CollisionCast

As more customers turn to AI chatbots and search engine reviews to decide where to bring their car after an accident, if your shop doesn’t have a strong digital brand, you’ve lost a customer before they’ve even had a chance to walk through your door. In our July case study in the magazine, Noah Brown interviewed Megan Fulkerson, founder of 3P Marketing, on how to build a strong online presence and attract more customers. In today’s episode, Megan and host and FenderBender Editor-in-Chief Jay Sicht expand on why marketing needs to be a priority for your business. For more information on 3P Marketing's services, visit 3Pmarketing.com.

What's the state of the labor shortage in the collision repair industry, and what are some strategies for recruiting and retention? Crash Champions Founder and CEO Matt Ebert joins the CollisionCast to talk about how more young people are choosing skilled trades careers over traditional college educations, how the company's Skills Training Education Program apprenticeship is designed to get a technician standing on his or her own after a year, and more.

Do you have a toxic team, or does your shop have a family atmosphere? Today, we’re talking about toxic leadership and team conflict in collision repair. Dr. Paul White, co-author of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, joins the CollisionCast with speaker and coach Sheryl Driggers of Collision Advice, who's also a former collision repair shop owner, for real talk about tough people, team friction, and how to fix the things that slow your shop down. Get in touch with Dr. White at https://drpaulwhite.com and Sheryl at sheryl@collisionadvice.com. And be sure to check out the previous episode with Dr. White and Sheryl on Busted Myths: What Leaders Get Wrong About Showing Appreciation.

Boost productivity, reduce turnover, and elevate morale by mastering one overlooked leadership skill: showing appreciation. Dr. Paul White, co-author of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, joins the CollisionCast with speaker and coach Sheryl Driggers of Collision Advice, who's also a former collision repair shop owner, to talk about how misconceptions could be hurting your retention, morale, and results. Get in touch with Dr. White at https://drpaulwhite.com and Sheryl at sheryl@collisionadvice.com.

In this episode, we’ll be talking with Andrew McInnes, FCSD, Collision & Global Brand Protection Manager, Ford Motor Company, about how the OEM recently updated its position statements for all Ford and Lincoln vehicles from 1996 and later to include a powerful word change to “required,” and the reasons for that change. For more information and the links to those position statements, go to: https://www.fenderbender.com/55321726.

Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized over 211,000 counterfeit auto parts, a whopping doubling from the number seized the previous year. This issue goes beyond selling an unlicensed copy of an emblem. NHTSA identified five known cases of death or serious injury in 2023 and 2024 in which the vehicle was equipped with a defective counterfeit air bag. In this episode, Bob Stewart, president of the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council and also aftermarket service support and brand protection manager at General Motors, joins CollisionCast to talk about the problem and how collision repairers can help identify these counterfeit parts. To learn more or report a suspect part, go to: GM Resource Website: https://www.gmparts.com/counterfeit-parts A2C2 Website: https://www.a2c2.com/

Leadership isn’t just for those with a title. Every team member has a leadership role. Whether you're a manager or a technician, success comes from shared vision, ownership, and consistent action. Great cultures are built intentionally by people who lead from the front, together. Everyone, regardless of their role, has the power (and responsibility) to lead by example. In this special episode of CollisionCast, Chris Messer, executive vice president of EndeavorB2B’s Transportation Group and Mike Jones, president and master trainer at Discover Leadership, discuss being the standard instead of just setting one.