nine failure points. The accountability map that Microsoft does not publish.

Origination & Validation

Owner: Alliance Manager
Validate customer type first

Referral Submission & Acceptance

Owner: Alliance Manager + Field Seller
Dual 14-day windows active

Qualification & Development

Owner: Field Sales + Alliance Manager
SE delivers tech validation

Proposal, Negotiation & Close

Owner: Field Sales
Mark Won. Verify 72-hr gap first.

Deal Registration & Incentive

Owner: Alliance Manager
6 criteria must all be met

Six Roles

Partner Alliance Manager

Partner org

Owns the Microsoft relationship across the deal. Creates referrals in Partner Center. Monitors both 14-day windows. Drives deal registration.

Partner Field Sales (AE)

Partner org

Owns the customer relationship and deal close. Carries quota. Not responsible for Partner Center submissions.

Partner Solutions Engineer

Partner org

Technical architecture, POC, and the reference architecture diagram (required for SaaS and Dragon Copilot offers). Interfaces with the Microsoft Partner Technology Strategist (PTS).

Microsoft PDM

GPS (Global Partner Solutions)

Partner strategy, co-sell pipeline, introductions to field sellers, escalation facilitation.

Cannot require field seller to engage on any specific deal.

Microsoft Field Seller (AE)

Enterprise / SMB / Digital Sales org

Owns the customer account and 14-day accept/decline decision. FY27: trained on eight named conversations (four Frontier, four Core).

Not partner-facing. Decides independently based on account priorities.

Microsoft PTS

GPS (Global Partner Solutions)

Technical validation during complex pursuits and specialization audits. Engaged selectively through PDM.

Deal Types

Type	MS Obligation	Registration
Private	None	No
Partner-led	View only	Yes*
Co-sell Active	14-day window	Yes*

*IP Co-Sell Eligible solution required

Key Accountabilities by Phase

R Responsible A Accountable C Consulted I Informed A/R = sole owner

Phase 1 Origination and Validation

Identify co-sell opportunityAAM
Validate customer is Microsoft-managedA/RAM
Assess co-sell candidacy (selective)A/RAM
Confirm Solution Area + Solution PlayA/RAM

Phase 2 Referral Submission and Acceptance

Create deal in Partner Center (all fields)A/RAM
Monitor Microsoft 14-day windowA/RAM
Respond to inbound referral (14-day)A/RAM
Accept or decline outbound referralA/RField Seller

Phase 3 Qualification and Development

Qualify customer requirementsA/RField Sales
Technical architecture + POCA/RSE
Update deal stages in Partner CenterA/RAM
Escalate stalled deal (PDM nudge)AAMRPDM

Phase 4 Proposal, Negotiation, and Close

Prepare and present proposalA/RField Sales
Position MACC / Marketplace pathA/RAM
Mark deal won or lostA/RAM

Phase 5 Deal Registration and Incentive Capture

Verify all 6 registration criteriaA/RAM
Submit deal registrationA/RAM
Monitor validation + incentive claimA/RAM

Before you submit a referral

Account picked from the Microsoft Managed tab
Solution Area and Solution Play set
Help type specific, not a catch-all
Estimated ACR filled in with a credible figure
Marketplace Intent sent (API submissions)
Both 14-day clocks assigned to a named owner

Nine Failure Points

1Dual 14-Day Cliff

Partners know the inbound window. Fewer know the outbound one. Unaccepted referrals are archived as expired and must be cloned. The alliance manager owns both.

2Customer Account Type

Not Microsoft-managed = ineligible for registration. Pick the account from the Managed or Unmanaged tab to see eligibility at once. "Other" or manual entries surface the error only at registration.

3CRM Integration Breakage

Marketplace Intent is required for API submissions from January 5, 2026. Older Salesforce and Dynamics integrations need updating. Confirm referrals reach Partner Center.

4Missing Mandatory Fields

Solution Area and Solution Play: mandatory in the portal since 2025, for API since July 31, 2025. They tell the seller whether the deal fits their scorecard.

5Scorecard Misalignment

FY27 field sellers were trained on eight named conversations (four Frontier, four Core). A referral that maps to none of them competes poorly for attention.

6Volume Over Selectivity

Submitting every deal collapses acceptance rates. Submit only where Microsoft engagement changes the outcome.

772-Hour Registration Timing

Marking Won under 72 hours after creation might get the registration rejected. Exception process: one request per referral, within 60 days.

8PDM Relationship Confusion

PDM facilitates introductions and escalation but cannot compel field seller engagement. The field seller decides independently.

9Estimated ACR Left Blank

Estimated Azure Consumed Revenue (GA February 2026) is optional, so partners skip it. A credible figure helps sellers gauge cloud potential and decide which referrals get resourced.

14 days Bilateral obligation: partner must respond to inbound; Microsoft seller must respond to outbound. Missed = archived as expired: cannot be edited, only cloned. Both windows run independently.

72 hrs Minimum between deal creation and marking Won. Sooner might get the registration rejected. One exception request per referral.

6 criteria Won. IP Co-Sell Eligible solution. $25K+. Microsoft-managed account. Not private. Co-sell: Microsoft accepted or won. Register within 60 days of signing.

Common Misconceptions

Co-Sell Ready does not mean seller engagement. Sellers have no obligation at Co-Sell Ready status.

PDM is not a field seller and cannot compel deal engagement. Two different orgs, two different jobs.

Partner-led is not co-sell active. Active creates the 14-day bilateral obligation; partner-led gives visibility only.

Marketplace Intent field is required for API submissions from Jan 5, 2026. Older CRM integrations need updating.

72-hour minimum before marking Won. Marking Won sooner might get the registration rejected.

Deal registration is not co-sell. Without a referral first, there is no Microsoft engagement during the deal.