RACI Chart and Swim Lane  |  FY27  |  Companion to the Co-Sell RACI brief

Co-Sell Deal Execution: Roles and Accountability

Most partners understand the mechanics of the co-sell program. Fewer have mapped who in their organization is accountable for each step, and who on the Microsoft side has actual authority versus advisory influence. The result is referrals that expire because no one owns the 14-day window, registrations rejected because the customer account check happened too late, and deals that stall because the hand-off between PDM and field seller was never planned. This chart maps every phase of the co-sell deal execution motion, from origination through deal registration, across six roles on both sides of the engagement.

Key:
R Responsible: does the work
A Accountable: owns the outcome
C Consulted: provides input
I Informed: kept in the loop

Swim Lane Timeline

PARTNER SIDE MICROSOFT SIDE PHASE 1 Deal Origination and Validation PHASE 2 Referral Submission and Acceptance PHASE 3 Qualification and Development PHASE 4 Proposal, Negotiation, and Close PHASE 5 Deal Registration and Incentive Capture Alliance Manager Alliance Manager Alliance Manager Alliance Manager Alliance Manager Field Sales Field Sales Field Sales Solutions Engineer PDM (facilitation) PDM (facilitation) PDM (escalation) Field Seller (14-day window) Field Seller Field Seller PTS (tech validation) Microsoft (validates registration) 14-day inbound response (partner obligation) 14-day accept/decline (Microsoft seller obligation) 72-hr minimum before marking Won (registration rejection risk) Validate Microsoft-managed account FIRST

Critical Failure Points in This Motion

RACI Matrix

Task Partner
Alliance Mgr		 Partner
Field Sales		 Partner
Solutions Eng.		 Microsoft
PDM		 Microsoft
Field Seller		 Microsoft
PTS
01Deal Origination and Validation
Identify co-sell opportunity in active deals Field sales surfaces; alliance manager qualifies for co-sell candidacy A R — I I —
Validate customer is Microsoft-managed Must occur before deal creation. Determines deal registration eligibility. A/R C — C I —
Assess co-sell candidacy (selective submission) Only submit deals where Microsoft engagement changes the outcome A/R C — C — —
Confirm Solution Area and Solution Play alignment Match to one of the eight FY27 conversations Microsoft sellers were trained on (four Frontier, four Core) A/R C C C I —
02Referral Submission and Microsoft Acceptance
Create deal in Partner Center (all mandatory fields) Solution Area, Solution Play, estimated value, close date; customer need is optional A/R C — I — —
Submit co-sell referral specifying help type requested Six help types; be specific. "No help required" makes the deal partner-led or private. Marketplace Intent required via API. A/R C — I I —
Monitor Microsoft 14-day accept/decline window No response = archived as expired (clone to resubmit). PDM can nudge the field seller if the window is approaching. A/R I — C I —
Respond to inbound Microsoft referrals (14-day window) Target: same business day acknowledgment. Slow responses cost goodwill with the seller who sent the referral. A/R C — I I —
Microsoft seller accepts or declines co-sell engagement Field seller decides independently based on account priorities and scorecard alignment. PDM has no authority over this decision. I I — I A/R —
03Deal Qualification and Development
Qualify customer requirements and opportunity fit C A/R C I C —
Develop joint messaging and partner value proposition A/R C C C C —
Provide technical architecture, POC, and validation Reference architecture diagram required for SaaS and Dragon Copilot offers; optional for Azure App, Container, and VM C I A/R I C R
Update deal stages in Partner Center A/R I — I I —
Escalate stalled deal via PDM for field seller nudge PDM can facilitate re-engagement but cannot compel field seller participation A I — R I —
04Proposal, Negotiation, and Close
Prepare and present formal customer proposal C A/R C I C —
Make Marketplace the default path; confirm the offer's MACC eligibility A/R C — I C —
Handle pricing objections and negotiate final terms C A/R — I C —
Mark deal won or lost in Partner Center A/R C — I I —
05Deal Registration and Incentive Capture
Verify 72-hour minimum since deal creation before registering Marking Won sooner might get the registration rejected. One exception request per referral. A/R I — I — —
Verify all deal registration criteria are met IP Co-Sell Eligible solution, $25K+ deal value, Microsoft-managed account, won status, partner-led or co-sell deal type, and for co-sell, Microsoft accepted or marked won. Register within 60 days of signing. A/R I — I I —
Submit deal registration in Partner Center A/R I — I I —
Respond to Microsoft requests for additional documentation A/R C C I C —
Monitor registration validation status and incentive claim A/R I — I I —