Collision Industry Conferences... Why You Need to Attend

**🎙️ Podcast Show Notes:

Conference season has a way of creeping up on you… and if you’ve never been, you might not realize just how much opportunity is sitting there waiting. In this episode, we break down why attending a collision industry conference or tradeshow isn’t just “something to think about” … it can be a turning point for your shop.

We keep it real and practical. Walking the trade show floor gives you hands-on access to the latest equipment, live demos, and real conversations with the people building the tools you rely on. That’s a big deal as vehicles keep getting more complex with ADAS, EVs, and changing OEM repair procedures. You’re not guessing anymore… you’re learning straight from the source.

But it’s not just about tools, it’s about growth. From classes on repair planning and profitability to building a stronger team culture in the middle of a tech shortage, these events are packed with ideas you can actually bring back and use right away.

Then there’s the part most people overlook… the people. One conversation with the right shop owner or one keynote message can completely shift how you think and lead.

Events like SEMA, Collision Industry Conference, Southeast Collision Conference and local association meetings aren’t just events… they’re shortcuts to better decisions, better processes, and a better shop.

Key Takeaways:

• See It, Don’t Guess: Live demos and equipment access help you make smarter repair and investment decisions. 
• Stay Ahead of Change: Learn what it really takes to repair today’s vehicles safely and correctly. 
• Sharpen Your Business: Classes give you real strategies for profit, production, and team culture. 
• Your Network Is Your Shortcut: The right conversations can save you time, money, and frustration. 

Bottom line… go with a plan, ask questions, take notes, and connect. When you combine better knowledge with the right mindset, you stop reacting to the industry and start leading in it.

