What happens when you've been the client avoiding account management calls because they're painful, then you join the agency and find yourself delivering the exact same calls you used to dread? Most people would defend the system. Dan Hodges changed it completely.

Over 11 years at Conscious Solutions, Dan has watched the company double in size and completely transform what they do. But the transformation didn't start with strategy decks or consultant recommendations. It started with a memory. Back in 2009, as a business consultant doing strategic planning for a law firm, Dan experienced the soul-crushing account management call: stats dump, screen share showing invoices are up to date, perfunctory question about buying more services, call ends. Zero value. Pure transaction.

Fast forward five years. Dan joins Conscious Solutions as Head of Marketing, a digital agency serving law firms. Marketing services represents 3% of turnover. There's one SEO person doing "a bit of SEO and a bit of social media." Dan admits he didn't understand digital, couldn't even explain what SEO stood for. But he understood something more valuable: he'd been on the receiving end of terrible client service, and he wasn't going to perpetuate it.

When Dan started sitting in on account management calls, he recognised the pattern immediately. Same structure. Same lack of curiosity. Same transactional energy. The calls lasted 20 minutes, ticked boxes, went nowhere. So Dan asked a different question: "What do you want to achieve?" And everything changed. Those 20-minute calls became 40 minutes. Then 90 minutes. Sometimes two hours, much to account managers' frustration. Because Dan wasn't selling services, he was getting under the skin of the client's business, understanding not just what they needed but why they needed it.

This episode tackles the tension every agency faces: when you've optimised for efficiency, how do you recognise you've optimised away the relationships that create real value? And why does the person who "knows a bit about a lot but not a lot about a bit" sometimes understand growth better than the technical experts?

About Supo:

Supo provides people-first intelligence software for professional services firms, helping businesses maximise profit and motivate their people through powerful, AI-enabled business intelligence dashboards. By connecting over 500+ platforms and providing real-time data analysis, Supo helps firms make better data-driven decisions about their profit, projects, and people.

For more information about Supo: ⁠www.supo.co.uk

About Conscious Solutions:

Conscious Solutions has over 20 years of experience helping law firms become more successful online, working exclusively with law firms. Based in Bristol, the agency provides full-service digital marketing encompassing website design, SEO, PPC campaigns, digital PR, and ongoing optimisation. Their team consists of diverse individuals, from former law firm employees to marketing graduates, journalists, engineers, and apprentices who've progressed through the organisation. Their approach blends sophisticated technology with professionally written legal content, allowing law firms to choose services based on existing resources.

For more information about Conscious Solutions: www.conscious.co.uk