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| Jonathan Farrington, Top Sales Associates (TSA), The JF Consultancy |
Jonathan Farrington is a globally recognized business coach, mentor, author, consultant, and sales strategist, who has guided hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals around the world towards optimum performance levels.
Early in 2007, Jonathan formed Top Sales Associates (TSA) to promote the very best sales-related solutions and products. TSA is now a subsidiary of The JF Corporation, based in London and Paris where Jonathan is the Chairman.
The JF Consultancy launched early in 2008 and Jonathan’s highly popular daily blog for dedicated business professionals, which attracts thousand of visitors every day, can be found at www.thejfblogit.co.uk.
Jonathan is also the creator and CEO of Top Sales World – the first online “Sales Hypermarket” and Chairman of the Global Sales Council.
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1) Jonathan, how did you get started in sales?
I started my first "business" whilst still at boarding school - I organized Sunday evening discos and added 2p to every Mars bar or packet of crisps.Then at university I ran an agency managing rock groups. My first sales job was selling encyclopedias door-door, whilst on vacation. After university, I went into real estate ( anything to avoid going into farming with my father). He did lend me the money to buy my own real estate business when I was 23, and I not only repaid him within a year, I opened three more branches in the first eighteen months. That all seems a long time ago!
2) Most memorable sale?
Well, most remarkable and drawn out sale, was whilst working with Andersens. We bid for and won the contract to design and implement the entire IT infrastructure for the Kuwaiti government after the Gulf war.
3) Most disastrous sale (or funny situation?
Soon after I made the move into IT (early Eighties) I was making my way up the organization, but was still fairly rebellious (and I still am!) I decided to make a one-man stand against my companies' refusal to install air-conditioning - in a glass building in July, working was almost impossible. So, one morning, I turned up for work dressed in an immaculate pinstripe suit jacket, crisp white shirt, tie, black shoes - polished to perfection etc. In fact from the waist up, I looked like my normal self. But I left off my trousers, and instead wore a pair of stunning boxer shorts in bright pink, with kissing hippos on them.
I marched into the General Manager's office to show my displeasure at his stance on the air-conditioning, and to my horror, walked in on a meeting between some of my directors and representatives of my largest client. In my haste to conduct my protest, I had completely forgotten about the meeting!
The outcome? I joined the meeting, we negotiated the next large contract. Everyone was highly amused, and it actually strengthened the relationship between our two companies. And no, air-conditioning was never installed until after I had left the company!
4) What is the biggest mistake you see as a sales expert?
Companies failing to take a diagnostic approach to sales team development, and abdicating total responsibility to training companies.
5) What is the best sales advice you have ever received?
People buy people - they always will - unless you are selling commodities, in which case we don't really need salespeople in the first place. So develop your people skills - become a people person.
6) Tell us a little bit about the Top Sales Awards. Why another award? How is it different from the others? Who should apply (and how?)? Is there a panel of judges? Who decides the winners? Do you offer prizes?
We wanted to create a global event, not just something that recognized North American excellence - after all only 8% of the world's sales population works in America - and we also wanted to identify the many facets of professional selling, which I think we have done.
So, on December 16th 2010, the inaugural Annual Top Sales World awards ceremony takes place online. We anticipate that this prestigious event will become a permanent annual fixture, creating considerable excitement within the global sales community, attracting support from all of the major players. This year, the joint hosts are Gerhard Gschwandtner of Selling Power and myself. There will be three medals up for grabs in ten categories and public voting will account for 50% and a judging panel will make up the other 50% in each category.
The site goes live this week - www.topsalesawards.com - and the polls open on November 16th. The Twitter home is @topsalesawards
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You can catch more of Jonathan via his immensely popular daily blog - www.thejfblogit.co.uk - or on Twitter @jonofarrington
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