317. Turn AI Disruption into Agency Opportunity, with Leslie Carruthers
Release Date: 10/01/2025
334. Create Predictable Profitability, with Marcel Petitpas
The Innovative Agency
On this episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast Sharon Toerek is joined by Marcel Petitpas, CEO and co-founder of Parakeeto. Their conversation focuses on one of the most persistent and misunderstood challenges facing agency leaders today: profitability. Often when margins feel tight, we blame pricing, overhead, or “the market.” But even agencies with growing revenue can struggle to take home real profit. Marcel helps us look beneath the surface to uncover what’s actually driving (or draining) your margins. From breaking the habit of measuring success by revenue alone to...
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333. Succession Under Pressure, with Christy & Whit Hiler
The Innovative Agency
On this episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast Sharon Toerek welcomes Christy and Whit Hiler of Cornett, for a candid conversation about what happens when leadership, legacy, and marriage all intersect. As a married couple stepping into agency ownership, Christy and Whit share the real story behind succession and transition: the uncertainty, the high-stakes decisions, and the mindset shifts required to reimagine what ownership can look like. They unpack how intentional decision-making became their anchor, how they strengthened culture while the ground was moving, and why betting on...
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332. The Value of Brand Today, with Marc Rust
The Innovative Agency
Branding is often treated like decoration. Something you polish after the “real” business decisions are made. But when agencies are navigating growth, mergers, acquisitions, or fundraising, that mindset can quietly erode value. Today on The Innovative Agency Podcast, Sharon Toerek is joined by Marc Rust, CEO and Founder of Consequently Creative, to challenge that thinking head-on. Marc works with venture-backed and high-growth organizations, and has seen firsthand how intentional branding becomes a strategic asset, not a risk. In this conversation, he breaks down why branding is far more...
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331. Visibility Beats Perfection, with Carrolee Moore
The Innovative Agency
So many agency owners struggle with the tension between wanting to be visible and waiting until their message feels “perfect.” On this episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast, Sharon Toerek sits down with Carrolee Moore, CEO and founder of Podcast Pitching Society, to challenge that mindset and unpack why visibility, not perfection, is the true foundation of agency growth. Drawing from her journey running a multi-six-figure agency to building a business around strategic storytelling, Carrolee explains why so many agency leaders struggle to get noticed by the right clients. She reveals how...
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330. Advance Your Agency’s Operational Maturity, with Harv Nagra
The Innovative Agency
This episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast welcomes Harv Nagra, host of The Handbook podcast and Head of Brand Communications at Scoro, to unpack a hard truth many agency owners overlook: growth stalls when operational maturity can’t keep up with success. Harv draws from his own agency experience to explain why chaos, burnout, and shrinking margins are often symptoms of broken systems, not broken strategy. He breaks down the five pillars of operational excellence, the stages agencies move through as they grow, and the exact moments when “winging it” stops working. If your agency feels...
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329. What Clients See That Agencies Miss, with Armando Turco
The Innovative Agency
This episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast features a guest that has truly seen our industry from every angle. Armando Turco, President of Mojo Supermarket, has built a career that spans major creative agencies, brand consultancies, media companies and crucially, leadership roles on the client side. That journey gives him a rare, unfiltered perspective on what’s really happening inside client organizations right now. Armando discusses what agency leaders often don’t see: the internal pressures brands face, where agencies unintentionally create friction, and why smaller, independent...
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328. Find Opportunity in Uncertainty, with Brook Shepard
The Innovative Agency
On this episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast Sharon Toerek welcomes CEO and co-owner of Mason Interactive, Brook Shepard, for a conversation about one of the most pressing realities every agency leader is feeling right now: uncertainty. Brook offers a candid look at navigating volatility, understanding what today’s clients truly expect, and why deep industry expertise has become one of the most powerful differentiators an agency can cultivate. He also shares smart, practical ways to uncover pockets of optimism, from demographic changes reshaping higher education to the relentless...
