Working with A2B - Business Client

Alex Opacic • August 23, 2022

Working with Athlete2Business

Thank you for taking an interest in Athlete2Business, we are grateful to have the opportunity to work with you.

A2B specializes in headhunting salespeople with an athlete mindset who have mastered CHEC:


🔥 Communication Skills – They articulate ideas clearly, inspire action, and foster trust.
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Humble Confidence – Self-assured yet coachable, always striving for growth.
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Emotional Intelligence – They know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it.
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Commercial Awareness – Always two steps ahead, spotting revenue opportunities before anyone else.

We work with 3 types of athlete candidates:

  1. Recently retired athletes – Typically have been professional athletes all their lives and are now transitioning into a new career.
  2. Graduate student athletes – Competing at elite level in their sport (Olympic or world level) and completed a university degree at the same time.
  3. Former elite or semi-pro athletes with business/sales experience – Competed at the same elite level as above but have had extensive experience in sales. 

All our athlete-candidates encompass the same traits – athlete mindset + CHEC.

Our fees:

For jobs with salaries up to $100k (inc super) we charge 15% of the salary.

$100,001 – $150k we charge 18%

$150,001 + we charge 21%

Deep dive into our athlete-candidates:

  • They possess these attributes gained from sport + have strong communication skills, humble confidence, emotional intelligence and commercial awareness (CHEC)
  • Our overarching motto is hire attitude, teach skill. We’ve got plenty of examples of where this has worked for our clients. To delve deeper into this, for experience of 3 years and under in sales and base salaries of under $80k we’ve found prior sales experience is irrelevant to future performance.
  • When expectations are “prior sales experience is a must”, we only work with clients with a budget of $80k+ on base. Sales competence is more important than product/industry knowledge, so we’ll strongly suggest to open your mind to sales people from all industries, not just yours.

Our advice to you: 

  • If you don’t have time and resources to train the sales person, don’t hire anyone without prior success in a sales role. Therefore, you need to be prepared to pay $80k+ on base.
  • If you do have time to train and coach, you will most likely find a lot of success from above mentioned athlete-candidates #1 and #2

Questions we will ask you in our briefing call:

  • Why is the role available/purpose of the role?
  • What does success look like 3 month, 6 months and 12 months from now?
  • What is your current sales process? How do you generate new business/upsell current clients?
  • How would your current and past employees describe your culture?
  • Take us through your onboarding process and ongoing training if applicable?
  • What are the growth prospects for the business & the salesperson?

Our process:

Once terms are signed, we will reach out to our network and find the desired athlete-candidate you are after based on your brief. We will have a shortlist within 2 weeks. If we fail to shortlist within 2 weeks, we will update you on why and with your permission keep searching until we find the desired athlete-candidate. Once you do hire our sourced athlete-candidate, on their first day of work we will send you our invoice which has 14 day payment terms.

If you have any further questions before our briefing call, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your representative from A2B or our broader team. 

