Production & Income Are Byproducts of Great Work

Eric, Jan 11, 2023

I snowboard and ski a lot. More than I probably should and definitely more than Ali wishes I did. A month or so ago, I was snowboarding with a good friend who I’ve done a 3-4 day trip with every year for the past 4 years. He was a beginner/intermediate rider when we started and he’s progressed every year. This year, it was interesting to note that we’re now about as fast as each other. Neither one of us waits at the lift for the other very long.

The point of snowboarding isn’t to go fast. Good snowboarders often do go fast, though. There are really garbage snowboarders who also go fast, straight-lining down the mountain with no control or style. When you learn to snowboard, no one tells you, “Just go as fast as you can. That’s how you get good.” No, you learn how to skid turns, connect turns, carve, and then you decide if you want to learn other things like powder, trees, park, etc… While you’re learning to do these things, you start going really fast, but that’s not the point. The point is that you’re riding really well and that also happens to be fast (a lot of the time).

Working as a real estate agent is very similar to snowboarding. Really great agents often produce a lot and earn a bunch of money. There are also really garbage agents who produce a lot and earn a lot, but they rarely last. They steamroll clients into whatever is in the agent’s interest and they eventually develop bad reputations. When you’re starting out in real estate, no one (who’s any good) will tell you, “Go sell a bunch of homes. Tens of Millions worth.” No, you gain industry knowledge, market knowledge, and you learn how to generate business. You then decide if you want to specialize in certain areas, property types, price points, etc…

When you’re starting your career and building your business, you have to focus on “the things”, not the results. If you only focus on the results, you’re blinded as to what you need to do. When you focus on doing the right things, you’ll wake up one day and you will have sold a bunch of houses, earned a bunch of great referral sources, and made a bunch of money. You’ll be riding really fast, but that’s just a byproduct of doing things really well.

Silverton “Hot Carl” March 25, 2022

Heli drop #3 of the day. So much fun.

Categories Agent Advice
About the Author

Eric Bramlett is the broker and owner of Bramlett Residential, a mid-sized brokerage in Austin, Texas. Eric is a 19 year veteran in the Austin real estate market and specializes in building systems and technology. Bramlett agents pride themselves on their exceptionally high standards for client service and both industry and market competency. Eric lives in central Austin with his wife and son. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, climbing, and traveling to be in the mountains.

Last updated: 01/18/2023

2300+ Client reviews!

Erik Meath

Elizabeth Michael was awesome to work with! As a first time home buyer, she was able to explain the process clearly and professionally, from our first meeting, all the way through closing.

She was very communicative and we never felt we were left in the dark. She fought for us when we needed her to fight for us, and her advice was invaluable. She absolutely excels at navigating the Austin real estate market.

She was also able to recommend a great lender, insurance agent, etc., which made it feel like we had a whole team working for us. I’d recommend working with Elizabeth to everyone I know.

Priscilla Echegaray

We worked with Julie Stoakley to purchase a home since moving back from Florida. We were impressed with her knowledge of the incentives and mortgage strategies. We never felt lost in communication on where we stood in the buying process. We purchased a home with an incentive and with her knowledge we were able to obtain clarity and an understanding for it. She also helped us in negotiating repairs from the inspection process and were able to get a brand new roof! I would definitely recommend Julie to my friends and family!

Ran Archer

Crystal Hirst understands market conditions and how to position. She does her research well and helped us price our house to “SELL”. Indeed it sold much faster than our expectation, while multiple other units in the area, and in fact on the “same street”, still remain unsold. Ultimately Crystal brought us multiple interested buyers and we achieved higher than asking because of this multi-party interest that Crystal generated. We enjoyed our experience, her professionalism and excellent communication. We highly recommend Chrystal Hirst as your realtor.

Ran Archer

Crystal Hirst understands market conditions and how to position. She does her research well and helped us price our house to “SELL”. Indeed it sold much faster than our expectation, while multiple other units in the area, and in fact on the “same street”, still remain unsold. Ultimately Crystal brought us multiple interested buyers and we achieved higher than asking because of this multi-party interest that Crystal generated. We enjoyed our experience, her professionalism and excellent communication. We highly recommend Chrystal Hirst as your realtor.

J O A

I have been thoroughly pleased with my experience with Bramlett Residential and my realtor Tyson Hombroek. Tyson provided outstanding service in helping me with the sale of my house. He is very professional and on top of the market. We stayed in constant communication and he was helpful in answering all my questions I had. This was a great experience. I highly recommend them.

Trey Gillingwater

Kasey Gilliam was very professional and communicated through the whole home buying and searching process. highly recommend working with her. She has great expertise in Austin and lead very helpful with all of our home buying questions and concerns!

Matthew Courtney

Vicki Duran from Bramlett was extremally informative and made the whole sales process effortless. I used her to not only purchase my home 4 years ago but also for the sale of the same home. Communication is key for me and Vicki was available at any time to answer questions and to keep us looped in during negotiations and or pending offers. Her attention to detail really stans out and had her clients best interest in mind at all time.

I highly recommend Vicki to anyone looking to purchase a home or sell their home, having used her for both I know you will be glad you did.

Philip Storey

Elizabeth is AMAZING!!! She went above and beyond to secure me an absolutely beautiful home. HIGHLY recommended.

cody oxford

Elizabeth is amazing at her job. She found my roommates and me a great house and made the whole process very easy 10/10

chandan singh

Elizabeth was great and easy to work with and helped me a find a tenant quickly. She was prompt in communication and I would highly recommend her to everyone finding a new tenant

Lizzy Crowne

Elizabeth has helped me find a home not once, but twice! She’s incredibly responsive and communicative- Both times I’ve worked with her, she has prioritized what I’m looking for, been super realistic and honest, and is always my advocate. I’m so grateful for her hard work!

Blake Weinreich

Elizabeth was extremely helpful in our process of buying our first home. She was extremely responsive, friendly and made the home buying process extremely simple and easy. Thanks again Elizabeth you’re the best!

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