Cracking the Cloud GTM Code: 0 to $200K in 8 Weeks + 5-Step Playbook
Hi, it's Roman and welcome back to the Partner Insight newsletter!
Today, we're analyzing a breakthrough story that shows the power of strategic cloud marketplace adoption. We'll explore how one company went from doubt and skepticism to generating $200K+ in just 8 weeks, and distill the key lessons for your own cloud GTM strategy.
We’ll unpack a 5-step framework for maximizing your marketplace performance and share fresh insights on how enterprises sign and leverage cloud commitments.
These trends are reshaping B2B software sales - let’s examine how you can position your company to capitalize on them.
$0 to $200K+ in 8 weeks: cracking the code of cloud marketplaces
James King from Redgate Software, our Cloud GTM Leader course alum, cracked the marketplace code, going from 0 to $200K+ in 8 weeks, in addition to multi-million pipeline. He shared with me his journey and insights.
"The more you lean in, the more they [hyperscalers] lean back with you," says James, Director of Alliances and Strategic Partnerships at Redgate Software, who recently launched on cloud marketplaces. His journey from initial doubts to success is a masterclass in cloud GTM.
The results? Over $200K in revenue and a multi-million pipeline - all within two months of launch on marketplaces.
But here's the twist:
James' initial pitch to launch on marketplaces was shot down by his board. Why? Lack of concrete data and a clear business case.
"If you're going to go in, go in with the data and the facts as best you can," James advises. "And the only way I think you can really do that is understanding what other people have done before you."
This is where expert knowledge and the community become your superpower. James credited our experts and community support for his success, “In no uncertain terms, it was the community”.
Lessons from James' rapid success:
Understanding Hyperscaler Motivations
"You have to stand out from the crowd... understand what is driving them... What are the goals that we need to achieve to hit certain thresholds or programs?"
Data-Driven Approach
Use cloud propensity data to identify high-likelihood marketplace buyers. This gave Redgate "a really good sort of warm lead to start with."
Internal Evangelism
"Every single little milestone was something we were trying to tell the rest of the company about as loudly as we could." Result? More sales people involved and teams proactively seeking partnership help.
Overcoming Competition Fears
Even if you compete with native hyperscaler tools, remember: "AWS actually say this quite a lot. They're customer obsessed... they want the customers to have the best tools out there."
Embracing the Journey
"I kind of describe this as a triathlon... when you're kind of going to get on the marketplace, it's quite a big challenge. But when you get there, that's the next challenge."
James' story is a testament to his power of learning, leaning on the community for help and strategic execution.
It's why we've designed our Cloud GTM Leader course to provide exactly this type of insights and network.
In just 5 weeks, you'll learn how to master cloud marketplaces, tap into $370B+ in enterprise cloud commitments, and accelerate your growth. Our alumni, like James, are achieving remarkable results.
But here's a thought: If he achieved this in 8 weeks, what could you accomplish with the right strategy and support?
Are you leaving money on the table by not fully leveraging cloud marketplaces? Or perhaps you're already on this journey - what's been your biggest challenge or unexpected win?
💡 Enroll in Cloud GTM Leader Course
Join Cohort 8th of our 5-week cohort course starting on October 29th and accelerate your growth via Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud cloud marketplaces with 10+ leading experts in a community of exceptional alliance leaders.
The early bird discount is ending today - last chance to catch it and accelerate growth of your cloud GTM.
5 Step Cloud GTM Value Framework to Maximize Your Marketplace Performance
Jonathan Kingsepp, our course Mentor and CEO of Northbound Solutions, shared with us his “Cloud GTM Value Framework” - a structured approach to maximizing cloud GTM.
As cloud marketplaces evolve from distribution channels to strategic growth drivers, you can use this framework as a roadmap for your businesses to capitalize on this shift.
Each component in the framework is a step towards operating "maturity" in Cloud GTM. It underscores that success in cloud marketplaces is about fundamentally aligning business processes, partnerships and co-sell with the cloud ecosystems.
In short, your journey to selling with hyperscale cloud providers and selling through Cloud Marketplaces is a step towards modernizing your go-to-market.
By following these guidelines, businesses can leverage growing cloud marketplace opportunities, drive higher conversions, and establish robust partnerships with hyperscalers.
