Podcast Summary

Driving Impact: The Top 5% Method®

Episode: "You Have to Create the BIG IDEA." From Sales to CEO of a 7-Figure Company, Chantel George's Story
Host: Katheline Jean-Pierre
Guest: Chantel George, Founder & CEO of Sistas in Sales
Release Date: August 19, 2025

Episode Overview

In this inspiring episode, host Katheline Jean-Pierre sits down with Chantel George to explore her journey from being a sales leader at top tech firms to founding and growing Sistas in Sales—a seven-figure community for women of color in sales. The conversation unpacks how Chantel navigated the challenges of entrepreneurship, developed new skill sets, overcame rock bottom moments, and discovered the mindsets and habits anchoring her success. The episode covers actionable career strategies, building resilience, authenticity, and the power of community.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From Sales Leader to CEO: The Journey

• Background:

  • Chantel's early career included roles at LinkedIn, Twitter (enterprise sales leader for the IBM account), and as a sales manager (04:00).
  • Founded Sistas in Sales as a "20% project" side hustle in 2018, which later became her full-time focus and achieved seven-figure success (02:10).

• Transition to CEO:

  • Moving from sales to CEO meant "developing a lot of other muscles"—financial acumen, operations, marketing (02:35).
  • "Going from a salesperson into a CEO required developing a lot of other muscles...that means you have to kind of go back to school in a way..." — Chantel (02:43).

2. The Power and Challenge of Entrepreneurship

• Community and Mindset:

  • Chantel highlights the importance of connecting with other founders for support and sanity:
    "We all have a little bit of deliriousness to our personality, because you have to be very radically optimistic to do this, because you are really operating by faith." (03:50)
  • Contrasts being a sidepreneur vs full-time entrepreneur—the leap is significant (04:19).

• Freedom & Downsides:

  • Unlimited creative freedom is a major pro:
    • Example: Planning three new activations for the Sistas in Sales conference, including Silicon Alley tech showcase and lifestyle activations (05:26).
  • Downsides include people management without robust HR support, unpredictability due to external (often Fortune 500) partners, and economic volatility (06:37, 07:40).
  • "People are unpredictable...When you’re scaling on your own...it’s not the same streamlined process." — Chantel (06:38)

3. Scaling to a Seven-Figure Organization

• Logistics of Scaling:

  • Revenue growth attached to the scale and cost structure of events—selling large sponsorship packages to match the ambition and operational demands (09:28).
  • "You can get to seven figures...depending on the cost of your product...So that's, that's the short answer logistically to how we scaled so fast." — Chantel (09:29)

• Taking the Leap / Courage:

  • Moving into entrepreneurship involved a leap of faith. Sales professionals are typically given products to sell, but founders must also "create the big idea" (10:03).
  • "We as salespeople...know how to position, market and push products through. But often we're given that after...the big idea...I have to create the big idea and then also create the products to sell that big idea. And...it does require a lot of courage." — Chantel (10:19)
  • Courage develops over time, aided by risk-taking "muscle memory" (12:04).

4. Resilience & Rock Bottom Moments

• Building Resilience:
  • Risk tolerance increases with experience; setbacks become less daunting:
    "When you do the, when you take the first big risk, everything else becomes not as bad...I have the muscle memory of taking risk." (12:04)
  • Handling rock bottom moments:
    • Financial crises were particularly stressful early on; with time, setbacks feel less catastrophic (14:11).
  • "My response to these rock bottom moments have also been there's relief on the other side. Sell something else." — Chantel (16:05)

5. Radical Career Tips & Lessons Learned

• Relationships and Reputation:

  • "The best tips, though, are relationships are very critical...do right by people. Because the industries that we all work in are very small..." (17:17)
  • "Don’t step on people on the way up because they're the same people you see on the way down." — Chantel quoting her husband (17:40)

• Research & Preparation:

  • "Research is the answer for everything. Knowledge is the answer for everything. It doesn't matter your personality type..." (18:41)
  • Preparation and understanding of clients' needs trump charisma.

