ROB ST. ONGE

ALL-FAB BUILDING COMPONENTS

Even from the beginning, when he was working with Roofmart, Rob St. Onge gravitated to outside sales. When he was twenty-five, Rob was promoted to provincial sales manager for IKO Industries, which he says gave him a lot of experience in the overall market in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. From IKO, he moved to Warehouser, and expanded his product lines to “pretty much everything but windows, doors and drywall.” further. That wealth of knowledge makes his an exceptionally capable sales representative and a key member of the All-Fab team.

When he heard that he’d been selected as the Manitoba Salesperson of the year, Rob was very appreciative. “I was surprised, shocked, humbled,” he said. “It’s amazing how you feel. It was very gratifying.”

Thinking back to the sales year that was 2022 that culminated in Rob receiving this award, Rob smiled as he recounted that the past year was organized mayhem. “Just trying to keep things moving forward in a chaotic industry,” he mentioned. “It didn’t slow down for us as much as we were anticipating. Even though the market is slowing down now, there’s still a lot of excitement that’s out there.”

As we near the end of Q1 in 2023, Rob is looking forward to getting back to enjoying the social side of the business, both in visiting customers and in taking part in the special events, golf tournaments, and trade shows that had been put on hold over the past few years. When asked about his predictions for the industry this year, he’s looking forward to increased challenges, but sees real opportunity for increased success as well.

With the benefit of his many years of experience in the industry, Rob is looking at the year ahead in sales with cautious optimism. “It’s strong. it’s going to be a little bit of competition out there trying to keep the business that we’ve had, and the business we’ve earned over the past couple of years, and with the market slowing down a bit, it’s going to be a little more challenging. I’m looking forward to that challenge and what it brings—another great year.”

When asked what advice he would give to a younger version of himself or someone entering the industry, he said, “Don’t give up. Always be thankful for the challenge. The one thing I’ve learned is that not every day is the same. There’s some bad days where it doesn’t matter what you touch, something’s not going to go right, and there’s other fortunate days where you have the Midas touch.”

As a final thought, Rob gave this piece of advice to those joining the industry or working their way up in their careers, “Never give up. Hard work and talent will always beat great talent that’s not working. There’s always something to learn. As long as you’re willing to keep learning and keep growing, I don’t believe there’s any end to where you can go as far as success goes.”