Chris Quigley: Annual Goal Realized in a Single Quarter

I'm so pleased to share with you this case study of Chris Quigley and his results working through the Upward Acceleration Academy.  

Here are just some of the highlights:

• Realized his full year goal in just the first quarter and now has expectations to do in each quarter what he previously hoped for in a year.
• Went from being in a repetitive rut, trying to work on one thing at a time to now having confidence in himself and his business and the ability to view all the parts as one whole, working toward the same goal.
• Loved the individuality of the program as it was geared toward him as a unique business owner rather than being one of many businesses and the way it's allowed him to approach his business holistically and take it to the next level.

Watch the video or read the transcript for more details.

Transcript

Rachel Steininger  00:00

All right, I am here today with Chris Quigley of Quigley Insurance Group. And I'm so excited to talk to you, Chris, about your experience in Upward Acceleration. How are you today?

Chris Quigley  00:08

Good. Thank you. Appreciate you having me this morning. Yeah, well,

Rachel Steininger  00:12

I'm excited for you to be here. And I'm excited to talk about your journey. So I'd love to hear a little bit first about where you are when you decided to join the program. So tell us what was going on in your life and your business. And, and just let's start there.

Chris Quigley  00:27

Absolutely. So I've been in insurance for 14 years now, as a, both a business owner and an agent. So 10 years ago, was spent in the captive world. And three years ago, I transitioned into the independent world. And I spent a lot of time these last three years working in my business and a lot less working on it, as I did in the past.

Chris Quigley  00:50

And I felt as if I was in a rut, and I didn't know how to get out of that rut. And so that's when I reached out to you to see if there was a way that you could assist me in helping me focus more on the business, instead of only focusing in the business in order to help me get to the level that I want it to be at. So that's kind of the backstory and transition we're moving towards.

Rachel Steininger  01:15

And what was Was there anything it sounds like just that, that prevention of you being able to work on the business? What was it getting in the way of like, what was that causing, were there other problems that was causing or what else was going on for you? Before you came in,

Chris Quigley  01:29

Not a lot of per se issues. The hardest thing was, in order for me to grow, I need to figure out what I need to do with my business. And I wasn't able to really look at that. It was just the day to day operations, taking calls, you know, working on quotes, issuing policies, taking more calls... the same thing, repetition... working with my only staff member at the time just trying to get things in order.

Chris Quigley  01:53

So I wasn't able to stop and say, "Wait a minute, what can I do for me to kind of pull out, look at the business and decide how to get to that next level?"

Chris Quigley  02:02

So that was the biggest issue of trying to figure out how to pull myself out. Not knowing how to do that, in keeping the business moving the way it was moving.

Chris Quigley  02:11

At least that's what I feared, right? I feared that if I stepped away, the business would stop working, the way it worked, was working. And that was kind of the fear I was facing.

Rachel Steininger  02:19

All right. So it's like the worry that like it's all going to come to a screeching halt. If you take your your eyes off the ball for even a second to start worrying about, like what happens in the future, right? It's like everything has to be right here now versus what you do to try and build something out of this thing. Okay

Chris Quigley  02:36

Exactly.

Rachel Steininger  02:37

All right. So I'd love to know then what, and you've sort of answered this already, but what sort of prompted you specifically about Upward Acceleration to join that program? We kind of understand I think, what you were dealing with, but what about the program prompted you to join?

Chris Quigley  02:52

Well, I met with you and I liked our discussions previously, and figured I needed this coaching guidance that you are offering. And I'm like, I think our personalities fit well. So I felt that would be a great start. Because oftentimes, I feel that's the hardest thing is finding the right personality to fit while you're trying to figure out this journey.

Chris Quigley  03:17

So for me, it was talking with you, seeing what you've done with others, doing some research on you and the Upward Acceleration.  And then saying, you know what, I think this is a good fit for me and my business and moving me to that next level that I'm looking forward to getting to.

Rachel Steininger  03:32

So since you've been in this program for a couple of months, what are some of the changes that you've specifically seen? What are some of the things you've been able to do or accomplish or changes you've seen in your business?

Chris Quigley  03:41

Being able to step back, look at the business, you know, trying to figure out where clients and things are actually coming from. And then focusing on those and how to monetize those things. So it's like if what something's working, how do we continue to make it work? Things that aren't working, why aren't they working? And do they even need to be working? And looking at that, and then looking at staff and trying to decide what is working and what's not working and grow off the positives? And if there are negatives, it's like, what can we do to address them and move forward with those?

Chris Quigley  04:16

And then moving forward with adding staff, what do I need to look for in order to continue to grow the business in the way that I want? Instead of just going at it willy nilly, and being like darts at a dartboard and oh, well, I'll just hire and hopefully they stick. Versus now this program has helped me really focus on what I need to look at personality wise, what I'm looking at position wise, more specifically, in those types of things.

Rachel Steininger  04:39

So it sounds like not only with the hiring right, very specifically, like what are the frameworks you're using to make these decisions? And it's not as you said, willy nilly, but it's also having a framework for almost everything, right? Being able to look at all the different things and say, Is this even... You know, I think it's easy for us to go oh, there's something that somebody else did. Let me just try this thing, right? But it's actually looking at and going, do I need this? Do I not need this? So how was that it? Am I getting this right? And how has that impacted your life?

Chris Quigley  05:08

Absolutely.  It's been personally, for me, it was the individuality of this program, right? It wasn't a one size fits all. It was, let's look at you, and only you, let's look at your business model. Let's figure out what works for you. And then we also have the group sessions, which were great, because then you get to hear from others that may be talking about something that you didn't think about.