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327. Cracking the ROI Code, with Sam Piliero
The Innovative Agency
On this episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast Sharon Toerek is joined by someone who understands the real pressures agency owners face in today’s results-driven digital world. Sam Piliero, Founder of The Moonlighters, went from running entrepreneurial lemonade stands as a kid to leading a high-performing agency serving nearly 100 clients across Facebook, Google, and the ever-shifting digital advertising landscape. Sam digs into the challenges that keep agency leaders up at night: proving tangible ROI when the metrics get murky, navigating client churn, recruiting and retaining top-tier...
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326. Breaking the Trust Recession, with Ari Galper
The Innovative Agency
This episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast features one of the world’s foremost authorities on trust-building in the sales process, Ari Galper. If you’ve been feeling the squeeze of longer sales cycles, increasing commoditization, or the growing “trust recession” impacting today’s marketplace, this conversation will hit home. Founder of AriAI, Ari joins Sharon Toerek to unpack the very real challenges agency owners face as AI accelerates competition and prospects become more skeptical than ever. He digs into the shift from outdated, high-pressure selling to a trust-centric...
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325. Your Agency + Small Businesses = Big Opportunities, with Aya Kikimova
The Innovative Agency
On this episode of The Innovative Agency Podcast Sharon Toerek welcomes Aya Kikimova, Founder and CEO of LeapEngine, for a conversation that hits directly at one of the biggest questions agency leaders are wrestling with today: How do you build a profitable, innovative marketing practice while serving small and midsize businesses for clients who need high-quality work but often operate with leaner resources? Aya shares her intentional journey from working with major enterprise brands, both at top agencies and inside Microsoft, to crafting a service model purpose-built for entrepreneurial...
info_outlineToday on The Innovative Agency Podcast, Sharon Toerek is joined by Leslie Carruthers, Founder of The Search Guru, for a conversation that every agency leader needs to hear right now. Generative AI isn’t just a shiny new tool, it’s rewriting the rules of search, visibility, and how clients find their next partner.
If you’ve seen your organic traffic slide or you’re struggling with how to guide clients through this AI-driven shift, this episode is for you. Leslie brings decades of search expertise and lays out exactly what’s at stake for agencies today, along with the bold moves that can turn disruption into opportunity.
From navigating traffic declines to rethinking your agency’s value proposition, Leslie shares practical steps to help you stay relevant, profitable, and positioned to thrive in a rapidly changing landscape.
What you will learn in this episode:
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Why AI is causing dramatic drops in organic and paid traffic, and what agencies can do to respond
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How "findability" and SEO are evolving in the era of LLMs, generative engines, and answer-based search
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What agency leaders should be teaching clients about getting cited and discovered by AI-driven platforms
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The critical importance of brand originality, multimodal content, and strategic thought leadership
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How agencies should rethink pricing, value, and positioning in light of AI-powered content creation
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Where human expertise and insight remain indispensable
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Smart ways to experiment with AI tools, agents, and workflow automation
Bio
Leslie Carruthers is the Founder and President of The Search Guru, a digital marketing agency helping B2B enterprises drive measurable growth. With over 25 years of experience, she is a recognized expert in AI-driven marketing, SEO, and conversion optimization. A graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Leslie has trained, consulted for, and executed strategies for startups to Fortune 500 companies.
A sought-after speaker, she has presented at Content Marketing World, MAICON, SMX, eTail, and the Direct Marketing Association, delivering actionable insights on AI in marketing, search evolution, and data-driven decision-making. Named a Top 50 Content Marketing Influencer (2018) and one of the Top Women in SEO (2012), Leslie blends technical expertise with strategic vision. Her agency specializes in navigating complex sales cycles, leveraging AI to drive leads and revenue while maximizing ROI in an evolving digital landscape.
Resources:
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Website: https://thesearchguru.com/
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LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliecarruthers/
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LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesearchguru/