Rick Wilson

An Introduction Built Through Relationships

Rick Wilson is the Director of Commercial Roofing Sales at Aastro Roofing Company, where he leads business development and relationship management for commercial, multifamily, condominium-association, and institutional roofing opportunities throughout South Florida.

Rick began working with Aastro around 2020 after arriving at the company with a potential roofing opportunity involving a multifamily condominium complex in Palm Beach County.

His introduction to Aastro came through a mutual relationship. Rick was close with a Palm Beach County property-management professional whose son Jason Blair had coached in youth baseball. Through that connection, Rick learned about Jason and Aastro Roofing Company.

Rick came to Aastro’s office, introduced himself, explained his extensive sales background, and presented the condominium opportunity he had identified through a relationship with someone connected to the property’s board.

He was not simply asking for a position. He was bringing a legitimate opportunity and proposing that he help Aastro develop and sell it.

Bringing Extensive Sales Experience into Roofing

Before entering roofing, Rick built substantial professional sales experience in the food industry.

The products and customers were different, but many of the underlying principles transferred directly: identifying decision-makers, building trust, maintaining consistent follow-up, understanding customer priorities, managing long sales cycles, presenting value, and preserving relationships after the sale.

Rick understood that a significant sale is rarely created through one presentation. It develops through repeated contact, preparation, responsiveness, credibility, and the ability to remain involved without becoming intrusive.

Jason was not initially convinced that Rick’s previous experience would translate into high-level commercial roofing sales. Roofing—particularly commercial, multifamily, and association roofing—requires more than general sales ability.

The representative must learn buildings, roofing systems, project scopes, board decision-making, property-management concerns, budgets, warranties, scheduling, technical limitations, and the consequences of making commitments on behalf of a contractor.

Jason nevertheless believed Rick deserved an opportunity to prove himself. Rick did exactly that.

Earning Credibility in a Technical Industry

Sales experience gave Rick a strong foundation, but roofing knowledge still had to be developed.

Commercial and multifamily clients expect the representative to understand the project well enough to explain the proposal, identify the proper internal resources, and avoid making promises that the company cannot responsibly fulfill.

Rick learned by working directly with Jason and Aastro’s roofing professionals.

That process required him to become familiar with commercial roof inspections, multifamily property conditions, tile, shingle, metal, and low-slope roofing systems, repair-versus-replacement decisions, project phasing, occupied-property concerns, rooftop equipment, drainage, flashing and penetrations, warranties, permitting, access, material staging, resident communication, and the operational demands created by large roofing projects.

Rick did not need to become the production foreman, estimator, engineer, or technical authority for every roofing system.

He did need to understand which questions should be asked, what information the customer required, and when another Aastro professional needed to become part of the discussion.

Relationship-Driven Commercial Business Development

Rick’s sales approach is deliberately traditional and relationship driven.

He develops business by meeting people, making calls, attending industry and property-management events, asking for introductions, following up, visiting properties, and remaining visible within the commercial-property and roofing communities.

His approach is simple in concept but demanding in execution: shake hands, have conversations, ask questions, follow up, stay in contact, and continue building the relationship even when no immediate contract is available.

Rick does not depend entirely on digital advertising or an online lead form to create commercial opportunities.

He builds relationships with property managers, condominium and HOA board members, building owners, commercial real-estate professionals, facility personnel, management-company executives, consultants, suppliers, roofing-industry professionals, and other people connected to large properties.

A relationship developed today may not create a roofing opportunity for several years. Rick’s willingness to remain engaged over time is one of his primary strengths.

Selling to Condominium and Multifamily Clients

Commercial and multifamily roofing sales differ significantly from many residential transactions.

A homeowner may be able to make a decision independently. A condominium or multifamily project may require approval from multiple people with different responsibilities and priorities.

The property manager may be focused on operations and communication. The board may be focused on cost, funding, warranty, contractor selection, and resident expectations. A consultant may be focused on specifications and performance. Residents may be concerned about noise, access, parking, debris, schedules, and how long the work will affect their building.

The contractor must be prepared to explain not only the roof but also the process.

Rick helps guide those discussions by identifying the decision-making structure, coordinating inspections, gathering property information, helping schedule meetings, communicating proposal status, presenting options, explaining Aastro’s qualifications, coordinating revisions, and maintaining follow-up through the approval process.

The objective is not simply to deliver a price. It is to help the customer understand how Aastro intends to evaluate, organize, communicate, and complete the roofing project.

Developing Opportunities with Jason Blair

Rick and Jason work closely together on commercial and multifamily opportunities.

Rick frequently brings the relationship and the initial opening. Jason brings decades of roofing experience, operational judgment, company authority, and the ability to help determine what Aastro can responsibly propose.