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Transcript

Cold Open: Get Out There

Rick 0:00

Now, if you have not ever attended one of these events yet, and you are interested in the future of our industry, my best advice is to get your ass out there this year and start attending some of these conferences. And trust me on this, you have no idea what you're missing out on. Really. All it takes is one experience. Visiting a couple vendor booths and getting the skinny and the latest equipment, or listening to the wisdom of one of those top speakers I mentioned, making contact with some of your peers, and sharing the stories and tactics that make other shops and your shop special, or just getting out of your shop for a day or two and seeing what's possible for you and your business, you will get hooked. Welcome to the Mind Grant Podcast with your host, Rick Silver, where minor adjustments produce major improvements in mindset, personal growth, and success. This is the place to be every Monday where we make special improvements and positive actions in our business and personal life that will make a major impact in our success. Next level growth and quality of life. Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome to the MindMedch Podcast. Your host Rick Silver. Thanks so much for stopping in. If you're a returning listener and haven't done so already, please take a minute and click the follow or subscribe button and then rate and review the show. When you rate and review the show, the algorithms for Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, and all the other platforms will see that it's valuable and show it to more people that have never seen it before. And hopefully it can help them too. I would really, really, really appreciate your help sharing this word with your friends and family as well. And if you're a brand new listener, welcome. I hope you find something of value here that helps you in your personal or professional life as well. Please make sure to click the subscribe or follow button so you never miss another episode. If you've been listening to the show for a while, or been on the receiving end of my daily quote of the day emails, or maybe just catch my posts on Facebook or LinkedIn. You know them all about the quotes, right? If you'd like to start receiving my quote of the day emails, there's a link in the show notes to sign up. It's free and you can unsubscribe at any time. Over the last few years, I've attended, as well as worked a vendor table on the trade show floor, at several collision industry events. These include Paint Company annual or regional conferences, large group coaching company events like Collision Advice and Certified Collision Group, as well as regional and local shop association conferences. And one thing I can say with confidence is not one event has ever been a waste of time or resources. I have found tremendous value, learned something I didn't know, and made incredible new friends and connections at every single one. And I'm not even a shop owner. A couple years ago, I shared a message that spelled out some of the top reasons to attend one of these events, and wanted to restate this all important message for all of you. As I feel with each passing year. Attending these gatherings are more critical to the success of your business and your own personal growth. I would encourage all of you to take this message to heart. This week, I wanted to share a quick message with all of you about something that's been on my mind the last several weeks. Just a brief something I wanted to share, as the days are getting a little longer, spring's right around the corner, and our schedules start filling up with those important things that we want to accomplish this year, as well as planning maybe a little PTO and possibly a little travel, right? So if you're part of this rapidly changing, constantly challenging but extremely exciting and rewarding collision industry, and my guess is if you're listening to this, you probably are. Whether a shop owner, equipment manufacturer, vendor, technician, you know damn well what season it is right now, right? We're at the start of conference and trade show season. I mean, I can't believe it's already been five months since I was attending Siemen Vegas. Seems like I was just there. The Collision Industry Conference CIC has already had its first quarterly event in Palm Springs and getting ready for its next meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the conferences are stacking up. All the popular industry speakers like Mike Anderson, Dave Lew, and Danny Grettenberg, just to name a few, already have a booked schedule of appearances this year, as well as a host of new speakers and industry leaders looking to share their knowledge with the rest of the collision world. Now, if you have not ever attended one of these events yet, and you are interested in the future of our industry, my best advice is to get your ass out there this year and start attending some of these conferences. And trust me on this, you have no idea what you're missing out on. Really. All it takes is one experience. Visiting a couple vendor booths and getting the skinny on the latest equipment, or listening to the wisdom of one of those top speakers I mentioned, making contact with some of your peers, and sharing the stories and tactics that make other shops and your shop special, or just getting out of your shop for a day or two and seeing what's possible for you and your business, you will get hooked. As someone that spent his whole entire career in the collision business, I worked for decades, never really engaging our industry outside my normal everyday work life, except for an occasional trade show, and back in the nineties they used to have trade shows all the time. I just kind of stayed in my comfort zone, you know, kept my head down, just worked my ass off. And sure I went to an occasional paint company meeting where I listened to some great keynote speakers. As I've spent the last thirty years on the distribution side, so I had a little taste of what they're all about. But it wasn't until our country was just coming out of the pandemic when I really started embracing the concept of just getting out there and checking out some of what collision conferences had to offer. No matter how far away they were from my hometown, and man, all I could think was why the hell did I wait so long? So I thought I would take a few minutes and not only help you understand some of the key benefits of making the commitment to attend a few of these events this year, to start getting engaged in this business that supports your way of life, to start playing your part in becoming part of the solution in an industry that really needs everyone rowing in the same direction, but also provide a guide of some of the many upcoming shows to attend in 2026. Here's just a few of the top reasons to attend. Number one, what's new? Getting out and seeing the new products, new tools and equipment available is probably the most important thing you could do for yourself and your business. These are the keys to your success in repairing today's and tomorrow's vehicles safely and correctly. As the complexity of vehicles keeps advancing, the repair methods as well as the tools and equipment needed to perform those repairs also is advancing. Staying on top of these changes is not only critical to the functionality of today's automobiles, but to the safety of your most valuable asset. That's right, your customers. Keeping up with the new technologies like ADAS and the other safety systems, now on almost every single new vehicle produced, as well as what's involved for you, the repairer, when an EV shows up at your shop for repairs after an accident, is almost impossible to do without actually attending a trade show floor and talking with the vendors from these providers and seeing the latest options available. Listen, although your jobber may bring in a flyer for the latest new primer, adhesive, or polisher that's available, nobody is bringing what's new to properly repair today's vehicles right to your shop, right? Attending a collision conference is the best way for you to see all that's on the market, talk to the manufacturers yourself, see the demonstrations live or get your hands on the latest gear yourself. Number two, opportunities to grow. Another one of the game changing benefits of attending these conferences is the vast number of educational classes or workshops available, as well as the latest trainings from the industry leaders and consultants, manufacturers and vendors on a wide variety of subjects. Whether you're