Smart Agency Masterclass Podcast with Jason Swenk
Bi-weekly interviews, strategy, and advice for building your marketing agency the smart way.
The popular agency podcast has just turned 10 years old and covers everything from starting a successful agency to selling your agency.
#1 Agency Leadership Podcast. Check Out Our Past Guests.
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Seth Godin
Best selling Author of Purple Cow, This is Marketing, Linchpin, Permission Marketing
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Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and former Apple chief evangelist
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Gino Wickman
The creator of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) and author of Traction.
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Neil Patel
Founder of CrazyEgg, Kissmetrics, and other multimillion dollar companies
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Uri Levine
Co-founder of Waze
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Joey Coleman
Recognized for his expertise in customer retention & enhancing client loyalty
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Mike Michaelowicz
Best-selling author of Profit First and Clock Work
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Amy Porterfield
Renowned online marketing expert and educator
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Pat Flynn
The leaders in the podcast space
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Jay Baer
Best Selling author of Talk Triggers, Hug Your Haters, and one of the best speakers
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Todd Herman
Coach to Elite pro athletes, leaders, and public figures
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Dan Martell
Author of Buy Back Your Time. Influential coach in SaaS startups.
What to Do When a Google Algorithm Update Kills Your Inbound Traffic with Chris Raulf | Ep #831
Is your agency’s strategy diversified enough to withstand sudden algorithm changes? Today’s featured guest, an SEO veteran, learned this the hard way. While he focused on client work, his own website grew outdated. Then, one Google update hit and overnight his agency lost 80% of its organic traffic; their main source of leads.
The agency eventually recovered, but not without leaving him with a powerful lesson: always invest in the three pillars of growth. In this episode, he shares his chaotic first encounter with SEO, the biggest lessons from a long career in the industry, and the “superpower” that helps him better understand and adapt to algorithm shifts.
Can You Scale an Agency Without Relying on Retainers? With Eric Baum | Ep #825
Agency veteran Eric Baum hit a wall scaling Bluleadz. After shifting to project-based work, reworking his cash flow strategy, and implementing EOS, he broke past the $5M plateau. Now he’s on track to hit 8 figures with 80% project work.
What You’ll Learn
Why project work doesn’t have to mean unpredictable revenue
What “no man’s land” is—and how to escape it
How to build systems that support scale without burning you out
Why CSMs might be the key to long-term profitability
How to turn past clients into your most reliable revenue stream
Key Takeaways
Project work isn’t the enemy: Bluleadz flipped their model after COVID. Now 85% of revenue is from projects—but structured payment terms keep cash predictable.
EOS fixed the chaos: Eric was stuck between $1M–$5M in revenue. EOS brought structure, accountability, and growth.
Milestone billing = freedom: They moved away from deliverable-based payments. Now they get 100% of project fees before delivery finishes.
Don’t leave cash on the table: Eric admitted they ignored past clients for too long. Just by reselling old customers, they could double or triple revenue.
Triple-team model wins: Sales, Implementation, and Customer Success Managers each own part of the client journey. This model boosted LTV and team focus.
Strategic partnerships are scaling fuel: Bluleadz isn’t just riding HubSpot’s coattails. They’re diversifying leads through inbound, referrals, and partnerships.
The Art of Helping: the Key to Building Strategic Partnerships with Dr. Jeremy Weisz | Ep #737
Are you searching for innovative ways to supercharge your agency’s lead generation? What’s your number one source of leads and how can you scale it? Leveraging partnerships is one of the most effective lead generation strategies for agency owners. This is something today’s featured guest understands very well, as someone who understands the powerful role a good partner plays in growing an agency’s business.
Staying Versatile and Adaptable in Uncertain Times with Amy Jackson | Ep# 714
Are you considering narrowing your focus in the near future, or do you prefer to retain the flexibility to take advantage of growth opportunities in specific sectors? Our featured guest today opts for diversification and maintaining her agency’s agility to capitalize on the expansion of emerging sectors. Gain insights into her journey of building a PR agency, her strategies for solidifying its growth, and the ongoing learning curve inherent in the agency's evolution.
Become Part of an EcoSystem of Ready-to-Go Agency Business with Alex Glenn | Ep #638
What is the key to unlocking strategic partnerships in order to grow your agency? Wondering how to identify promising collaboration opportunities? The most mutually beneficial strategic agency partnerships are with tangential agencies that align in vision and share in collaboration. Today’s guest has great insight and information about what the most successful agencies are doing to find the best partnerships to grow. Learn how to identify and approach high-potential partners hungry for help only you can provide.
About the Show
The popular agency podcast has been around since 2014 and covers everything from starting a successful agency to selling your agency. What makes this podcast a must-listen is Swenk’s background as the founder and CEO of an agency for over a decade. Swenk brings his own experience to the table, besides the expertise of his guests. He mostly covers topics that help growing agencies scale to the next level.
YOUR HOST
JASON SWENK
Smart Agency Masterclass
Jason is a family man who also happens to have created a couple big marketing agencies, helped thousands of agency owners, and had a big agency exit too.
