What the Door and Window Industry Taught Rick Cross
Key Takeaways
At GlassBuild 2025, I (Stefanie Couch) sat down with Rick Cross, Account Executive at Paradigm, to discuss what it truly takes to sell, serve, and remain relevant in the window and door industry.
Rick has spent decades in software and SaaS before bringing that experience into the window and door world. He has worked with teams, customers, and products across every corner of the business. He does not lead a sales department, but he has mentored more people than most managers ever will.
Rick’s reputation comes from how he listens, teaches, and stays steady. This conversation was not about hype. It was about what lasts.
"The fear that AI will replace people is misplaced. Every new technology has scared people before. Then it created new opportunities."
Rick Cross – Paradigm
Practical Use of AI in Sales
We started with AI. It is the buzz of the show, but also the biggest unknown.
Rick sees AI as useful when it solves real problems. He believes its best use right now is helping companies organize and retain what their teams already know. Every company has experts with years of experience who are never incorporated into a process or system. AI can help capture that insight, reduce mistakes, and make work move faster.
“The fear that AI will replace people is misplaced,” he said. “Every new technology has scared people before. Then it created new opportunities.”
He has seen it happen before. The cloud replaced servers. Automation replaced repetition. AI will simply become the next layer of leverage.
Selling That Outlasts the Cycle
Rick’s philosophy on sales is simple. Do what is right.
“There is right and wrong. There is no gray,” he said. “If you do what is right, people come back. If you cut corners, they don’t.”
He has carried that mindset through decades in SaaS and now in manufacturing software. Relationships drive everything. The deal is not the goal. The goal is the next conversation.
Quoting Software as Leverage
Paradigm builds tools that help the window and door industry sell better. Quoting software, visualization platforms, and configuration systems that make complex jobs simple.
Rick has watched those tools transform how companies work. When dealers can quote a product once instead of twice. When customers can explore designs on their own time. When service teams stop re-entering data and start building relationships again.
The value of software is not just speed. It is what teams gain back. Time. Accuracy. Confidence.
Still, Rick reminds people that software alone cannot save a business. “It is always about people and process,” he said. “Software works when trust works.”
“Hull Speed”
Rick once told me a story that stuck with me. He called it hull speed.
Every boat has a maximum speed it can travel before it starts to break apart. You can add more power, but the hull will only handle so much.
Sales and growth work the same way. You can only move as fast as your structure allows. Push too hard and the system cracks. Plan the right foundation, and you glide forward.
“It is about knowing your hull speed,” Rick said. “Plan for the pace you can sustain. Build for it.”
That lesson applies to digital transformation, leadership, and life. Growth that lasts always matches the strength of what carries it.
“You don’t go home from work with a tie. You go home with a win or a loss.”
Rick Cross – Paradigm
Building the Next Generation
The next generation of the window and door industry is stepping in, while many long-time leaders are stepping back. Rick sees that as a moment of opportunity.
“There are real careers here,” he said. “If more young people saw what is possible, they would see how valuable this work really is.”
He believes in outreach to high schools, trade schools, and colleges. Showing the full spectrum of what the industry offers, from engineering and manufacturing to software and leadership.
When young people understand that this work builds the homes, spaces, and systems around them, they see purpose, not just a job.
When Sales Gets Hard
Sales can wear you down. Rick admits it. “You don’t go home from work with a tie. You go home with a win or a loss.”
When people he mentors hit a rough stretch, he tells them to pause. Take a walk. Step away from the desk. Call someone you trust. Help someone else.
He says momentum returns when you stop forcing it. “The best way to get your energy back is to give it to someone else,” he said.
Rick often reads. His go-to recommendation for sales professionals is Selling to VITO by Anthony Parinello, a classic guide on how to reach and communicate with top-level decision-makers.
About the Author: Stefanie Couch is a GlassBuild Brand Ambassador, speaker, and founder of Grit Blueprint. A third-generation building industry insider, she helps glass and building industry companies and leaders utilize brand and visibility systems to grow their reputation and revenue, and stop being the best-kept secret.
