Prior to the 5 years i was making around 120 base + commission doing financial sales. Took an overall paycut to move to a non sales role to business development.

In truth its probabably a mixture if hard work, opportunity and luck.
Less than a year I was offered 25% increment to a new firm. Then i had a series of small increments. Thereafter I also moved to a regional role to a different firm and they gave me a 50% increment on my old base.

Make connections and ensure that you have a good reputation in the market.
I was lucky to have been approached by recruiters and senior management from competitors to join them.

All along i have been in the financial industry.