IBM System Storage Portfolio Top Gun

Do you:

• Need to establish a solid foundation for selling and supporting IBM System Storage solutions, including hardware, software, solutions, financing and services offerings?
• Want to understand how IBM System Storage solutions can deliver real value to your clients?
• Desire to know how IBM System Storage provides an Information Infrastructure that enables Innovation that Matters for your clients?
• Yearn for insights on how to beat key disk, tape, SAN, NAS, archiving, lifecycle management and storage management competition?
• Require a refresher course, so that you can stay current in the fast changing storage marketplace?
• Wish you had some help preparing for the IBM System Storage sales certification exams?

Then IBM System Storage Portfolio TOP GUN is the class for you !!!

IBM System Storage Portfolio Top Gun is a 4 to 4.5 day class.

IBM Storage Sales Specialists, Storage-oriented SSRs, eServer Sales Specialists, eSMs, IBM Business Partners, Client Reps, or anyone who spends a significant amount of their time selling and/or supporting IBM System Storage products and solutions.

To enhance the student's sales skills with regard to IBM's System Storage portfolio of solution offerings by providing an understanding of:

1. IBM's strategy, products and solutions
2. The storage marketspace
3. IBM's chief competitors in each market segment

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to identify, validate, qualify, propose, and win IBM System Storage opportunities. The student should also be well positioned for IBM System Storage sales certification.

There are several prerequisite activities for this class, as follows:

1. You should have a fundamental working knowledge of storage concepts and technologies. For example, you should be able to readily answer questions such as these:
   • What is a life system?
   • What is a device driver?
   • What is latency?
   • What is zoning?
   • What is LUN masking?
   To ensure that you have the appropriate knowledge level, please review the IBM web-based learning program called Concepts of Storage , which is available at STG Online. Detailed instructors for accessing Concepts of Storage will be included in your Student Notice.
   
2. You should have a basic understanding of the IBM System Storage Product Portfolio. Please review the IBM TotalStorage Product Guide (TSO00354USEN.pdf), which will be sent to you prior to class.
   
3. You should read the following whitepapers, which will be sent to you prior to class::
   
   • Focus on Today. Innovation for Tomorrow. (XBW03004.pdf)
   • IBM Storage Virtualization - Value to You (TSW02202USEN.pdf)
   • IBM Systems: Technology and expertise for your business advantage (XBB00740USEN.pdf)
   • IBM System Storage Offerings (TSB00089USEN.pdf)
   • IBM System Storage Product Guide (TSO00364USEN.pdf)
     
4. You should select a real, live customer DISK opportunity from your territory - one that you have identified and expect to close in the next 60 - 90 days. If you don't have a territory, ask your colleagues, mentor, or manager to share an opportunity with you. Document the currently installed environment and the customer's business problem(s) in as much detail as possible. We will use this Opportunity in our Student Workshops throughout the week.


5. We will be using the new TCONow! for Disk tool during our Student Workshops. Instructions for downloading the tool will be sent in your Student Notice approximately 4 weeks prior to class.

The following is a SAMPLE AGENDA intended for informational purposes only. Actual agendas will vary by class.

Click on the date below to enroll in a future class or to view photos of prior class Top Guns!

What people are saying about System Storage Portfolio Top Gun:

"This class gets you fired up about selling IBM VALUE!" – IBM Business Partner, Technical Specialist, US

"For me this TopGun was very VALUABLE. It was a lot of useful information to drive business in the future." - IBM Business Partner, Germany

"I learned more in a week than I learned in the last two years." – ibm.com Storage Sales Specialist, US

“This class is great. I gained a lot of knowledge and skills from this course. I think this will be very helpful in my selling.” - IBM Business Partner, Sales Manager, China

"Great event, I learned much more than I expected! Super instructors & presentations! I’ll be back!" - IBM EBIS Account Solution Manager, Germany

“Excellent introduction to the storage portfolio. Instructors were of high quality and able to articulate the value of IBM products.” - IBM Storage Systems Architect, Malaysia

"The teach team was excellent in emphasizing the importance of VALUE selling versus hardware selling." – IBM Business Advisor, System Storage, Canada

"Very good format and has really helped me combine the technical aspects with the sales side [in] my role as a Presales Specialist." – IBM Business Partner, Technical Specialist, Australia

"Thanks for a great week. In all my years in the business I've never had such a well thought out and executed training session." – IBM Storage Sales Specialist, US

Dave Whoolery
dwhooler@us.ibm.com

Jan Burford
jburford@us.ibm.com

Oliver Stark
Oliver_Stark@de.ibm.com