• Authenticity:

  • Crucial breakthrough learning came from trying to "perform" executive presence and being rejected for inauthenticity (19:30).
  • "If you are who you are with all of your kinks and what makes you an individual, just stay that person." (20:43)
  • Being reliable and consistent is more valued than trying to fit a mold:
    "Branding is always about consistency and showing up the same way every time." (23:19)

6. Integrating Personal and Professional Life

• Holistic Self-Management:

  • Recognizes the necessity of compartmentalization—unplugging from business, protecting thinking time (25:29).
  • "I see the value in unplugging. I have now two phones...now I don't make fun of the people that say they do those things in my head because I see it as a healthy detachment..." (25:29)
  • No-meeting Wednesdays used to protect creative and strategic thinking space (27:27).

• Wellness and Routine:

  • Respect for wellness routines has grown; time with family is grounding (31:16).
  • "Spending time with family is very important to me. That is the key because I get back connected to my roots..." (31:16)
  • Living close to an extended family network sustains her core identity and wellbeing (32:45).

7. Tech & Productivity Hacks

• AI Email Tools:
  • Recommends Fixer AI for drafting email responses, which has saved her time (29:36).
  • "Fixer AI. And it's an AI tool that sits in your email that drafts a response that it thinks you should say." — Chantel (29:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Starting as a Sidepreneur:

  • "There was a little bit of, like, I won't call it hazing, but...if you were a sidepreneur, the entrepreneurs did not feel like you should be in the same group as them..." (04:04)

• On Courage:

  • "You have to create the big idea." (10:03)
  • "It does require a lot of courage. I won't discount that." (10:33)

• On Resilience:

  • "Once you've gone through it the first time, it's really not that bad multiple times thereafter because you've already gotten to the worst place possible and built." (13:05)

• On Relationships:

  • "People that I have had relationships with 10 years ago, 15 years ago, some of them are becoming customers now. I would have never imagined that..." (17:48)

• On Authenticity:

  • "If you are who you are...just stay that person. It is so important to stay that person because that's where trust is built." (20:43)
  • "Branding is always about consistency and showing up the same way every time." (23:19)

• On Wellness and Family:

  • "Spending time with family is very important to me. That is the key because I get back connected to my roots, connected to where I come from." (31:16)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:10] — Chantel describes evolving from side project to CEO
• [03:42] — Skillset development for leadership: education, community, and the founder mindset
• [05:26] — Freedom and unlimited potential as an entrepreneur
• [06:37] — The people challenge and unpredictability
• [09:28] — Scaling the organization/cost structure explained
• [12:04] — Building risk tolerance and muscle memory
• [14:11] — Early rock bottom moments and lessons
• [17:17] — Radical career advice: value of relationships
• [18:41] — The power of research over charisma in sales
• [19:30] — Authenticity story and big unlock from failed promotion
• [23:19] — Consistency and trust in personal branding
• [25:29] — Wellness routines, unplugging, thinking time
• [29:36] — Tech productivity hack: Fixer AI
• [31:16] — Family as anchor and source of grounding

Episode Wrap-Up & Upcoming Events

• Upcoming Sistas in Sales Conference:

  • Next major event: New York City, 1,000 sellers expected, Sept 18-20, featuring sponsors like Netflix, Pinterest, Walmart, SAP (34:32).
  • Gala nominations for outstanding women in sales are open.

• Closing Thoughts:

  • Chantel credits holistic wellbeing and strong family connections as integral to her continued resilience and success.
  • Both host and guest emphasize the importance of showing up authentically in leadership, cultivating reputation, and building networks.

Episode Links

• Sistas in Sales Conference Information & Nominations (ask for link in the episode)

For those seeking to accelerate their journey to top performance and fulfillment, this episode delivers rich insight into the realities behind entrepreneurship, leadership, and living out your purpose—direct from a trailblazer who’s walked the path herself.