When Coaching Falls Apart: The PMA Report, ATI's Shake-Up, and Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever [E263]

When Coaching Falls Apart: The PMA Report, ATI's Shake-Up, and Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever [E263] Chris Cotton Weekly Blitz · Jun 29, 2026

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Concept

PMA Benchmark Report

A yearly financial report that looks at the numbers from hundreds of auto repair shops to show what the most successful shops are doing differently compared to those that are struggling.

Company

AutoFix AutoShop Coaching

The business coaching company run by the host of this podcast, Chris Cotton, which helps auto repair shop owners improve their leadership and business operations.

Company

Automotive Training Institute (ATI)

A well-known training and coaching company that helps auto repair shop owners learn how to run their businesses better and make more money.

Person

Hunt Demarest

An accountant who specializes in helping auto repair shops manage their money. He hosts a podcast and releases a yearly report showing how the best shops run their businesses.

Term

This stands for Average Repair Order. It is the average amount of money a customer spends when they bring their car in for service, calculated by dividing total sales by the number of customer visits.

Company

Shop Marketing Pros

A marketing company that only works with auto repair shops, helping them get more customers through websites, online ads, and social media.

LIVE

This is the Automotive Repair Podcast Network.

It's your weekly Blitz with Chris keeping you in the game.

Everybody wants the silver bullet.

Raise your labor rate, get more cars, hire another technician, spend more on Google.

That's what struggling shop owners keep chasing.

And then the newest PMA benchmark report dropped and it absolutely destroys those excuses.

The bottom performing shops are actually charging more per labor hour than the top performing shops.

Think about that for just a second.

Hire labor rates, lower profits.

If labor rate fixed everything, that wouldn't happen.

Now, sidebar, a lot of you out there still need to check your labor rate against your technician expenses and adjust accordingly.

But instead, the report says exactly what we've been telling Autifix coaching clients for years.

The biggest problem in this industry isn't marketing.

It isn't labor rate.

It isn't even the supposed technician shortage.

It's leadership, it's productivity and its process.

Speaking of coaching, this week another major story broke that has a lot of shop owners asking questions.

ATI has gone through significant leadership changes, including the departure of several longtime executives and coaches that many shop owners have known for years.

Whether you're an ATI client or not, that matters because coaching relationships are built on trust.

Today, we're going to talk about what happened, what it could mean and why your coach matters far more than the logo on the building.

Let's go.

Today isn't about attacking another company.

It's about understanding what happens when leadership changes inside coaching organizations and what the PMA report tells us about where shop owners actually need help.

Because if leadership is the biggest problem inside repair shops, leadership inside coaching companies matters too.

Overall, the PMA report didn't surprise me and if you don't know what that is, that's the Parmelas accounting report that Hunt Demmers put out.

If you're not listening to his podcast, go over and listen to it.

He's doing three or four, maybe five or six episodes talking just about the report.

I'm going to do two episodes, this one and one more about what I got out of the report.

Again, it didn't surprise me.

You know, the biggest headline isn't labor rates.

It's this, the bottom 10% has $172 labor rate and negative profit and the top 10% has $169 labor rate and over 20% net profit.

And whatever labor rate obsession people have, you know, top shops aren't winning because they're charging more, they're winning because they execute better.

When we think about how they execute better, it's productivity, advisor performance, inspection process, estimating, workflow, owner leadership, you know, my saying numbers never lie.

And that's one of the things that we found, you know, when productivity is low, I don't start asking text, what's wrong with my text?

I said, I start by asking what system I built that allows low productivity, right?

Again, it's leadership, it all gets turned in on me.

I still believe the biggest bottleneck is sitting in the owner's office and how you transition the things from going like technician, manager to CEO, right?

Most owners never make that last jump, not because the market changed, but because leadership didn't.

CEOs measure every week, daily sales, hours sold, hours produced, ARO, GP, net new customers, Google reviews.

I just had a sales meeting with my team last night.

These are all the things that we went over, plus all the things that are coming up in July that we need to be talking about.

If you don't know these numbers and own them, you're just running the business emotionally, all right?

This episode is brought to you by Shop Marketing Pros.

Here's something interesting.

The PMA report proved that most struggling shops don't actually have a marketing problem first, they have a production problem.

But once you've fixed your processes, once you're converting inspections, once your advisors are selling properly, once your capacity is increasing, now you need consistent marketing that keeps the right vehicles flowing through your doors.

That's where Shop Marketing Pros comes in.

They don't market restaurants, they don't market dentists, they specialize in independent auto repair shops.

From websites and SEO to Google ads, paid social branding and long-term growth strategies, they understand this industry because this is all they do.

If you're ready to build a shop that doesn't just survive but dominate your market, visit Shop Marketing Pros and let their team help you build a marketing strategy that actually supports your operational goals.

While I'm here, I want to talk about ATI's recent leadership changes.

Over the last several days, we've seen some significant personnel changes at ATI, several long-time leaders.

Most of you know that during my former shop operator days, I hired ATI to help me turn around my business.

They offered me a coaching position.

I went there, stayed for about two years and decided to do something else.

I know a lot of these people.

These are great people.

Several long-time leaders that have been with that company for 20-plus years, people who many shop owners have worked with for years are no longer with that organization.

And whenever something like this happens, rumors spread quickly.

I'm not interested in rumors.

