Courtney Neal
Account Manager
PSC Group
This week, Women in Chemicals is proud to spotlight Courtney Neal, Account Manager at PSC Group. Courtney describes herself through many titles: eldest daughter, former athlete, recovering perfectionist, and aspiring wholehearted life liver. Her path to the chemical industry was anything but traditional. From collegiate soccer to professional sports, to cosmetology, each chapter taught her how to build relationships and understand what motivates people. For the past eight years, she has brought those lessons to PSC Group, a chemical service company, where she builds customer relationships and helps grow the business. In our conversation, Courtney shares how she learned to trust herself through big career pivots, why authenticity matters in leadership, and what it really takes to earn a customer's trust.
An Untraditional Path: Courtney went to Arkansas on a soccer scholarship. After college, she stayed close to the game, working in the semi-professional and professional sports industry. Those years gave her experience in PR, marketing, and, somewhat reluctantly, sales. More importantly, they taught her how to build relationships and understand what drives the people around her. Those skills became the foundation for everything that came next.
Lessons from the Field: Competing at a high level and going through multiple knee surgeries taught Courtney a lesson she still carries today: you cannot control everything. You can do all the right things, and tough things can still happen. What matters is how you adapt and move forward.
Eventually, Courtney realized she was no longer enjoying soccer. She knew walking away was the right decision, but the harder part came over time. When you compete at that level, the sport is your whole life, and she never stopped to think about what she wanted to be when she grew up. Suddenly, she had free time to fill and big questions to answer. At some point you play your last game, and the chapter closes quietly. Looking back, she says the sport developed her as a leader. On a team everyone works through the same things toward the same goal. Outside of sports, she learned that is not always the case.
The Courage to Pivot: What gave Courtney the confidence to keep making big career changes? Relationships, courage, and trust in herself. She knew that she did not need to have all the answers. She simply needed to believe she would figure it out, and each success built on the last.
After the sports world, Courtney took another pivot and earned her cosmetology license. She encourages others to think about what they loved as a child and how that might connect to what they enjoy today. Working in hair, she says, was the ultimate sales, customer service, and marketing role. Early in her career, she spent time putting herself into boxes and emulating what worked for others. With maturity, experience, and the influence of interesting people, she realized she could do things her own way. She calls it a work in progress.
Then an opportunity in the chemical industry came along. It was a sales role, and she knew nothing about chemicals, but she decided to go check it out. She quickly saw how her background translated.
Leading with Authenticity: As the oldest sibling, Courtney has been leading for as long as she can remember: lead by example, do the right thing, and look out for the people around you. To her, you have to be authentic to be a leader. You will not always get it right, so give yourself grace, learn the lesson, and move forward. How you handle a situation may differ from how someone else would, and that does not mean either approach is wrong.
She admits it can be frustrating when people are not rowing in the same direction. In those moments, she stops to ask why they are rowing the way they are. Understanding their perspective helps her frame the conversation, even when that conversation is not an easy one.
Relationships Backed by Process: Courtney has said, "I knew very little about chemicals, but I did know people." Still, she is quick to point out that relationships cannot be the only thing. Being a fun, people person is not enough. You must develop processes to be successful. Trust has to be built both externally and internally. Without an authentic baseline relationship, a tough conversation or a request for a favor becomes much more challenging.
She believes that you can sell anything if you learn your product and believe in it. Being authentic is non-negotiable. And if you are constantly learning, you can become a problem solver for your customer. She notes that because PSC Group sells a service, the learning curve looks different than it might for a highly technical product.
Earning a Customer's Trust: When selling something that may be complex or unfamiliar to a customer, Courtney never pretends to know something she does not. She is comfortable saying "I don't know," because she knows who does. Beyond that, trust comes down to consistency. Do what you say you are going to do. When the phone rings, pick up. When there is bad news, make the call yourself.
She would always prefer to call with a solution, but she has learned that waiting for one can cost customers valuable time to adjust their plans. She also makes a point of understanding the details, including how decisions get made within the customer's organization. That means asking a lot of questions and being a good listener. A "no" is okay, she says, but she always wants to understand the why behind it.
Living Wholeheartedly: The phrase "wholehearted life liver" comes from Brené Brown, and for Courtney it means enjoying the small things and defining success on her own terms. It means choosing authenticity over perfectionism and making time to be grateful for what she has.
Celebrating does not always come naturally, so she has to remind herself to do it. She takes inspiration from her 9 and 5-year-old nephews: what if, after finishing something, she simply stopped and thought, "Crushed it!!"? She encourages everyone to ask what they need to stay connected to their work, remain motivated, and to enjoy and celebrate along the way.
Advice to the Women in Chemicals Community: Courtney's advice is rooted in one of her favorite Dolly Parton quotes: "Find out who you are and do it on purpose." Be intentional about your time. Lean into your strengths. Above all, be authentic, and connect with others authentically.