The Weekly Blitz is brought to you by our friends over at Shop Marketing Pros. If you want to take your shop to the next level, you need great marketing. Shop Marketing Pros does top-tier marketing for top-tier shops.

Click here to learn more about Top Tier Marketing by Shop Marketing Pros and schedule a demo: https://shopmarketingpros.com/chris/

Check out their podcast here: https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

If you would like to join their private facebook group go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autorepairmarketingmastermind

Episode Title: It’s Easy to Contract When You Should Be Expanding

Host: Coach Chris Cotton

Network: Aftermarket Radio Network

What if the real communication problem isn’t what you said… but what the other person heard?

In this full-length episode of The Weekly Blitz, Coach Chris Cotton devotes an entire show to one of the most overlooked leadership skills: making sure communication actually lands. Using a personal story about taco salad from his youth, Chris breaks down why assumptions derail teams, how leaders unintentionally create confusion, and what it really takes to ensure understanding—at work, at home, and everywhere in between.

If you’ve ever said, “That’s not what I meant,” this episode is for you.

Episode Summary:

In “The Taco Salad Lesson: Communication That Actually Lands,” Coach Chris Cotton explores why communication breaks down even when intentions are good. Through a relatable childhood story and real-world leadership examples, this episode dives deep into the difference between hearing and listening, the danger of assumptions, and how leaders can verify understanding before problems show up.

You’ll learn:

Why intent does not equal impact

The difference between hearing and listening

How assumptions quietly wreck teams

Simple ways to confirm understanding

Why clarity is a form of respect

🤝 Episode Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by Shop Marketing Pros.

Shop Marketing Pros helps auto repair shop owners build consistent, long-term growth strategies that actually work—especially during slower or unpredictable seasons like January. If you’re looking for marketing that supports your business instead of stressing you out, visit ShopMarketingPros.com.

🎧 About The Weekly Blitz

The Weekly Blitz is a short-form, tactical mindset podcast for auto repair shop owners who want clarity, confidence, and consistent execution in their business. Hosted by Coach Chris Cotton, each episode delivers real-world insight you can apply immediately in your shop.

To listen to more episodes, make sure and go over to iTunes and or Spotify.

Don't forget to rate and review us!

Connect with Chris:

AutoFix-Auto Shop Coaching

www.autoshopcoaching.com

www.aftermarketradionetwork.com

940-400-1008

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AutoFixAutoShopCoaching

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3ClX0ae

Email Chris: chris@autofixsos.com

The Automotive Repair Podcast...

The Weekly Blitz is brought to you by our friends over at Shop Marketing Pros. If you want to take your shop to the next level, you need great marketing. Shop Marketing Pros does top-tier marketing for top-tier shops.

Click here to learn more about Top Tier Marketing by Shop Marketing Pros and schedule a demo: https://shopmarketingpros.com/chris/

Check out their podcast here: https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

If you would like to join their private facebook group go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autorepairmarketingmastermind

Episode Title: It’s Easy to Contract When You Should Be Expanding

Host: Coach Chris Cotton

Network: Aftermarket Radio Network

When business feels uncomfortable, most shop owners don’t pause — they panic.

They pull back marketing.

They delay hiring.

They cancel training.

In this episode of The Weekly Blitz, Coach Chris Cotton tackles one of the most dangerous instincts in business: contracting when expansion is required.

This conversation is about leadership under pressure — and why fear-based decisions quietly kill long-term growth. Coach Chris breaks down why contraction feels responsible, why it’s often the wrong move, and how the best-performing shops expand strategically when others retreat.

This is not about reckless growth.

It’s about intentional expansion — expanding systems, leadership, visibility, and execution when it matters most.

If you’ve been feeling squeezed, uncertain, or tempted to “wait and see,” this episode will challenge that thinking — and give you a better path forward.

