Ep. 93: TL;DL - Playing to Your Strengths with Brian Calvert

Summary:

This episode features a "Too Long, Didn't Listen" (TL;DL) summary of my conversation with Brian Calvert, owner of Business Health Market. After 20 years in shopping center management, Brian pivoted when the Amazon effect hit Buffalo. He shares three key insights: building a business through growth acquisition rather than grinding sales, transforming transactional insurance into relationship-driven service, and knowing when empathy requires tough love conversations.

Chapters:

01:42 Takeaway #1: Build a Business, Not a Job

02:59 Takeaway #2: Sales Through Empathy

04:26 Takeaway #3: The Double-Edged Sword of Empathy

Transcript

Intro

Scott Raven: Welcome to The Corvus Effect, where we explore what it takes to succeed professionally and truly enhance all parts of your life. I'm Scott Raven, Fractional COO and your host. Each episode we go behind the scenes with leaders who've mastered the delicate harmony of growing their professional endeavors while protecting what matters most. Ready to transform from Chief Everything Officer to achieving integration in all facets of your life? Let's soar!

Guest Introduction

And hello everyone. Welcome back to The Corvus Effect. It's Scott here with this TL;DL, Too Long Didn't Listen, from my conversation with Brian Calvert, owner of Business Health Market, who discovered his true calling through disruption.

After spending 20 years managing shopping centers across New York and Massachusetts, Brian pivoted to entrepreneurship when the Amazon effect reduced Buffalo's malls down from five to two. And he freely admits that in that transition, he found something. He found that he was a better manager than a salesperson, which allowed him to play to his strengths and run a business, not a job.

And for many of you out there who feel like you have created a business but accidentally created a job for yourself instead, I hope you go back and listen to the full conversation with Brian. It was fantastic. But I want to dive into a couple of the key takeaways from my conversation with him in this TL;DL.

Build a Business, Not a Job

First off, Brian's strategic approach to entrepreneurship started from day one: build a business, not a job. When he entered the health insurance industry in 2017, he could have easily become another sales broker, grinding it out on individual sales. But instead, he said from the very beginning, "I took the invested funds I had available to me and went straight for growth acquisition, which was hiring agents to work under me, helping them grow so I have the residual income."

And his three-phase approach is brilliantly simple. He would sell himself to build his book of business, learn the business, and then show how it was done. And that allowed him to be the boss and the mentor that these salespeople would grow under, and that would be mutually beneficial to both sides.

It aligns perfectly with our Corvus principle that sustainable success comes from playing to your strengths and building around your weaknesses. So him learning that he was a better people manager than a salesperson allowed him to find that path.

Sales Through Empathy

Secondly, his revolutionary approach to sales through empathy and treating clients like family helps transform a very transactional industry into a relationship business.

Now look, most of us have had our experience with insurance brokers here and there. We understand that it can feel very much like a one-and-done and not feel that warm in nature. But that's exactly the opposite of what Brian does. He goes and asks very personal questions, health questions, talking about the things in their life that maybe they don't want to talk about. And that allows him to not only provide better solutions, but then also gain the rapport of those people so that they go and say, "This guy is not your typical insurance guy."

As he says, "We don't put someone in a hole with regards to what is their definition of success and how they define it. Our goal is to see what they want and help them get there."

And that definitely aligns with our Corvus philosophy that integrated leadership, authentic leadership, is finding and meeting our own definition of success, not someone else's.

The Double-Edged Sword of Empathy

Finally, Brian's hard-fought wisdom about empathy and the double-edged sword that it provides. Sometimes you have to have that tough love conversation.

Now, I love empathy as a skill, don't get me wrong. But empathy, if used too much or too strongly, can be a double-edged sword because it doesn't allow us to go for the necessary action that is necessary in order to drive the results that we want. And sometimes it is that hard conversation that is going to push people to where they truly want to go.

In Brian's world, he'll come out with three critical questions: Are you mentally prepared to make this change? Are you financially stable to make this investment? And do you have a plan?

And these questions, while they may put somebody on the defensive in terms of "Hey, I thought you were here to support me," are necessary because they want to make sure that they can get through the tough times, the messy middle, to get to the results that they want to in their life.

Here at Corvus, clarity beats ambiguity. And sometimes the most empathetic thing that you can do is have the tough conversation with yourself or someone else to help see the truth clearly.

Final Thoughts

So I hope you enjoyed this quick summary from my conversation with Brian. As I said, please go back and listen to the full episode. It was fantastic. As always, subscribe and share with those people in your circle. Give us feedback so that we can continue to have more improved impact from the work that we're doing here. Until next time, I'm Scott. We'll see you on The Corvus Effect. Take care.

Outro

Scott Raven: Thank you for joining me on The Corvus Effect. If today's conversation sparked ideas about how to free yourself from overwhelm, visit TheCorvusEffect.com for show notes, resources, and our free Sixth Dimensions Assessment, showing you exactly where you're trapped and how to architect your freedom. While you're there, check out the Corvus Learning Platform, where we turn insights into implementation. If this episode helped you see a new path forward, please subscribe and share it with others who are ready to pursue their definition of professional freedom. Join me next time as we continue exploring how to enhance your life through what you do professionally. It's time to make that your reality!