Chris Quigley  05:31

But the program itself being more geared towards the individual business owner versus a group of business owners... that to me was probably the biggest aspect, which then you helped me dive into the individual parts, which make up the business. And looking at each one to see how they all work together to continue growth down the road, instead of just saying, I want to be profitable. What does profitability mean? It means bringing on... having the right tools in place, the right staff in place with the right mindsets, and that type of thing, versus again, looking at each thing individually.  I was looking at them individually. But making them work as a whole to get me to where I want to go.

Rachel Steininger  06:10

Fantastic. I love it. I love that that's a that's what you you've taken away from this, that's great. Because it is it is really about building it for you as a business owner, like what what makes you happy is different than what makes the next insurance agent down the street happy. And then what's going to attract your clients to right, they are choosing you for you what has been one of your major takeaways from this program.

Chris Quigley  06:33

I think one of the biggest takeaways was just like, the different personality tests on hiring, thinking that we know the right fit for us. But we really don't. Until, and because it's always one of those things. I've had many staff in the past. And it's just like, why are they not working? Why did they come and go? What am I missing? The interview was great.

Chris Quigley  06:56

So I think the personality tests moving forward are going to be a huge part of my hiring process. Because what I think might be the right fit, maybe the complete opposite.  Which I never thought of this in the past. And I find it ironic because my last, my first insurance job, they did that test, and they deemed that I was a great fit, and I was there almost 11 years.

Rachel Steininger  07:20

So something to it maybe.

Chris Quigley  07:22

Well, yeah, so that's probably because I would have never thought of that aspect of it. Being a small business owner, you know. I see it in the bigger corporations, but never looked at it as just one on one, two, three employees. So that's probably the biggest takeaway.

Chris Quigley  07:37

And then also, I think the next biggest would easily be just looking at all the individual parts and how they all need to work together to reach the goal, instead of just saying, all I need is this one part and that'll help me achieve. And it's like, no, I've come to realize, that's just a small part. If all six or eight, ten pieces aren't working together, it's probably not going to be as good of a growth as I was hoping for. Right? So that's the other part is just knowing what all the parts do. And making sure they're all working together.

Rachel Steininger  08:10

Amazing. So what do you now envision for your, for your future for yourself for your business that maybe wasn't possible four or five months ago before joining the program?

Chris Quigley  08:19

Confidence. I think that's the biggest takeaway I've seen thus far in myself is just the overall confidence as being the business owner that I want to be.  Getting Quigley Insurance Group to that next level.

Chris Quigley  08:33

I set some goals for myself this year. And I've already surpassed them in the first quarter.

Chris Quigley  08:39

And I just had this call with someone the other day and they're asking, Why do you feel this way? And I'm like, I can't really pinpoint. It's just everything seems to be working right. And now looking back, if I if she'd asked me that same question this week, it would be confidence. I just feel more confident everything we have going with our agency, that everything seems to be working better together, since we're looking at all parts of it. So yeah, that's... I'm just shocked that I've already met my annual goal this year in the first quarter.

Rachel Steininger  09:12

I am so excited to hear that. And then is that affecting I know you've got a family if you don't mind me bringing it up. But how is that affecting them and the personal side of this too?

Chris Quigley  09:21

Good. Because at the end of the day, as a business owner, we often bring our business home with us. So if you have a bad day, bad week, bad month, bad year, you know, you're carrying that weight with you, and sometimes it has a direct effect on family members. So no, it's been a good start to the year it's definitely helped that side of things.

Chris Quigley  09:42

You know, just knowing that the goals I've set I've already reached and now I reassess those goals. So now I'm like, Well, why can't I do this every quarter.

Chris Quigley  09:52

So now I've made my annual goal, a quarterly goal. You know, and then you know, it's just great to hear it. My wife is a big supporter so, you know, when I told her she was ecstatic, and you know, it's like, good to hear that, you know, the support at home as well.  It does, it definitely helps as a business owner, and you have the confidence and you're reaching your goals, to bring that home.

Rachel Steininger  10:13

Amazing. Now last question for you is, if you're talking to somebody else who's considering working with Upward... with myself, with the Upward Acceleration program, what would you say to them?

Chris Quigley  10:24

I would say, if you're looking for individuality, someone to actually look at your specific business, how you're running your business, and how to get to the next level, Upward Acceleration's the path to take, strictly because of the individuality.

Chris Quigley  10:39

As we discussed, you know, books are great, but broad strokes. You know  the way you break things down and look at each individual part of the business and how it works together, Upward Acceleration is probably one of the few out there that do it the way that you're doing it. And I think it's a great program for that. So that would be the biggest takeaway, or the biggest thing I could tell someone is just Rachel will break it down for you, and to all parts of your business, and help with all parts of your business, not just one, so you can take that holistic approach.

Rachel Steininger  11:08

Thank you so much. Anything else you want to share or add before we jump off?

Chris Quigley  11:13

Yeah, sure. Thank you for everything. Thank you for helping me grow this confidence that probably four or five months ago, I didn't feel I had but now I have. Thank you for helping me reach my annual goal in the first quarter. And you know, I look forward to continue working with you.

Rachel Steininger  11:28

Amazing. Thank you so much, Chris. It was a pleasure to have you on the program. And thank you for for joining me on here today. Appreciate it.

Chris Quigley  11:34

Thank you again.