News

By Alex Opacic March 9, 2025
How to Structure a Salesperson's Remuneration Package: A No-Nonsense Guide How do you pay your sales team? What’s the right balance between base salary and commission? What truly motivates high-performing salespeople? I’ve spent seven years headhunting elite sales talent (2018–2025) across industries and seniority levels. This guide breaks down what actually works when structuring a competitive remuneration package that attracts and retains top performers. Base Salary vs. Commission: What Salespeople Actually Want The old-school belief that salespeople are purely motivated by commission is outdated. Security, stability, and guaranteed income (base salary) have become bigger motivators than potential earnings. In major cities, the cost of living is high, and sales professionals—especially experienced ones—aren't taking risks on low base salaries with “unlimited commission potential.” Here’s what top performers expect: Senior-Level Sales Professionals (10+ years experience): $200K+ base Mid-Level Sales Professionals: $150K–$180K+ base Junior-Level Sales Professionals: $90K–$100K+ base ⚠️ The Risk Zone: $110K–$140K for Mid-Level Salespeople This range can be problematic. It’s too high for junior talent but often too low to attract experienced mid-level professionals. If you’re hiring at this level, your commission structure needs to be bulletproof —more on that shortly. Commission Structure: The 60/40 Rule and the Flight Risk Factor Typically, top sales performers expect a 60/40 split (60% base, 40% commission). But here’s the key: ✅ Commission is secondary to base salary. With the right negotiation and rapport, high performers won’t be as focused on commission if the base is solid. ✅ Only ~20% of the market is truly commission-driven. These salespeople are entrepreneurial by nature, meaning they’re a flight risk —likely to jump ship when things get tough or leave to start their own business. If your team is built on commission-heavy hires, expect high turnover and a weak employer reputation. Sales is no longer a “sink or swim” profession. It’s a legitimate career, just like law, engineering, or accounting, and sales professionals expect to be paid accordingly. High cost of living is creating pressure, stress and anxiety at alarming levels. Secure base salary means safety, comfort and piece of mind which is an optimal performance mindset - something career salespeople will fight for, run through brick walls to ensure they keep. Safety motivates people more than potential earnings! (80% belong in this bracket!) 20% are able to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, they live in the risk zone - these are entrepreneurial salespeople and are a flight-risk as employees. Finding and Paying A-Players: What Works (And What Doesn’t) Now, let’s get granular on hiring high-performing salespeople at different salary levels. Scenario 1: You Want a High Performer Who Can Convert Quickly 🔹 Required: Someone with a strong network, high closing ability, and industry credibility. 🔹 Realistic Salary Expectation: $150K+ base, with an OTE (On-Target Earnings) of at least 40% more. A top sales pro who’s already earning well won’t move for the same money. If they have a loyal network that converts, they need a serious financial incentive, as wherever they are now, they should be converting that network into cash. The biggest factor in them moving that network from current company to yours, will be a base salary increase of at least $20-30k. 💡 Hiring Tip: If budget is tight, consider this strategy: Find a strong mid-level salesperson earning $120K base. Offer $150K+ base but delay commissions for 12+ months (performance-dependent). That extra $30K in guaranteed salary is a huge motivator for high performers. ✅ Key Hiring Test: Ensure their 90-day plan includes a clear, convincing strategy for converting their network. If they can’t articulate this, they don’t have a network worth leveraging. Scenario 2: You Need a Strong Salesperson But Can Only Offer $100K–$120K Base 🔹 Common Employer Ask: “We want someone with a network who can convert.” 🔹 Reality Check: At this salary level, that’s unlikely. Well, the network part is unlikely. Salespeople with strong networks who convert consistently earn $180K+ total comp. If someone at $100K–$120K claims they have a high-performing network, be sceptical—they’re likely just good at interviewing. 💡 Better Approach: Instead of chasing an instant network, hire for: Hunting ability (prospecting and new business development) Strong closing skills Some industry knowledge (but sales skills matter more than product knowledge) If you’re relying on a strong commission structure, make sure it’s proven. If fewer than 40% of your current sales team hits their commission targets, your “strong comms structure” is irrelevant to high performers. Scenario 3: Your Budget is $70K–$100K Base 🔹 Best Strategy: Hire for coachability, resilience, and a strong prospecting mindset. 🔹 Key Focus Areas: Prospecting ability (more important than discovery or closing skills at this level). Willingness to learn and be coached. Competence in sales fundamentals. If your time to coach is zero , don’t hire at this level. Even at $100K base, some level of guidance will be needed. ✅ High performers at this level expect commission potential of at least 40% on top of base. If you’re offering lower OTE, expect lower engagement. ⚠️ The Danger Zone: $110K–$140K for Mid-Level Salespeople This salary range can be a tricky spot. It’s too high for junior talent and too low to consistently attract experienced mid-level professionals who are already performing at a high level. If you’re hiring in this range, your commission structure needs to be bulletproof —and you’ll need a compelling narrative around why someone would make the move. Most commonly, high performers in this range are those with 2–5 years of experience , earning around $100K base and consistently hitting or overachieving target . But here’s the catch: 👉 If they’re moving into a similar role, in the same industry, for the same base salary—you’ve got to ask: why are they really leaving? There are exceptions, of course, but be cautious. At this salary range, you’re better off focusing on: Prospecting and closing ability over network Talent from outside your industry who are hungry to break in Sales professionals who bring energy, resilience, and drive —even if they lack specific industry contacts 💡 If industry network and contacts are a must , be prepared to offer $20K–$30K more on base to make the role attractive enough for someone to walk away from a good situation. Bottom line: In this range, don’t get fooled by polished interviewers. Focus on real ability, upside, and hunger. There's a lot of career salespeople at this level who are mostly average, so be cautious. Final Takeaways: What Defines a High-Performing Salesperson? The best salespeople don’t just have “great energy” in interviews—they have: ✔️ Athlete Mindset : Resilience, competitiveness, discipline, and grit. ✔️ CHEC: Communication skills, Humble confidence, Emotional intelligence, and Commercial awareness. And finally— always have a clear, structured commission plan. Especially at the lower salary levels, transparency on commission can make or break a hire. Get the Pay Structure Right, and You’ll Attract the Best 🔹 Base salary is the #1 motivator for top salespeople today. 🔹 Commission matters, but only in a fair and achievable structure. 🔹 Misaligned pay expectations will either push top talent away—or leave you hiring the wrong people. If you get this right, you won’t just attract great salespeople—you’ll build a team of high performers who stay, thrive, and consistently close deals. Want to Hire Elite Sales Talent? I specialize in headhunting top-performing sales professionals with the athlete mindset + CHEC. If you’re looking to build a high-impact sales team, let’s connect .
By Alex Opacic January 16, 2025
How To Guarantee ROI From Your Sales Hire
By Alex Opacic January 16, 2025
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