May 18, 2012

The Poken- My New Favorite Tech Gadget

4391166566 34699b7f6e m The Poken  My New Favorite Tech Gadget

Image by MegBarberVA via Flickr

Do you Poken? That question brings up the subject of my latest techno-gadget-geek obsession… the Poken. It was introduced to me at a recent DVVAA networking lunch by fellow Virtual Assistant, Kyna Baker, and I think it is just the coolest thing ever. As usual, I’m always looking for things to make the business life of real estate agents easier, and this fun little gadget can do just that.

What is a Poken, you ask? To put it simply, the Poken is a digital business card device. It provides you an easy way to share your contact info as well as all your online social network profiles with others you meet who have a Poken too. The exchange works by simply touching the palms together with another Poken user, or “high 4″ as they call it. And viola, the green glow means the information has transferred.

Later, you just plug your poken into your computer’s USB port and transfer the contacts of the new people you just met into your Poken hub(it’s web based). You then can easily download those contacts and put into your Outlook or other contact manager. And if you make changes your contact info, it updates your connections in their hubs and vice versa. There’s no more scribbling down your social network links, or new email addresses.  There’s no scanning business cards, no typing into a database.  How cool is that? (Scroll down for info on where to get one)

They have 2 products currently, the Poken Spark and the Poken Pulse, and I ordered both just to test them all out. So far I am liking them a lot for different reasons. Here is a video I made showing them off and talking about the differences between the two products.

The Poken Spark is the original incarnation, and come in all sorts of eye-catching designs. I think they live up to their name as they can really spark up a conversation when people see them. They are small and can easily clip to your key key chain. The Spark holds about 50 contacts (before you download them), but does not have additional storage.

The Poken Pulse is their newer product that works in the same way, but also has 2GB of flash memory. It’s plainer looking than the Spark. It looks almost like a standard USB memory stick, but it does have the little hand on it and can be ordered with designs on the inside. It interacts with all other Pokens just the same, and has the ability to hold more contacts. Again is is the size of a USB memory stick and like the Spark, can be hooked on to a key chain.

So where can you get a Poken? The easiest way is to purchase your Poken online, and here are a number of places that sell Pokens on US soil:

Some of these vendors also allow you to by them in bulk orders, and you can even get them with your own logo printed right on them. Great to hand out for networking events, REALTOR conferences and expos, or even Thank You gifts for referrals.

Hope you find the Pokens as cool as I do. I see lots of possibilities with them as they gain popularity around the globe. And if you ever run into me in person (it can happen folks), be sure to Poken with me.

 The Poken  My New Favorite Tech Gadget

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Fun Little Widget For Your RE Blog

greenscreenshot 2 Fun Little Widget For Your RE BlogWhen searching for new plugins and widgets for my own blog, I stumbled upon this nifty little gem that I thought would be great for the “green conscious” Realtor and their blog.

Check out this Green Living Tips widget. It’s a cool little box that randomly cycles some tips for living a little greener and I think would be great little addition to a real estate blog. Right now it is only available for WordPress or Joomla sites, but it installs easily and looks great.

I’m always on the lookout for fun things to make your RE blog better. And if you need help setting your blog up, it’s a great job for your Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help with. Just sayin’.

 Fun Little Widget For Your RE Blog

 Fun Little Widget For Your RE BlogMegan E. Barber is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, and owner of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions. With over 10 years of experience working within the real estate industry, Megan and her team Virtual Assistants provide top notch real estate support services such as marketing, lead follow-up, social media, WordPress websites, and more. Megan E Barber is also the creator and author of The BVAS Connection and VA Mommy.

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More Adventures in Video – New Intro

Here I am having more fun with using video. Here is the latest video I posted just yesterday. It’s a little bit of a company intro giving some history on my business and why I became a Real Estate Virtual Assistant. Enjoy!

