There’s something extra special about one of the split placements in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

Matthew Deutsch

Yes, the fee associated with the split is rather high at $50,000. However, that’s not even the most special part about the placement.

What’s really special is that it represents the first placement in TE Network for recruiter Irina Kirnos of Executive Placement Network!

Irina placed a Director of Technical Services with trading partner Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing, earning a fee of $50K at 25%. Amy, of course, is no stranger to large fees in TE. She has been part of some of the biggest split placement fees in TE Network during the past several years.

Not only that, but as you can see below, Amy was involved in three split placement deals recently.

However, for Irina, this was her first Network split, and because of that, we wish to congratulate her and we also wish her more split placement success in the future!

As a friendly neighborhood reminder, here is the information that we publish with our split placements:

• Names of the trading partners involved (with their profile photos, when available)
• Job title
• Overall placement fee (before TE Network’s 6% brokerage fee, of course)
• Fee percentage

Please note that the placements listed below reflect deals finalized in TE Network for the period from February 23 through March 1, 2026.

Remember, if you don’t want information related to your split placements published in The Pinnacle, please send an email to marketing@topechelon.com to that effect.

Once again, congratulations to everybody below for the split placements they made in TE Network!

This Week’s Split Placements

— — —

Amy Chapman

Brad Dodge

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: PLANT HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER

Overall placement fee: $22,500

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Brad Dodge

Carol McBride

Job recruiter: Carol McBride of RCC Group, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL AUDIT

Overall placement fee: $43,750

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Nancy Gordon

Tom Craig

Job recruiter: Tom Craig of Keystone Distinction Group

Candidate recruiter: Nancy Gordon of Harlan Recruiting Group

Job title: SHIPPING CLERK

Overall placement fee: $12,220

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Christina Boudreaux

Job recruiter: Christina Boudreaux of Connectly Recruiting

Candidate recruiter: Tom Honeywill of Decide Consulting (inactive)

Job title: SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Overall placement fee: $25,850

Fee percentage: 22%

— — —

Jerred Hebert

Job recruiter: Jerred Hebert of Quest Energy Group

Candidate recruiter: Nik Jain of Top Tier Nexus (inactive)

Job title: FORKLIFT MECHANIC

Overall placement fee: $14,185.60

Fee percentage: 22%

— — —

Amy Chapman

Irinia Kirnos

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Irina Kirnos of Executive Placement Network

Job title: DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SERVICES

Overall placement fee: $50,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Amy Chapman

Steve Kohn

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.

Job title: MECHANICAL ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $30,000

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

If you’re a newer TE Network member and you’d like to enjoy more success in our recruiter network, then I encourage you to contact Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

We want you to attend TE Connect Spring 2026 for a reason.

Actually, we want you to attend this event for multiple reasons. However, some of those reasons are more important than others.

Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS

Top Echelon is bringing TE Connect Spring 2026 to vibrant Tampa, Florida (at the Hotel Haya) and one of the biggest reasons to be there is this:

Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC is pulling back the curtain on how she billed $2.4 million in TE Network and made more than 270 placements.

Let that sink in for a moment.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s possible inside the Network when you truly leverage it, Maria’s session will show you exactly how it’s done.

Event Details (Mark Your Calendar)

• Main Event: Thursday, April 23, 2026
• Icebreaker: Wednesday, April 22 | 5:00–6:30 p.m.
• Location: Hotel Haya, Tampa, Florida
• Room Rate: $219 (limited availability)

Located in the heart of historic Ybor City, Hotel Haya blends modern sophistication with old-world charm—an ideal setting for high-level conversations, real-time deal-making, and next-level momentum.

Inside Maria’s Session

Maria’s presentation isn’t theory. It’s a step-by-step blueprint built on results.

Here’s what she’ll cover:

The Power of the Intake

Master the most critical step—setting early expectations and defining the “ideal avatar” to win better business.

