NAS solutions and portable devices mainstay Iomega, has revealed plans to enhance partner training for all its retail partners in the GCC region. The initiative comes as more retailers in the GCC are looking to partner or increase their existing business with Iomega, the company said.
Under the plan, which will be offered as part of the umbrella ioClub Premier Partner Programme, Iomega will rollout sales and frontline training to staff of retail and reseller partners in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. The initiative aims to boost the skills levels of sales and frontline staff at retail and reseller companies in the region.
Mohammad Jweied, country manager at Iomega UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, said the initiative aims to raise the level of sales skills around the expanding Iomega NAS, multimedia and portable devices. “We have started the process of notifying all our retail partners in the five countries about this new programme,” he said.
He added that as the retail channel in the Middle East is slowly maturing, it is vital that the company helps to equip retailers with the right skills set. “We have received positive feedback from the Experience Centre and the training programme aims is to increase Iomega’s knowledge base within the retail channel,” he said.
Jweied explained that having trained retail partners on the ground makes it easy for them to sell products to customers who have a wide range of choices to pick from. “We are aware of the significant inroads that Iomega is making both with its consumer and NAS range of products in the MENA region,” he said. “That’s why we have taken the responsibility to support the retail channel with training and skills development programmes that assist them to better sell our solutions.”
According to the Iomega, the training will be offered online around its storage management products, including portable and desktop HDDs, high capacity solid state drives, multimedia and NAS solutions, and partners will be required to receive training in 12 modules for each product category. To participate in the initiative, both retail and reseller partners in the selected countries will have to register and join the ioClub.
In recent months, Iomega has stepped up efforts to strengthen its distribution network by appointing in-country distributors in the region. The company recently added Al-Babtain and iSpot as its distribution partners for Kuwait and Qatar respectively. “Having a distributor in-country makes it easy for partners to access products and other after sales services,” Jweied said.
In April, the vendor launched the Experience Centre, located in the Sharaf DG retail outlet in Times Square mall in Dubai which aims to showcase Iomega solutions for consumers and small businesses. The 800-square foot showcase includes Iomega storage management products, including portable and desktop HDDs, high capacity solid state drives, multimedia and network storage solutions.
The centre is manned by Iomega specialists to answer questions from customers on its products.