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I Don’t Only Talk the Talk…


Long time, no see! I truly have a great reason for my small blogging hiatus here. Which brings me to my post today. Not only am I a Virtual Assistant, I use Virtual Assistants as well.

Obviously, I have been known to promote the value of using Virtual Assistants to help agents and other businesses streamline their admin overload, and marketing tasks. I AM a Virtual Assistant after all, so of course I want encourage all to engage with those in my industry (and most of all, use ME as their VA).

Well not only do I talk the talk, but I walk the walk as well. In the beginning of May, my family was blessed with the arrival of our beautiful baby boy. It was necessary for me to take a maternity leave so I could figure out being a first-time mom and get to know my son. But I did not want to abandon my clients and leave them in the dust for the couple months I was taking off. So I did what any savvy business owner would do and used my Virtual Assistant team to handle the reigns of my business while I was away. My awesome VA team members, Sandra Sims and LoriAnne Rehrig, took over for me and covered all my client business so I could take that time off. My business was able to run without me! If it wasn’t for them, I surely wouldn’t have been able take that time, or my clients would have been very upset if I just dropped the ball on them for a couple months.

That is one of the wonderful things about partnering with a Virtual Assistant in your business. You can take a vacation, sabbatical, or family leave, and you can be comfortable that your business continue to run without you in the hands of your Virtual Assistant (or multiple VAs). Your lead follow-up can be handled like clockwork by your VA as well as your listing updates, marketing activities, etc. None of it has to stop because you’re not there!

Now that I’m fully back, I am roaring to go and excited to be adding new services and activities to offer busy real estate agents. And with the backing of my VA team, my return has been seamless. Again, I couldn’t have done it without Sandy or LoriAnne. Thanks ladies! I truly have a fabulous team!


Megan Barber is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, owner of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions, LLC,  and runs blogs, The BVAS Connection and The Virtual Perception. Megan has been in a Virtual Assistant for 4+ years and has spent 10+ years doing the “behind-the-scenes” work in the real estate industry assisting agents with their real estate marketing and transaction needs.

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BarberVASolutions.com Has a New Look!

site screenshot BarberVASolutions.com Has a New Look!Have you vistited our main site, www.BarberVASolutions.com lately? Well I am excited to announce that our BVAS site now has a new look! After 4+ years of having the same website design, I thought is was time for a facelift. So after many hours of hard work,  and many nights dreaming about CSS, I did it! (thanks to WordPress) With our new site, we’re also in the process of adding a few new services, products and resources. A few of the most exciting services we will be adding it the coming months:

  • Social Network Marketing packages and more
  • More graphic design services including Twitter backgrounds, custom web/blog headers and buttons

And as a celebration for our celebration of our site’s new look, I am running a New Look Special! For any new clients that sign on with us before March 31, 2009, we are offering 5% discounts on all of our retainer packages for the first 6 months of your contract. So don’t delay and contact me today for more details. Be sure to stay tuned and check back to our site frequently to see our new services, new resources and new team members we add in the coming months.


Megan Barber is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, owner of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions, LLC,  and runs blogs, The BVAS Connection and The Virtual Perception. Megan has been in a Virtual Assistant for 4+ years and has spent 10+ years doing the “behind-the-scenes” work in the real estate industry assisting agents with their real estate marketing and transaction needs.

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10 Things a Real Estate Virtual Assistant Can Do For You

In the business world, REALTORS are some of the busiest people I know. So many tasks are involved like working directly with clients, marketing their listings and then marketing themselves. Agents make their money by working directly with their clients, eyeball to eyeball. Much of thee “busy work” type of tasks involved in running their real estate business can take away from their bottom line. And if a Real Estate Professional doesn’t have an assistant, they ARE an assistant.