The Onboarding Shift

Increase your value by teaching clients that retention starts at the interview—not the first day on the job.

The $2.4 Million Blueprint

Steal the exact networking, feedback, and system-driven strategies MJ Recruiters used to close 300+ placements.

Stop Working Bad Orders

Audit your desk ruthlessly—ditch “forced” deals, demand engagement fees, and remember: this business is not for wimps.

Why This Session Matters

TE Connect Spring 2026 is growth strategy for your TE Network membership:

• More relationships = more splits.
• Better systems = more consistency.
• Clear process = higher billings.

Maria’s session embodies everything TE Connect is about: real-world strategies, measurable results, and practical tools you can implement immediately.

Let’s Connect in Tampa

We’ll kick things off with the Icebreaker on April 22 before diving into a high-energy day of networking, live exchanges, software training, and sessions like Maria’s that can directly impact your bottom line.

Spring is the perfect time to reset, refocus, and build momentum heading into the heart of the year.

• Mark your calendar for April 23, 2026.
• Book your room at Hotel Haya.
• Come ready to learn how $2.4M and 270+ placements are built.

We’ll see you in Tampa!

The “But For Rule” will never go away in this industry. It’s what separates the “snakes” from those who know what the right thing is and how to do it.

Without going back to Sunday school, we all know the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” There are many ways to state this philosophy of reciprocity.

With this thought, let’s approach the “But For Rule” in terms of best practices in Top Echelon’s recruiting network. Candidates and client leads come to you in many different ways.

Let’s face it: the Internet can be a messy, dangerous place.

Best Practices: ‘But For Rule’ Scenarios

A candidate named “Fred” applies to your job on your website and he is a fit for the role. (Names are withheld to protect the fact that they don’t actually exist.) However, a day, a few hours, or even minutes before that, a Network trading partner had sent you Fred’s resume for the same job.

“We need to talk about ‘Fantastic Fred’ for your XYZ-role,” they say. But here is “Fantastic Fred” in your hand. He applied through your site, and the other recruiter doesn’t know the time frame of this nomination. So . . . what do you do?

Which of these two submissions made you interested in the candidate? Which did you see first? You received “Fantastic Fred” from your Network trading partner first. Therefore, you should HONOR their submission.

In another (hypothetical) case, your Network trading partner sends you “Fantastic Fred” for your XYZ-role, and you remember this person. You turn around and find that you had just spoken to him last month for another role OR you recognize the name and find “Fantastic Fred” in your recruiting database.

What do you do? Did you think of Fred for the role in question or take action towards him before your trading partner’s submission?

Now let’s really “blow your doors off.” You’re trying to reach “Fantastic Fred” for the XYZ-role, and he is not responding to you. A Network trading partner calls and says, “I have been talking to ‘Fantastic Fred’ about your XYZ-Role. He is very excited, and I think he is a great fit for this position.”

“Really?” you ask yourself.

Consult the Network Policies

In this situation, according to scenario 2 in Top Echelon Network Policy 15a, you would have to honor your split recruiting partner’s submission of “Fantastic Fred.” That’s because they’ve established contact with him and you have been unable to do so.

In order to set guidelines for occurrences such as these, Top Echelon has carefully designed Policies 8, 9a, 9b, 9c, 15a, and 15b to cover the way Top Echelon Network recruiters are to handle these situations when they arise.

Just keep the following three things in mind:

1. Honesty is the best policy.
2. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”
3. “But for” what action caused your interest in the candidate?

If you have any questions about the “But For Rule” or about any other policies or best practices in Top Echelon’s split network, then I encourage you to contact me.

You can do so by telephone at 330.595.1742 or via email at drea@topechelon.com.

You have many tools, services, and resources that you use as a recruiter and/or agency owner in your quest to make more placements. Membership in TE Network is just one of them.