Let’s dive in:
Step 1: Prepare a business case and assess readiness
Cloud marketplaces have emerged as a compelling avenue for more efficient revenue generation. These platforms, with a $45Bn+ in market opportunity, are reshaping SaaS sales, offering a seller-friendly, ecosystem-first approach. Ultimately, they are transforming interactions among buyers, sellers, and channel partners.
However, cloud GTM currently represents less than 5% of the global software and cybersecurity market. This stark disparity signals both a significant opportunity and a challenge for SaaS companies looking to optimize their GTM.
Therefore, the first step in the Cloud GTM Value Framework is to assess organizational readiness for Cloud GTM adoption and define a clear strategy.
You also need to assess the impact on quote-to-cash and other internal functions from adopting cloud marketplace policies and practices, which vary significantly by cloud.
Create a business case supporting the Cloud GTM motion. The case should reference impact on corporate strategy, potential challenges in field and customer adoption, and recommend a strategic direction aligned with business objectives.
Key Activities:
Set Strategic Goals: Define clear, measurable goals for Cloud GTM adoption aligned with overall business objectives. Consider a 2-year time horizon.
Assess Readiness: Evaluate current product infrastructure, applications, and processes to determine cloud compatibility. Assess process implications and impacts on functional teams.
Build a Business Case: Create a compelling business case highlighting the benefits, costs, and ROI of cloud adoption.
Engage Stakeholders: Involve key stakeholders from key departments involved in Cloud GTM to gather insights and ensure alignment. Inform functional leaders of process changes for sales, revenue operations, finance/accounting/tax/legal, marketing, channels, etc.
Step 2: Set strategy and align leadership
In addition to a clear strategy, successful Cloud GTM adoption requires alignment among leadership. Focus on securing executive sponsorship, establishing functional goals, and ensuring leadership alignment to drive the cloud initiative forward.
Align sales goals with partnership and cloud GTM objectives and eliminate friction in the process (most commonly involving compensation). Ensure all stakeholders are grounded around the same plan.
Key Activities:
Executive Sponsorship: Secure commitment from top executives to champion the cloud initiative.
Leadership Alignment: Conduct workshops and meetings to align leadership on the cloud strategy and objectives.
Communication Plan: Develop a communication plan to keep all stakeholders informed and engaged.
Roadmap Development: Create a high-level roadmap outlining key milestones, resources, and timelines.
Step 3. Plan, staff, budget, and activate your Cloud GTM system
Initially, make cloud GTM part of the existing sales process, assigning the CRO or Head of Sales as the (co) owner. Focus on closing more deals through the cloud, developing commission plans, and integrating field engagement within CRM systems.
Help customers use their cloud commit while maintaining strong relationships between customers and sales reps. As cloud GTM matures, consider separating responsibilities between direct sales and partner-led/marketplace-aligned sales teams.
Build reliability in Cloud GTM to establish new partnerships and transition existing ones to the cloud, aligning the partnership team to drive more opportunities through cloud marketplaces. Track the impact of partnerships on conversions to boost conversions by better alignment with partners.
Leverage cloud GTM platforms like Tackle to streamline the cloud GTM motion across hyperscalers, achieve faster deal cycles, and scale Co-Sell efforts with native CRM integrations.
Key Activities:
Process Mapping: Map existing processes to identify areas impacted by cloud adoption.
Change Management Plan: Develop a change management plan to address process changes, including training, communication, and support.
Risk Management: Identify potential risks associated with process changes and develop mitigation strategies.
Pilot Programs: Implement pilot programs to test new processes and gather feedback. Start where you are best positioned to win with the Cloud Provider. Focus your efforts, measure, optimize, socialize, repeat.
Step 4: Enable, adopt, measure, and improve your activities
Step 5: Activate Co-sell and optimize partnerships
You can read about Steps 4 and 5 in Jonathan’s whitepaper here
The real test of your strategy is its execution. As cloud marketplaces grow, the ability not only set, but also implement effective strategies is what will differentiate market leaders from laggards.
Cloud Commits: Customer Stories on What's Driving Cloud Marketplaces
Cloud commitments have been a hot topic, but recent customer behavior insights reveal nuances to tailor your Cloud GTM strategies. Especially if you sell on cloud marketplaces.
