It looks like things are going to be getting pretty ugly in Canada over the coming weeks as both Bell and Telus go to war with the objective of winning the hearts, minds and most importantly, the pocket books of the Canadian consumers who are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the BlackBerry Storm. In a memo sent Friday to all Bell retail mangers it was revealed that both of the Canadian CDMA carriers will be releasing the Storm on the same day “following the US launch.” Going on to list mandatory training that all employees must take part in, all training must be completed by the 8th of December which many insiders have long labeled as a tentative launch date. That said, a Bell ninja has informed us that he has “received emails stating that our current Bell BlackBerry live demos (currently stores either have the 8130 or 8330) all will be replaced with Storms on or around the 5th of December. No actual release date, but with demo units shipping the 5th we should see it in Canada by the 10th of December.”
Hit the break to read the memo.
The storm. Best on a lightning network. As previously communicated, Bell is excited to include the distinct and cutting edge Blackberry Storm as part of its already powerful 3G Blackberry line-up (Bell has 6 Blackberry’s on its 3G network vs. Roger with 1). RIM’s latest product innovation, the first touch screen Blackberry is expected to arrive in the US with Verizon on November 21, 2008. The storm will be available in Canada closely following the US launch. Testing on the Bell Storm has begun; Bell & Telus will receive the device for sale at the same time.
Be sure to direct the clients to http://www.bell.ca/storm where they can register to receive the latest product updates and availability updates.
Training
In preparation for this much anticipated launch, several training tools will be released for Sales Consultants. These tools will provide Sales Consultants with the ability to:
* Understand what the Blackberry Storm can offer valued clients.
* learn why the Blackberry Storm is better with bell, and
* win the sale!The Table below outlines the training tools that will be available on the Bell Training site (bell.ca/training) in the ‘What’s New’ section, along with training delicery dates, and completion due dates
1. Job Aid: Getting the Right 3G Blackberry for your Clients
Delivery Date: 11/14/2008
Completion Due Date: 11/21/20082. Job Aid: Blackberry Competitive Comparison
Delivery Date: 11/19/2008
Completion Due Date: 11/26/20083. Job Aid: Blackberry Storm
Delivery Date: 11/19/2008
Completion Due Date: 11/26/20084. Web Based Training: Blackberry Storm Online Training
Delivery Date: 11/21/2008
Completion Due Date: 12/05/20085. Video: Blackberry Storm Video
Delivery Date: 12/01/2008
Completion Due Date: 12/08/2008All Management level
Thanks, Dan!
