Business
In this episode of E-coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman chats with Megan Conahan, EVP at Direct Agents, and shares how she built multiple new business frameworks inside the same company by thinking like an entrepreneur, without being the founder.
We dive deep into:
- How agency leaders can identify new growth opportunities
- The power of pattern recognition in digital marketing
- Why mentorship is critical in scaling agency talent
- The shift from channel-first to consumer-first strategy
- How generative engine optimization (GEO) is reshaping search
- Budget allocation in the AI era (without abandoning fundamentals)
- Why community marketing reduces the “trust tax”
- How AI bidding tools increase the value of human strategy
- The rise of personal brand in B2B marketing
If you’re a founder, marketing leader, or agency operator navigating SEO, AI, GEO, paid media strategy, and performance marketing in 2026, this conversation will reframe how you think about growth.
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In this episode, we discuss:
00:00 - 01:05: Meet Megan Conahan and Her 20-Year Journey
01:05 - 03:10: Why She Stayed at One Agency So Long
03:10 - 05:00: How to Spot Big Growth Opportunities
05:00 - 07:00: How to Pitch New Ideas to Leadership
07:00 - 09:00: Why Guardrails Help Teams Perform Better
09:00 - 11:30: Building Pattern Recognition in Marketing
11:30 - 14:00: The Power of Mentorship in Agencies
14:00 - 16:30: What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
16:30 - 19:45: Should You Shift Budget Because of AI?
19:45 - 22:15: How AI Is Changing Agency Workflows
22:15 - 24:20: AI Tools vs Human Strategy
24:20 - 27:00: Why Community Marketing Builds Trust
27:00 - 29:00: The Hidden “Trust Tax” in Paid Media
29:00 - 31:30: Personal Brand vs Agency Brand
31:30 - 33:30: Consumer-First Marketing Wins
33:30 - 35:18: Final Advice
Connect with Megan Conahan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganconahan/
http://directagents.com/
FOLLOW US
Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./