Communication Strategies of Vodafone Sales Reps: A Literature Review

This literature review investigates the communication strategies employed by sales representatives at Vodafone stores in Sydney, Australia, and their influence on customer purchasing decisions. The research question focuses on how representative communication affects phone sales. The review examines the role of sales representatives in understanding customer needs, the importance of communication skills, and the factors influencing customer purchasing power. It explores the association between representative communication and customer behavior, along with recommendations for improvement. The review draws upon various sources to analyze the effectiveness of communication, including negotiating styles, active listening, and the impact of social media. It concludes that effective communication is crucial for sales representatives in understanding customer needs and fostering mutual benefits for both the company and the customer, especially within a multicultural environment like Sydney. The study emphasizes the need for representatives to adapt to changing market conditions and leverage technological advancements to enhance customer interactions and influence their choices.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1LITERATURE REVIEW
Research question: How does communication of representatives at Vodafone
store effect people to purchase phones in Sydney?
Introduction
The Vodafone Company is a conglomerate multinational telecommunications
company, from Britain and predominantly operates their services in regions like Europe, Asia
and Africa. The company is recognized for its unique marketing strategies that establishes its
presence across the global market. In order to resolve the concerns of the customers directly,
as well as provide them with the recent facilities of the company, the organization has stores
in several countries. The focus of this study is based on the Vodafone stores in Sydney,
Australia (Vodafone.com, 2019). The purpose of this study is to review varied literatures to
analyze the efficiency and techniques of the sales representative at Vodafone stores in
Sydney, Australia, that are implemented for retaining customers and luring them to purchase
the iPhones and other Android phones that have collaborated with the company.
Literature review
Secondary research questions:
 What is the meaning of communication of representatives?
 What are the factors that affect the purchasing powers of the customers in Sydney?
 What is the association between the communication of the representatives at
Vodafone stores of Sydney and the purchasing powers of the customers of Sydney?
 What are some of the recommendations to improve the communication of
representatives at the Vodafone store?
In accordance with the views of Ingram, LaForge, Williams and Schwepker (2015),
the role of a sales representative is to sell service, goods and retail products. The sales

2LITERATURE REVIEW
representative of diverse companies are responsible for understanding the needs of the
customers and analyzing such needs to provide the customer with the desired product or
service. There are such other roles of the sales representatives for the cause of increasing the
widespread awareness among the customers regarding the products of the organization, and
subsequently enhances the net sales of the products of the company. Such duties includes
strong communication, persuasive and negotiating skills, patience and the potential to work
hard. Chapman (2018) states the ways in which the sales representatives have transformed the
course of their duties over the past years, and points out communication skills to be of utmost
significance within the purview of the job description of the sales representative. The sales
representatives at the Vodafone stores in Sydney, not only aid the customers to purchase
phone that are in collaboration with the company, but also analyzes the real needs of the
customers and evolve their approaches accordingly, with the focus of enhancing the
productivity levels of the organization.
The attribute of communication is the key point of success for the sales
representatives to enhance the standards of their performance. In Sydney, the sales
representatives utilize their communication skills to understand the problems of the
customers as well as their demands. Without the direct sales and customer service provided in
these stores, Vodafone would not have been able to reach the level of expansion that it has
achieved. Communication among the sales representative and the common customers are of
negotiating style, which is mostly related to the mutual benefits of the company and the
customers (Simcic Brønn, 2014).
It has been viewed by Johnston and Marshall (2013) that one of the most pivotal
aspects of sales is to undertake a dynamic approach since the market conditions change with
the changing times and thereby gives rise to varying demands of the customers. It is the duty
of the sales representative at the Vodafone stores to accommodate such changes in demands

3LITERATURE REVIEW
and adhere to such conditions in order to attain the best possible outcome for the company.
Along with communication, the sales representatives should also be efficient listeners to get
hold of the customer’s interest in the transaction; Hase and Busch (2018) have also agreed
with this aspect of enhancing sales. The representatives at the Vodafone stores are trained to
provide full attention and importance to the customers in order to improve the customers’
experience in the store.
Erevelles and Fukawa (2013) highlights the significant influence of the “affect”
among sales representatives, which involves the state of mind of the representatives. The
authors have focused on the fact that the managerial issues also effect the sales process and
the well being of the representative leads to better performance from their end The study
provides evidences of the gaps in literature in this specific context. The representatives at the
Vodafone store are entitled to certain benefits that help gain motivation and thereby
contribute to the production process of the company.
Communication also bridges the cultural gaps between the representatives and the
customers as agreed by Johnson and Grier (2013). Since Australia is a cross cultural nation,
the sales representative have to deal with varied types of customers coming from diverse
cultural backgrounds. An understanding of the cultures can enhance the communication
methods and thereby influence the customer to purchase the products. According to
Moncrief, Marshall and Rudd (2015), another attribute that facilitates the sales representation
is the use of social media and the other technological communications related to it. The
Australian sales representative utilize these techniques for enhancing interaction with the
customers as well as understanding and influencing their choices.

4LITERATURE REVIEW
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be observed from the above literature review that the role of
communication in sales is of substantial significance. Since the study was focused with the
sales representatives of Sydney, the varied literature stating the importance of communication
for sales representatives have been inferred to in this review. The study also helps in
gathering the varied facets that influences the sales representatives and their productivity
levels. The significance of communication in sales representation therefore does not only lie
in influencing the choices of the customers but also understanding their concerns and
addressing them successfully, thereby resulting in the mutual benefit of the company as well
as the sales representatives.

5LITERATURE REVIEW
References
Chapman, G. (2018). Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales & The Evolving Art of Communication.
Erevelles, S., & Fukawa, N. (2013). The role of affect in personal selling and sales
management. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 33(1), 7-24.
Hase, S., & Busch, C. (2018). The Sales Environment. In The Quintessence of Sales (pp. 35-
56). Springer, Cham.
Ingram, T. N., LaForge, R. W., Williams, M. R., & Schwepker Jr, C. H. (2015). Sales
management: Analysis and decision making. Routledge.
Johnson, G. D., & Grier, S. A. (2013). Understanding the influence of cross-cultural
consumer-to-consumer interaction on consumer service satisfaction. Journal of
Business Research, 66(3), 306-313.
Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2013). Sales force management: Leadership,
innovation, technology. Routledge.
Moncrief, W. C., Marshall, G. W., & Rudd, J. M. (2015). Social media and related
technology: Drivers of change in managing the contemporary sales force. Business
Horizons, 58(1), 45-55.
Simcic Brønn, P. (2014). How others see us: leaders’ perceptions of communication and
communication managers. Journal of Communication Management, 18(1), 58-79.
Vodafone.com (2019). Mobile Phone, Tablet and Mobile Broadband Plans.. [online]
Vodafone Australia. Available at: https://www.vodafone.com.au/ [Accessed 9 Sep.
2019].