Together, they review the property type, roofing system, visible conditions, project size, access, occupancy, staging, labor requirements, potential phasing, material options, technical complexity, customer expectations, pricing strategy, and whether the opportunity is a proper fit for Aastro Roofing Company.

Not every lead should automatically become a proposal, and not every proposal should be pursued at any cost.

Large roofing projects create significant operational and financial exposure when the scope is unclear, the schedule is unrealistic, the client’s expectations are not aligned, or the contractor lacks the appropriate capacity.

Rick’s knowledge of the relationship and Jason’s roofing and operational experience help Aastro evaluate the opportunity from both sides.

From Proposal Development to Presentation

Once Aastro decides to pursue an opportunity, Rick helps organize the customer-facing sales process.

A commercial roofing proposal must do more than state a total price. Depending on the project, the customer may need to understand the existing roof condition, proposed roofing system, preparation and tear-off requirements, underlayment or insulation, flashing details, penetrations, drainage, attachment methods, project phasing, resident or tenant coordination, property protection, cleanup, inspections, warranties, exclusions, allowances, and conditions that could lead to additional work.

Rick works with Jason and Aastro’s internal personnel to help translate those technical and operational components into a proposal and presentation the client can evaluate.

His sales background is especially valuable at this stage.

Technical information must remain accurate, but it also has to be communicated clearly enough for property managers, owners, and board members to understand.

A customer should not need to become a roofer to make an informed decision. The contractor must explain the proposal in organized, practical language.

Maintaining the Relationship Through Project Execution

Rick’s involvement does not necessarily end when the contract is signed.

Large commercial and multifamily projects can continue for weeks or months and may involve several buildings, residents, managers, board members, consultants, inspectors, and Aastro departments.

Rick helps maintain continuity with the client during that process.

He is not a substitute for Aastro’s Production Manager, Field Supervisor, Project Manager, or foremen. Those employees remain responsible for their assigned technical and operational functions.

Rick’s role is relationship continuity. He may communicate with the property manager or board, follow up on concerns, clarify prior discussions, coordinate meetings, help explain project developments, relay information to the appropriate Aastro department, and remain available to the customer throughout the work.

That continuity is valuable because the person who developed the opportunity understands the history of the relationship, the customer’s priorities, and the discussions that led to the contract.

Multimillion-Dollar Commercial Sales Performance

Rick’s results exceeded Jason’s original expectations.

Since entering the roofing industry, Rick has consistently generated several million dollars in annual commercial and multifamily roofing sales.

His performance has been driven primarily by networking, referrals, personal introductions, relationship management, persistence, and the ability to remain involved through lengthy sales cycles.

That production has made Rick instrumental in Aastro Roofing Company’s growth.

Commercial and multifamily projects provide more than revenue. They help Aastro expand its project portfolio, strengthen manufacturer and supplier relationships, build experience with associations and property managers, improve commercial estimating and documentation, develop large-project leadership, and create long-term relationships with clients responsible for multiple properties.

Rick’s ability to create those opportunities has helped Aastro grow beyond a company known only for individual residential roofing projects.

Industry Involvement

Rick also represents Aastro Roofing Company within the Palm Beach County roofing community.

He has served as an officer of the Palm Beach County Roofing & Sheet Metal Contractors Association and continues to participate in the professional relationships surrounding the local roofing industry.

Association involvement gives Rick opportunities to remain connected with roofing contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, code and industry professionals, and other people involved in the Palm Beach County roofing market.

For Rick, industry participation aligns naturally with the relationship-driven approach that has defined his commercial-sales success.

The exact association office should be updated publicly only when the current board roster or other direct documentation is available.

An Instrumental Part of Aastro’s Growth

Rick arrived at Aastro with sales experience but without an established career in roofing.

He was given an opportunity because he brought a legitimate lead, demonstrated initiative, and was willing to enter a technical industry where he still had much to learn.

He converted that opportunity into sustained performance.

Rick learned the commercial roofing-sales process, built relationships throughout Palm Beach County, developed opportunities with property managers and board members, worked with Jason to construct viable proposals, and remained involved with clients through project execution.

What Jason initially viewed with uncertainty became one of Aastro’s most productive commercial-sales relationships.

Today, Rick Wilson is the Director of Commercial Roofing Sales and an important part of Aastro Roofing Company’s commercial, multifamily, condominium-association, and institutional growth.

Life Outside Aastro

Rick is married and resides in Palm Beach County.

He also enjoys spending time in North Carolina, where he and his family frequently vacation.

His professional success reflects the same emphasis on relationships that shapes his life outside work.

Rick’s success at Aastro did not come from roofing experience alone. It came from the ability to connect with people, earn trust, remain persistent, and create opportunities that others might never have identified.