In Memory of Jonathan Farrington

Jonathan - you leave this world a better place than you found it. It was always fun speaking with you over the years. Massive respect for your contribution to the sales community. A unique and true gentleman. RIP mate. Thank you for everything.

Shocked and incredibly saddened to hear this news.  What an incredible force, champion, cheerleader and amplifier of sales voices, including his own.  Will miss his insights, humor, wit and smile.

I feel very privileged having been invited in 2008 by this great Gentlemen to his group then called "Top Sales Expert". Our ways crossed virtually while we were both contributing blog post to "The Customer Collective". He saw himself as the Captain of a losly coupled global group of sales experts. Under his stewardship this group morphed into "Top Sales World" and further groupings under the umbrella "JF Initiatives" to become the "go to" platform for slaes expertiese. I will forever be grateful to Jonathan having giving me opportunities inviting me to contribute webinars, interviews, accepting my contributions to "Top Sales Magazine" and nominating me as a judge for the "Top Sales Awards" to increase my visibility in the field of Sales. His sharp mind, his wittiness, his mentor ship will be missed. We also lost a super role model for servant leadership.

My thoughts are with his loved ones and his closest collaborators supporting him behind the scenes. I will always honor his memory.

Thank you dear Tamara for this beautiful tribute to Jonathan... His passing has left a big empty space in all our lives. Our loss is immense and so painful. My prayers go to him who is gone into a better world, and to my sister Nathalie and Jonathan's children Joe and Alice who mourn a partner and a generous father. Jonathan was like a caring older brother to me. I will forever remember his wonderful sense of humour and his sharp mind, his great charisma and his cheerfulness, the evenings we spent together talking about our passions and projects. Rest in peace my big brother. We miss you so terribly...

I had the pleasure of Jonathan coming to our business to run several sessions for our sales managers. The legacy of those sessions live with me today, along with the generous advice and support. Since that time we had kept in contact and I was asked to support the Awards.

RIP Jonathan, a rare person of integrity, drive and boundless ideas, support and passion for people.

I am honored and blessed to have known Jonathan. We have lost a friend, a caring leader, a role model, a blessing in my life and I will miss him.
May God give him eternal rest and the family the strength to bear the great pain.

From my first meeting with Jonathan, at a Top Sales World event in London, I knew he was someone special. His infectious enthusiasm, his encyclopaedic knowledge of the sales industry and everyone in it, his job for life were obvious to see.

Like he did for so many other people, Jonathan supported and championed my work, provide a platform for learning, sharing and meeting others from across our industry.

His legacy and impact will live on for many years to come.

Rest In Peace

"PARFORD COTTAGE - Time to say goodbye... Feeling very loved."

These were the words I wrote on my Facebook post after my husband,Tim McClelland (or BG (Big Guy) as he was nicknamed that day) spent a fun-filled and joyful weekend with Jonathan and his gorgeous wife, Nathalie.

Little did I know, I would be saying those same words today - but with a heavy heart.

Jonathan was a legend in the sales world. Founder, curator and mastermind behind the well known Top Sales World awards, magazine, book clubs, conference and so many other initiatives. He was also a great mentor and thinker.

Like many relationships I have forged around the world, we met on LinkedIn .... and whilst on a business trip to London a few years back, I reached out to suggest we meet for dinner, or a drink - as you do!

He responded with 'why don't you spend a couple of days with us in Devon instead?'. No stranger to uncertainty, I jumped on the fast train and there to meet me at the Exeter St David's station was this guy who I immediately felt I had known a lifetime, whilst never having met in person.

Intellectual conversations infused with good red wine, I left that weekend knowing I had someone in my corner.

A couple of years later, Tim and I were invited for yet another weekend at Parford Cottage in Devon and with the rolling hills as a backdrop, the four of us shared pivotal moments of our lives that you don't share with just anybody. It was a safe space.

Not everyone in this world will like you or what you do, so when you find a friend you can pick the phone up to at anytime, or shoot an email to help you seal one of the biggest deals of your life, then you are truly blessed.

Nathalie, our love, thoughts and prayers go to you today, as well.

Jonathan, we love you big time and will miss you!

Signing off for now ... B and BG!

I am shocked and saddened to hear about Jonathan's passing. I always thought he would be around forever given his passion, energy, and drive to further sales. I will miss him dearly as he was a great support, gentleman and mentor.

My sincere condolences to his family. Rest in peace, my friend.

His contagious laughter and a huge smile is all i can see and hear right now.   Saddened for the loved ones knowing he will leave a huge void.  He lived a life worth celebrating, and a legacy to cherish. My respects.

I am heartbroken, in tears, and I am shocked.

My thoughts and love are with his partner Nathalie and his children, Joe and Alice, with his closest Top Sales World magicians behind the scenes, Bill and Jacqueline, and all his friends and peers worldwide.

With Jonathan passing, a true legend in the world of sales has transitioned to the other side. A true legend that touched many hearts, who inspired and connected many people around the globe. A true legend who has achieved tremendous success in different roles, industries, and circumstances. A true legend who was never tired of trying something new, changing things, and adjusting his approaches and thinking.

I will miss his friendship, his kindness, his spirit, his integrity, his gentleness, his humor, his experience, his wisdom, his inner peace, his advice, and his perspectives a lot. And I know many of you will, too.

I am blessed and grateful that I could call Jonathan a friend, a dear friend, and a mentor as well. I will never forget the beautiful and precious moments we shared with our partners privately over the last decade.

Jonathan and I first met when I started with my sales enablement perspectives blog back in 2011. He always believed in me, and he was always there for me. He challenged me and put me in the spotlight–as true mentors do.

Jonathan first gave me a platform in his legendary Top Sales World and the highly regarded and respected Top Sales Magazine to share my ideas and concepts. I am truly blessed and very grateful for everything he did for me over many years.

It rarely happened that he asked for help. Whenever it rarely happened, I always put everything aside to be there for him, listen, and help him.

Jonathan was all about doing things for others, helping others, caring about others, and providing a platform for others to share their ideas and concepts.

Jonathan was also a big innovator. He forced himself to regularly rethink all his JF initiatives, of which there were and are many. He always adjusted and adapted his initiatives to a fast-changing sales world to meet the changing needs of his audiences. And he was never tired of creating new roles for him, to follow his passion–evolving the sales profession.

Jonathan was a leader in every aspect of the term, not only a sales leader. He knew what he was talking about, and his expertise came from the various and different sales, sales manager, sales leadership, and CEO roles he had over many decades, on a global basis. There was almost nothing he didn't experience already, and he could help to bring it into perspective.

Dear Jonathan, I will miss you! And many others all around the world will miss you, too.

Run free, dear Jonathan, and enjoy your journey on the other side. We will meet again, as we did before.

 

Ever since Jonathan asked me to be a judge for the annual Top Sales World Awards 4 years ago I got to know him and to understand what a true gentleman and professional he was.

What a loss for the sales profession and his many friends.

He made a difference and he will be missed.