I don't know what's going on there, but I'm interested in what this means for shop owners.

Coaching is relational.

People stay because of trust.

They stay because someone understands their business.

And when experienced coaches leave, clients naturally ask questions, who's coaching me now?

Will my coach stay?

Will the philosophy change?

Will accountability stay the same?

And I think those are all fair questions to add, right?

But I want you to remember this.

The logo doesn't coach you.

People coach you.

The coaching company isn't valuable because of its name.

It's valuable because of the quality and consistency of the people sitting across from you every month.

That's why leadership inside coaching companies matters just as much as leadership inside repair shops.

I don't know exactly what what ATI is going to look like in six months or a year from now.

None of us do.

Time will tell, but major leadership transitions always create uncertainty and uncertainty naturally

causes business owners to reevaluate whether they're getting the guidance they need.

All right.

What I would tell you is maybe you're an ATI client, maybe you're not, maybe you're happy.

Great if you are.

Stay where you're at if you are.

This isn't about convincing happy clients to leave, but if you're feeling disconnected, if your

coach changed, if communication changed, if you aren't being challenged anymore, don't

stay because you've always stayed.

Evaluate the coaching, not the logo, then transition directly into autofix.

We are leadership development.

We're KPI accountability.

We're shop visits.

We're implementation.

We're helping owners become CEOs.

We don't sell magic.

We build better operators because that's what the PMA report just proved works.

Okay.

The PMA report is really a coaching report.

The report didn't identify marketing and some of the other things.

You know, exactly what should coaching improve?

If your coaching isn't improving those things, ask yourself why you're paying for coaching.

That's the question every shop owner should be asking after reading this report.

This week, I want you to do these five things.

I want you to measure technician productivity.

I want you to measure estimate closing percentage.

I want you to measure advisor labor hours sold.

I want you to identify your biggest production bottleneck.

Ask yourself one uncomfortable question.

Am I still running this business like a technician or leading it like a CEO?

Okay.

To close this out, the PMA report confirms something I believe for a very long time.

Your shop ceiling isn't set by your labor rate.

It isn't set by your competition.

It isn't set by your market.

It's set by your leadership and leadership can improve.

If you're an ATI client who's wondering what these recent changes mean,

don't panic, but don't ignore them either.

Ask questions, evaluate the value you're receiving.

Coaching is too important to put on autopilot.

And if you're looking for a coaching partner that's focused on execution,

accountability, and building leaders, not just running meetings,

we'd love to have a conversation with you at AutoFix AutoShop Coaching.

Remember, numbers never lie.

The shops that lead better earn more.

Thanks for spending part of your week with me here on The Weekly Blitz.

I appreciate all of you who are out there moving this industry forward every day.

If this episode challenged your thinking, share it with another shop owner.

Subscribe wherever you listen and leave us a review.

Until next time, keep leading, keep measuring, and keep building the business

your team deserves.

Have a great day, everybody.

You've been listening to The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton on the Automotive

Repair Podcast Network.

Download our exclusive podcast app at automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com

because the best conversations in the industry start here.

Want expert advice on running your shop?

Well, Chris is listening.

Check the show notes for his email and send him your topics.

About this episode

The latest PMA benchmark report delivers a shocking truth: bottom-performing auto shops actually charge higher labor rates than top-tier shops, proving that profitability hinges on leadership and execution rather than just pricing. Host Chris Cotton breaks down these findings alongside major leadership shake-ups at the Automotive Training Institute (ATI). With key executives departing ATI, shop owners are urged to evaluate their coaching relationships, prioritize productivity over marketing, and transition from a technician mindset to a true CEO. It is a candid look at why the person coaching you matters far more than the logo on the building.

ARO (Average Repair Order) AutoFix AutoShop Coaching Automotive Training Institute (ATI) Hunt Demarest PMA Benchmark Report Shop Marketing Pros

Original notes

The latest PMA Benchmark Report confirmed something we've been teaching at AutoFix Coaching for years: the biggest problem facing most independent repair shops isn't labor rates, marketing, or even the technician shortage—it's leadership.

In this episode, Coach Chris Cotton breaks down the coaching-related findings from the PMA report and explains why top-performing shops consistently outperform the rest through better systems, stronger leadership, improved productivity, and disciplined execution.

Chris also discusses the recent leadership changes at Automotive Training Institute (ATI), what those changes may mean for current coaching clients, and why shop owners should evaluate coaching based on the people, accountability, and results—not just the company name.

If you've ever wondered why some shops continue to grow while others stay stuck despite charging higher labor rates or spending more on marketing, this episode will challenge your thinking.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why higher labor rates don't guarantee higher profits
The real reason productivity is a leadership metric
What the PMA report reveals about elite-performing shops
Why many owners become their own growth bottleneck
What ATI's recent organizational changes could mean for coaching clients
How to evaluate whether your current coaching relationship is helping your business grow
Leadership changes everything. The numbers prove it.

Sponsored By Shop Marketing Pros

Shop Marketing Pros helps independent auto repair shops dominate their markets through SEO, website design, Google Ads, and digital marketing strategies built specifically for the automotive industry.

Learn more at:

https://shopmarketingpros.com

Need Help Understanding Your Numbers?

Schedule a discovery session with AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching today.

https://autoshopcoaching.com

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

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: [email protected]

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

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