Still wondering what a Virtual Assistant can do to help keep you from burning the candle at both ends. Here are 10 things a VA can do to help:

  1. Listing Coordination – You just received a signed listing agreement with a client, and now it is time to deliver on your marketing promises, all of which can be very time consuming. Your VA can handle everything from the moment you sign the contract. This can include entering the data into the MLS, creating flyers, creating and mailing “Just Listed” postcards, arrange print advertising, publish to personal website, Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, track showing feedback and much more. All you have to do is send the pictures and the info, and your VA can do the rest.
  2. Contact Management – Making sure you stay in touch with your database, keeping them up to date, and keeping track of appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc, can be a daunting task. Let your VA manage your contact management, by using such CRM’s as Top Producer or the Wise Agent. The VA will keep your database up to date, make sure action plans and campaigns are being applied appropriately, set up your reminders for events and appointments.
  3. Internet Lead Management – Receiving lots of leads from your websites or blogs? Let your VA help you manage your lead intake. They can import them into your CRM, make sure follow-up and drip campaigns are going off without a hitch, and help you stay in touch to convert those leads into clients.
  4. Website Maintenance – Have several websites, but never have time to update listings or add fresh content? Let your VA maintain your real estate websites by making sure they are optimized for search engines, make sure your listings are updated, and that you have fresh relevant content for your visitors. Most VAs even have the ability to customize and design your sites to set them apart from the rest of the competition.
  5. Listing Presentation Preparation – Want to impress potential seller clients? Your VA can create a professional listing presentation for you that will clearly outline your marketing plan and selling process for your sellers, in digital or print format. It can be customized to the the house you aim to list, to really knock their socks off!
  6. Transaction Coordination – From the moment you get a sales contract, things can go from zero to crazy in an instant. Your VA can manage your transaction from contact to close and you can rest easy. They will manage all the documents and signatures, schedule inspections, handle the appointments and be main point of contact for your transactions.
  7. Custom Marketing Materials Design – Want your flyers, postcards, and presentations to have a professional look, but have no idea of how to make them that way? Hire a VA to custom design your marketing materials with your branding scheme. It help you put your best foot forward and set you above the rest.
  8. FSBO & Expired Prospecting – Want to tap into the FSBO and Expired markets? FSBO and Expired prospecting takes some special attention that your VA is well equipped to handle. By the use of certain programs, your VA will be able to harvest the FSBO and Expired leads, start the campaigns, send the letters & emails, etc. With the help of your VA, you will show those prospects that you are the one that can successfully list their homes.
  9. Social Networking Assistance – So you have a profile on Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo, ActiveRain, LinkedIn, or other popular social networks, but you can’t keep up with the friend requests and updates. Let your VA screen and manage your friend requests, make sure your latest blog entries get posted, post listing information, and make sure you get “out there” in the social networking world.
  10. Marketing Planning – No idea on how to focus your marketing efforts or any idea on what to budget for? Your VA can strategize with you to come up with long term marketing plans with many different options to make sure you get enough “touches” and stay in front of your clients, contacts, and farm.

Now if any of the above options sound like something you would like to unload from your busy schedule, than you should consider delegating these kinds of tasks to a Real Estate Virtual Assistant.


 10 Things a Real Estate Virtual Assistant Can Do For YouMegan E. Barber is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, and owner of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions. With over 10 years of experience working within the real estate industry, Megan and her team Virtual Assistants provide top notch real estate support services such as marketing, lead follow-up, social media, WordPress websites, and more. Megan E Barber is also the creator and author of The BVAS Connection and VA Mommy.

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We Made Blog of the Week!

VAblog We Made Blog of the Week!I just found out and I am pleased to announce that our BVAS Connection blog has been selected as th Virtual Assistant Networking Association’s (VANA) Blog of the Week!

VANAis one of the largest and most wonderful networking organizations in the Virtual Assistant industry. It is a place for aspiring and “veteran” VA’s to come together to share, learn and succeed! I have received so much help and support from their forum over the last 3 years I have been in business and I believe it to be a valuable resource to all VA’s.

I honored to have my blog recognized and I am so proud to be a part of such a wonderful organization.  Thanks VANA!

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