⏱️ EPISODE TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – 02:45

🔥 Opening Hook: Why contraction feels safe — and why it’s dangerous

02:45 – 08:30

🧠 Why shop owners contract under pressure (fear vs leadership)

08:30 – 14:45

📈 What expansion really means (hint: it’s not always a new building)

14:45 – 16:15

🎯 Mid-Roll Sponsor: Shop Marketing Pros

16:15 – 22:30

🏗️ Expand or slowly shrink: the real cost of waiting

22:30 – 25:00

🚀 Final close + Aftermarket Radio Network mention

💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Contraction is emotional. Expansion is strategic.

Pausing marketing is usually the most expensive decision you can make.

Expansion doesn’t mean reckless growth — it means intentional investment.

Slow shops don’t need less visibility — they need better execution.

Leadership shows up before confidence does.

🔊 QUOTABLE LINES

“Contraction is easy. Expansion is leadership.”

“Markets don’t reward fear — they reward presence.”

“If your shop is slow, question execution before demand.”

“There is no neutral — you’re either expanding capability or shrinking your future.”

“Confidence doesn’t come before action. It comes after.”

🤝 Episode Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by Shop Marketing Pros.

Shop Marketing Pros helps auto repair shop owners build consistent, long-term growth strategies that actually work—especially during slower or unpredictable seasons like January. If you’re looking for marketing that supports your business instead of stressing you out, visit ShopMarketingPros.com.

🎧 About The Weekly Blitz

The Weekly Blitz is a short-form, tactical mindset podcast for auto repair shop owners who want clarity, confidence, and consistent execution in their business. Hosted by Coach Chris Cotton, each episode delivers real-world insight you can apply...

The Weekly Blitz is brought to you by our friends over at Shop Marketing Pros. If you want to take your shop to the next level, you need great marketing. Shop Marketing Pros does top-tier marketing for top-tier shops.

Click here to learn more about Top Tier Marketing by Shop Marketing Pros and schedule a demo: https://shopmarketingpros.com/chris/

Check out their podcast here: https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

If you would like to join their private facebook group go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autorepairmarketingmastermind

Episode Summary

By the second week of January, most shop owners are already questioning their plans, their numbers, and sometimes themselves. In this episode of The Weekly Blitz, Coach Chris Cotton breaks down why that feeling is not failure—it’s feedback.

This episode is all about making your first smart course correction of the year without panic, emotional decisions, or abandoning a plan that still deserves time to work. If January hasn’t gone exactly how you expected, this episode will help you reset, refocus, and move forward with clarity and confidence.

🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why January rarely starts the way we picture it—and why that’s normal

The difference between failure and feedback in the early weeks of the year

A simple 3-question framework to make intelligent course corrections

What shop owners should not change yet in week two of January

One tactical move that can create immediate momentum without discounting

How discipline—not hype—sets winning shops apart early in the year

🛠️ Key Takeaways

January doesn’t reward optimism—it rewards process

A slow start does not mean a bad year

Most early-January mistakes are emotional, not strategic

Small, fast corrections beat big reactive changes

Momentum is built by staying in the game, not starting over

📋 Action Step for This Week

Before making any big changes, sit down and answer these three questions:

What did I assume that turned out to be wrong?

What’s working better than I expected?

What am I overreacting to?

Then choose one tactical improvement to focus on this week—starting with follow-up on declined or unsold work.

🤝 Episode Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by Shop Marketing Pros.

Shop Marketing Pros helps auto repair shop owners build consistent, long-term growth strategies that actually work—especially during slower or unpredictable seasons like January. If you’re looking for marketing that supports your business instead of stressing you out, visit ShopMarketingPros.com.

🎧 About The Weekly Blitz

The Weekly Blitz is a short-form, tactical mindset podcast for auto repair shop owners who want clarity, confidence, and consistent execution in their business. Hosted by Coach Chris Cotton, each episode delivers real-world insight you can apply immediately in your shop.

To listen to more episodes, make sure and go over to iTunes and or Spotify.

Don't forget to rate and review us!

Connect with Chris:

AutoFix-Auto Shop Coaching

www.autoshopcoaching.com

www.aftermarketradionetwork.com

940-400-1008

Facebook: