The 918 Home Team
JANUARY 2022
“…talented agents have big goals, and it's our job as the leaders of the 918 Home Team to help them actualize their goals … as well as open doors for bigger opportunities and growth.”
AN INDUSTRY CHANGED
Like many industries over the last 20 years, real estate has had to adapt to the advent of the internet, rapidly changing technology, and a social-media-driven culture. Since Christi Gillentine and Ryan Treadway started their realty careers in the early 2000s, the responsibilities of a solo REALTOR® have become innumerable. As Gillentine explains, “…the many hats a solo agent is asked to wear continues to grow heavy with responsibilities of marketing and managing a business that is ever-evolving through technology.” These days, selling a home requires so much more than it used to—realty teams have multiple websites and numerous social media platforms to manage, all of which are loaded with content that provide a great online experience for buyers and sellers.
When Gillentine and Treadway created the 918 Home Team in 2009, they started with “an authentic desire to develop a team of industry experts that could assist people at the highest level, both during and after a real estate transaction.” With this goal in mind, and reckoning with the reality of an evolving industry, the two leaders had the foresight to build a team of professionals that could share the responsibilities of the business. The power of a strong team yielded success for all involved: the clients, the administrators, the agents, and the staff. The 918 Home Team prides itself on its core business goals of teamwork, hard work, and five-star customer service.
Those goals have translated to success and longevity for the 918 Home Team. By 2013 the 918 Home Team had earned a spot in the Top 100 Teams in Keller Williams worldwide and was recognized as the highest producing team in the Greater Tulsa Area. As Gillentine reflects, “Today, real estate is a team business that is profitable and growth-based … but the winners are the clients.”
INVESTING IN SUCCESS
Gillentine and Treadway are not only dedicated to their clients, they are dedicated to their team. At 918 Home Team, agents are not just cogs in a real estate machine—they’re valuable assets to the team, and the 918 leaders invest in them to ensure their success.
The two team leaders recognize that leading others effectively starts with personal development, and they are committed to their own personal development and finding leaders, trainers, and coaches that challenge them to “level up” consistently. It is one thing to hone your skills as an individual agent, but as Gillentine explains, it is quite another “to lead other agents and employees to envision and achieve personal and professional goals.” Over the years, the 918 leaders have learned what it takes to lead a large, successful team: “…talented agents have big goals and it's our job as the leaders of the 918 Home Team to help them actualize their goals … as well as open doors for bigger opportunities and growth.”
Their focus on the success of their agent partners is what has set the 918 Home Team apart from other realty teams: with more than 13 years of success as a team, they have a higher retention rate than most teams in the Tulsa area, and their agents see a 15-20% growth on their personal business year after year.
“If we could pinpoint one ingredient of our ‘secret sauce,’ it is that our team must be a vehicle to success for our agents… We are truly invested in their success, and when one of us wins, we all win.”
THE BENEFITS OF TEAMWORK
One thing that alludes many working professionals—both inside and outside of the real estate industry—is finding a good balance between work and home life. In an industry notorious for agent burnout, the 918 Home Team has found a solution to this age-old problem: “The solution for all of us on the team is the team.”
“No one wants to miss their kids’ game or school event, but we often find that this is a 24/7/365 business. But it does not have to be that way,” remarks Gillentine.
The 918 Home Team is built so that everyone can focus on what really matters: while at work, their clients, and when at home, their families. Gillentine and Treadway believe many hands make light work, and that ensures a happier working environment for all.
“When one of our agents goes on vacation, they should be able to turn their phone off and know that things are being handled for them,” explains Gillentine. “Day to day, our agents’ job is to focus on their clients while team staff handles the loose ends from marketing, lead generation, to transaction management. Who wants to chase a signature or figure out the latest social media ad requirements? All that is time that could be spent on more important things, like meeting a seller or going to that school play. For us, a better team means a better life.”
A PASSION FOR PEOPLE
The collective success of the 918 Home Team flows not only from their focus on the success of their team but who the team leaders are at their core. Both Christi Gillentine and Ryan Treadway are family-oriented and feel that their own parents and becoming parents themselves has shaped who they are as people and as leaders in the industry.
For the 918 Home Team, success is defined by how many people they help—whether they are helping their agents accomplish a goal or helping their clients find a home that meets their needs, everyone the team works with is given a helping hand.
“If someone joins the team and has a goal to sell 150 homes in a year, we don’t say, ‘You can't do that in this market.’ We say, ‘How do we make that happen in this market?’ Then we sit down and make a plan to accomplish that goal,” says Gillentine.
And as for their clients, “People come to us in good times and hard times in their lives. Maybe someone is getting married and needs a bigger home, whereas another seller is going through a divorce and custody issues, and may need to downsize. Finding solutions for real estate problems is something we are committed to… For us, it’s not about the sale, it’s about helping people.”
THE LEADERS BEHIND THE 918 HOME TEAM
Christi Gillentine is the proud mother of three; she has 22-year-old twin girls and a 23-year-old son. Her parents and sister moved from California in 2019 after her mom was diagnosed with brain cancer. Having the 918 Home Team’s support allowed her to care for her mother until she passed in October 2020. Christi also recently lost her father unexpectedly in September 2021. Losing both parents in 10 months has been extremely challenging, but the support of the team has made all the difference.
Christi is also a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for Tulsa County Foster Care and advocates for neglected and abused children in the juvenile court system. She is extraordinarily passionate about generational poverty and child abuse and committed to helping these children in any way she can.
Ryan is a devoted dad of four children. He’s a basketball coach for his son's team and tries to be present for every game and event involving his kids. If he’s not working, you can find him with his wife, Tina, and their family! Additionally, Ryan is a member of Broken Arrow Golf Club and loves to get a round of golf in when he can find the time.
Written by Loren Bramble, photos by Peak RES