Matthew Deutsch

But perhaps you’ve been wondering about what kind of return on investment (ROI) you’re receiving on your Network membership. That’s a valid question. (Although I hope you’re asking that question about every tool, service, and resource that you use.)

Let’s cut right to the chase: you do NOT have to make a ton of split placements every year to earn a huge ROI in our Network. In fact, you only have to make one split placement to receive that huge ROI.

How huge is huge? I’m so glad you asked . . .

How the TE ROI is so high

Let’s start with cost. The monthly membership dues for Top Echelon’s recruiting network is $150 per month. Over the course of an entire year, a recruiting agency would pay $1,800 in Network membership dues.

Let’s say that a member agency makes one placement in the Network during that year. We’ll start with the fact that the average TE placement fee is $20,000. So let’s say this one placement brings with it an average TE placement fee.

Okay, so then Top Echelon takes 6% of that total as its brokerage fee. In this case, the brokerage fee is $1,200. That means each recruiter associated with the placement will now split $18,800. Some quick math tells us that’s 9,400 per recruiter (or per agency).

Theoretically, the member agency with which we started paid $1,800 in membership dues over the course of a single year. That was the agency’s monetary investment. The return that the agency received on its investment is $7,780.

Pay $1,800, receive $7,780. After the agency repaid its initial investment of $1,800, it still has $5,980 remaining. And if that sounds like an acceptable ROI, that’s because it is!

Our reasoning is obvious. When you make a split placement in TE Network within a single year, you are more than doubling your money. In fact, the above scenario represents a 300% ROI for each agency involved in the split placement.

Maximize your 2026 return

So that’s the ROI of making just one split in TE Network in 2026: 300%. Of course, some member agencies make far more than one split per year.

However, as you can see, the Network does not have to constitute a major part of your business or recruiting desk for you to receive a huge return on your Top Echelon investment. The Network is meant to supplement your business and your desk, to help maximize it, so to speak.

One split placement is all it takes. If you have yet to make your first split in TE Network, then we want to help you do so in 2026. We want you to receive your 300% ROI.

That’s why I encourage you to contact our Director of Network Operations, Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Well, we’re halfway through the first quarter, both in TE Network and also out there in the real world. (Not that TE Network isn’t the real world, it’s just that . . . you know what, never mind.)

Matthew Deutsch

The bottom line is that regardless of how well (or not) the first quarter of 2026 is treating you, we have some questions, such as the following . . .

How much money did you bill through Top Echelon’s recruiting network in 2025? Who were your top trading partners during the year?

Whoa, whoa . . . I know. One question at a time. But first, a little back-story on these questions.

Based on past Network polls and surveys of days gone by, the “sweet spot” for TE members when it comes to billing through the Network has been anywhere from $10K to $50K per year. In other words, approximately 50% of the TE members who responded to our polls and surveys billed that much through the Network on an annual basis.

Okay, now back to our questions . . .

How much did YOU bill through our split fee recruiting network in 2025? Do you want to bill more through the Network this year? (Don’t be silly. Of course you do.)

To do so, there are some questions that you should ask. Which questions? I’m glad you asked!

Below are 6 questions for identifying your top trading partners:

1. If you made multiple split placements in 2025, with which trading partners did you make the most splits?

2. If you didn’t make any split placements last year, did you come close, and with which trading partners did you do so?

3. With which trading partners did you enjoy working the most?

4. With which trading partners do you have the most in common?

5. Which of your trading partners work their desk in a similar fashion as you?

6. Which of your trading partners adheres most closely to The Four Pillars of TE Network—Quality, Communication, Trust, and Active Participation?

Once you’ve identified your top split recruiting partners for 2023, put together a plan for working with them more consistently and more efficiently.

Because they could very well hold the key to helping you enjoy your best year ever in TE Network!

And if you haven’t made any Network placements yet and you want to start “churning and burning” in Top Echelon in 2026, then be sure to contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

Drea will help get you on the right track and connected to the people most likely to help you make splits in TE. You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.