looking for some tactical advice on process improvements or production tips for your back shop, the latest trends in repair planning, detailed looks at what it takes to open an ADAS center, or what to do or not do when an EV or hybrid ends up in your shop. There is plenty of top talent to help guide you in the right direction. Some of the education is included with the cost of registration for the conference, and sometimes there's a reasonable fee. This is where you need to make that mental shift from thinking of that amount as a cost to the more correct term of investment in your shop. When you take the time to learn about better processes and practices, how to correctly charge and collect for your services rendered, improve your paint shop profitability, or how to create a better culture within your shop, you absolutely will make more money. Education is an investment and one that pays great dividends. If you're running a collision shop, whether second generation, third generation, or original owner, grinding every day, putting out fires, chasing KPIs, working in rather than on the business, and wondering why progress still feels slower than it should, let's take a little pause right here. As a longtime industry supplier, performance coach, and host of this podcast, I've worked inside this industry for over four decades, and I've learned a few things the hard way. Tools and tactics absolutely matter, but mindset drives everything. How you think shapes how you lead, how you hire, how you grow, and how you show up when things get messy. That's where one-on-one coaching makes a difference. You get focused conversations, real accountability, and guidance tailored to you and your shop, not generic cookie-cutter advice. The collision repair business has changed dramatically in the last few years. The technology, the tools, the equipment needed to repair today's new vehicles, customer expectations that vary by generation, OEM certifications and repair procedures, ADAS calibrations, electric vehicles, and the ever-growing national technician shortage, it's a lot, isn't it? It can be absolutely overwhelming and very challenging on where to focus first, right? If only I had someone who could help me find clarity in all the chaos. If only there was someone that could help guide me through the changes I need to make so I could create a successful business and increase my net revenue. If only I had a coach that could help me without getting in my way, or trying to run my business for me, or costing me a fortune. This is where I can help. The goal is simple help you make consistent improvements, build sustainable culture, gain better profitability, and shave years off the learning curve. If you're open to adjusting how you think and how you lead, book a free 15-minute discovery call with me right now. No sales pitch, no blue sky promises, just an honest conversation to see if it's a fit. You have absolutely nothing to lose but everything to gain. Secure a spot now. Number three, keynote speakers. One thing I learned early on in my career working for a jobber while attending one of those paint company conferences was the value of listening to a great keynote speaker. I still remember my first experience attending a keynote. I was listening to speaker, Hall of Fame member, Dr. Alan Zimmerman. He actually made such an impact, his message changed the direction of my life and started me down a path of self improvement, a path I'm still on almost twenty years later. This is one advantage of attending a conference that I can't stress enough. If you've ever listened to someone like Mike Anderson from Collision Advice or Dave Lew from Body Shop Solutions, if you've never had that opportunity in the past, then make a commitment to do it this year. Not all conferences or trade shows will have a keynote speaker, but many of the educational classes are led by folks like Mike Anderson or Dave Lew and many others. There are some great industry leaders that have a passion for sharing their wisdom with others. Be sure to take advantage of it. Number four, networking. Have you ever heard the saying your network equals your net worth? Well, there's a lot of truth to that statement if you think about it. If you're a shop owner and your network includes larger, more successful shop owners, by spending time around them, don't you think that you may discover some additional ways to increase your RO, market penetration, learn some productivity tips, or profitability, or even tax moves that increase your income? Hell yes you would. And likewise, you being part of someone else's network may provide them with some unique insights from your business that helps their bottom line. The quickest way to a better running facility, a stronger business, increased income, a beneficial list of industry resources and a powerful network is to spend some time in a room with your peers, like-minded shop owners willing to share their strategies with each other. Collision conferences and trade shows are the perfect place to accomplish this. One of my clients I've worked with for the last couple years had realized this after attending a paint company conference, where he witnessed that massive advantage of attending these types of events, and has now started attending a local association near him, where he made some great new shop owner connections and has applied some of their concepts to increase his shop's business. The potential is endless when you're a shop owner, equipment vendor, tech, salesperson, or just the average Joe or Joan looking to expand your possibilities. Networking is the vehicle that gets you there. And then lastly, you don't know what you don't know, right? I've heard that plenty of times. One way to learn what you don't know is by immersing yourself in a room with people that may know more than you. Listen, be sure to check your ego at the door first. And the more you learn as an owner, the more you can develop your employees, and more importantly, your clients. It's been said over and over before that an educated consumer is your best customer. And today in our industry, we are doing a much better job with that education. If starting the process of giving yourself that competitive edge in your marketplace is as simple as attending an upcoming collision conference, whether it's a small local one or something big like CIC or CEMA, and exposing yourself to what's out there, the new tools, the equipment, the products and technology, what possible reason would you have for not wanting to do that? I've been to several over the last couple of years, and I will continue to attend as many as possible going forward. So just to help you along a little bit, I put together a list of this year's events, at least as far as I can find, locations, dates, and training schedules if available. But here's a couple of my favorites CIC, otherwise known as the Collision Industry Conference. This conference happens every quarter and has grown to record attendance just over this past year. And these are the folks doing this for free that actively work on making this industry better every single meeting. There's plenty of committees made up of volunteers and industry leaders. So if you're a shop owner, I would highly recommend attending one of these meetings. Be part of positive change for all of us. Or just attend and meet the true movers and shakers in collision. I guarantee you wouldn't regret it. Then there's SEMA. What can I say? It is the ultimate in automotive get togethers. It's always in Vegas around the start of November and has grown massively over the past two years and has much to offer. If you want more info, listen to my SEMA wrap-up, episode 148. And then there's the Southeast Collision Conference, put together by both Carolina's Collision Association and Washington Metropolitan Autobody Association. This conference has much to offer. Lots of trade show floor space, great lineup of speakers and educators, and full of some great down home operators with their southern hospitality. If you have never attended one of these before, or one of the other several others held in metro markets across this great country, make it a point to put one or two on your must list this year. I promise you won't regret it. And hey, if you see me wandering around or manning a vendor table at one of these events, be sure to stop and say hello. Well, that's all I had for you today. Thanks again for tuning in. I really appreciate your support, and I hope you have a great week. I can always be reached at www.ricksilover.com, where you can find all my social media links, podcast episodes, blog posts, and much more.