A recent UK CMA authority report offers a fresh analysis on how cloud customers are using their commitments with hyperscalers. It gives a glimpse into customer behavior and the ripple effects of commits on the ecosystem.
5 insights that caught my eye:
Commits cover significant share of revenue
Customers with cloud committed spend discounts (CSD) constitute significant share of each of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft’s total UK cloud revenues:
“The evidence we have seen to date suggests that customers with a CSD represent a large share of each of AWS and Microsoft’s total UK cloud revenues.
It also suggests that while CSDs are not common across all users of cloud services, they are much more common for customers with higher spend.”
Large customers spending over $500K are more likely to have cloud commits.
Marketplace momentum
An ISV noted, "CSDs incentivise customers to buy third-party services in the larger providers' marketplaces."
When customers have significant contractual spend obligations, it's not just about discounts – it's about optimizing their committed spend, using cloud services and marketplaces.
Long-term nature of cloud contracts
"AWS CSD contracts vary significantly in length. They range from 0-2 to 6-8 years" and "Microsoft CSD contracts also vary significantly in length. They range from 0-2 to 8-10 years".
This highlights opportunities for long-term partnerships and solutions.
Search for Win-Win
Commits add some pressure on customers to consume cloud services and meet spend obligations:
"Some research participants describe how their companies use certain cloud services … for the sole purpose of meeting committed spend targets."
This suggests opportunities for alliance leaders to offer their 3rd-party services to help cloud customers meet commitments more efficiently.
Strategic insights
"A handful of customers also said that their growth plans were shared with cloud providers when considering or negotiating CSDs."
This means that clouds have unique insight into customer accounts and growth plans, opening doors for deeper, strategic co-sell.
These insights highlight a shift in enterprises’ approach to cloud adoption and buying third-party solutions through cloud marketplaces.
It's not just about technical fit – it's an opportunity for alliance leaders to align with customers' spend patterns and helping them maximize their cloud investments.
Are you fully leveraging the potential of cloud marketplaces in your GTM?
Unlock Cloud Marketplaces: Join Cohort 8
As we gear up for the final Cloud GTM Leader course cohort of 2024, I've been reflecting on the past year. Our programs have welcomed 150+ alumni from industry leaders like GitLab, Citrix, and IDC, and featured nearly 50 incredible expert speakers and mentors.
Jay McBain from Canalys recognized it as a Top Education and Training Program for Channel and Partnership professionals. What makes our course so impactful?
We asked our alums, and here's what they said:
"The highlight was the curation of the speakers and how they organized the information, they were clear and didactic."
"Meeting the plethora of expertise that have been at the very forefront of Cloud Marketplaces."
From VPs of Partners of the Year to alliance leaders with decades of cloud GTM experience, 40+ outstanding expert speakers delivered unique insights in our course sessions.
Rolf Heimes, Jonathan Kingsepp, Brian Laing, Mike Marzano, Rick Buijserd, Darren Sharpe, Subhash Jawahrani, Kate Kwiatkowski, Abhijit Madhugiri, Alex Balcanquall the list goes on.
But it wasn't just the caliber of the speakers that made the difference.
It was the "Structured and Methodical approach to unbundle the complex process of partner enablement/Cloud GTM/Cloud Marketplaces."
Our alums highlighted the "open discussion with peers from different business functions and companies covering SaaS, Cybersecurity and Hyperscalers." They loved the "tactical elements and the measurement tools to measure progress."
"People with real experience sharing the how - how did they win, how did they fail, how did they tackle challenge x or y”
The journey continues long after the course
While 5-week curriculum proved to be very successful, it’s not just in-session experience.
Our Cross-Community Masterminds are yet another testaments to the incredible energy and insights of our community. The high-energy discussion and probing questions turned it into a forum for the community to truly help in Cloud GTM each other and build lasting connections.
🎯 If you're ready to accelerate your cloud GTM growth, join us for Cohort 8️⃣ starting October 29th. It's the last chance this year to gain the strategies that will position you for success in 2025 and beyond.
The early bird discount is ending today - hurry up to catch it.
P.S. If you find these insights valuable, please share this newsletter with your network - it’s free. And if there are topics you'd like us to explore in future editions, just hit reply - I'd love to hear your thoughts.