According to Dallas-area Realtor Leeca (pronounced Lisa) Wilcox, one of her biggest challenges as a new real estate agent in 2002 was coming into an organization dominated by superstars. She realized immediately that she had to find a way to distinguish herself.

She decided to use the training she knew others didn't have. Wilcox has a degree in visual merchandising, was a visual merchandiser/window display artist in New York, and she was a painting contractor for 10 years.

"I have a unique way of selling property," explains Wilcox. "I can see beyond what others can see, with color. I look at the outside of a house and think about what can I do to get people to come into it, to get them in the front door."

That can mean painting the front door a new color, adding landscaping, painting the whole house or adding as little as a new doormat.

"Then, inside, I play the same music at all my open houses," says Wilcox, "it's yin-yang music, that you hear when you get a massage. What it does is calm people, and they think 'This is such a peaceful, tranquil house.' I use fresh flowers, get rid of fake flowers, and minimize clutter. I always have bottled mini-waters. I take out the lightbulbs and put in halogen lights, which gives off a white light instead of a yellow light, and it makes the house look like sun is pouring in. Little things make a difference."

Her know-how paid off - with about $10 million sold her first year in a highly competitive market. Others met her, liked the way she presented her listings, and Wilcox had the makings of a networking group.

Again, Wilcox thought she could bring something new, exciting and different to the concept of networking.

"I would look at the networking groups in the real estate magazines and think 'Who are they, and what are they doing for me and the community?'" says Wilcox. "I thought that instead of having a group that only services members, how about one that services the community, too.?

Wilcox's concept was to bring different real estate and related companies together. She's started The Real Estate Service Group with about 10 members, and hopes to have 15 shortly. The group includes Realtors from her company Allie Beth Allman & Associates, as well as other local boutique and national franchise companies. She's also included mortgage brokers because she wanted diversity and to hear what they had to say about the local real estate market.

"I picked people who I knew had good hearts and would get along together," says Wilcox. "We are scouting local charities that are having more trouble getting known."

So far, the plan is to have meetings about once a month with speakers who know about such topics as investments. The group plans to give 60 percent of the membership fees collected to a local charity, and use the remaining forty percent for advertising and reserves. So far the group has accumulated $1000 to bequest this year, but plans to double that next year or better.

"What we are hoping is that more people will catch on and do the same thing," says Wilcox.

Published: December 8, 2004

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