We’d like you to get to know the T-R team a little better, so let’s begin with Ray Abbott, our Vice President Sales & Corporate Development:
Ray has been in the moving industry since 1979, when he began his career as a long-distance hauler. Ray moved into Sales and has worked in a variety of roles, building knowledge and experience within the industry.
Inspiration
Ray lives by this quote from Steve Jobs:
“Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.”
Experience
Ray is a versatile and resourceful Senior Vice President and Sales professional with a proven track record in team management, operations, and sales. He is confident, enthusiastic, energetic, a strong individual contributor, as well as a collaborative team member. As a leader, he prides himself on being an effective role model, mentor, and relationship-builder.
Ray has volunteered his time with Alberta Children’s Hospital & Foundation and as an on-ice trainer with Calgary Royals Junior A Hockey Team. He is a husband and father of two, and currently resides in Vancouver, BC.
Ray’s role at T-R
As Vice President of Sales and Corporate Development for Tippet-Richardson, Ray is responsible for establishing sales targets, to meet company objectives. Here’s a bit more about his role:
Sales Leadership: Ray Abbott, Vice President Sales & Corporate Development
As VP of Sales and Corporate Development, I will be responsible for establishing the sales targets to meet the company objectives. As a part of the executive management team, responsibilities would include development of strategic plans and subsequent sales plans, based on organizational goals and available resources. Strategic sales plans would be developed based on company goals that will promote sales growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction for the organization. After year 1, the annual minimum corporate business expectations are 1M and to grow annually by 15% -20%.
Ray’s advice for anyone new to this industry is to focus on gaining experience and be willing to continually grow in your role, over time. Ray considers his biggest success factor to be his attitude and determination. He strongly believes you can achieve anything you put your mind to.
In retrospect
Looking back over his career so far, these are Ray’s stand-out highlights:
Winning top sales in Canada with United Van Lines from 1996 – 2002, million plus sales yearly; Being part of United Van lines Winning Circle award and the first person in the history of the Van Lines to book Million dollars in line haul within the first quarters of 2000.
Looking forward
Ray creates motivation for himself and his team by way of bi-weekly sales meetings / videos on success, plus lots of mentoring, training, and encouraging a positive attitude. He also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a good work / life balance. When not working, he loves playing guitar, listening to music, and playing sports, such as golf.
Ray’s thoughts for the future: The moving industry is going to become more challenging, as younger generations are less willing to enter into a physical industry and labour shortages are becoming more apparent.
If you’d like to get in touch with Ray, you can contact him at our Vancouver branch
