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<channel>
	<title>Davis Virtual Assistants</title>
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	<link>http://davisva.com/blog</link>
	<description>Offload.  Outsource.  Go Virtual!</description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:23:15 +0000</pubDate>
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			<item>
		<title>Thrifty Thursday:  Send Out Cards Account Management</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/11/thrifty-thursday-send-out-cards-account-management/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/11/thrifty-thursday-send-out-cards-account-management/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:20:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[send out cards]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[send out cards trainer]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[thrifty thursday]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=481</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good morning, campers!

Thrifty Thursday** for December 11, 2008 has your name written all over it along with these three little letters, SOC.  Send Out Cards, my go-to system for a majority of my in-touch marketing, is one of my most favorite addictions.  Whether I&#8217;m sending cards (physical cards which are delivered in the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Good morning, campers!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> for December 11, 2008</b> has your name written all over it along with these three little letters, SOC.  <b><a href="http://www.sendoutcards.com/lori" target=”_blank”>Send Out Cards</a></b>, my go-to system for a majority of my in-touch marketing, is one of my most favorite addictions.  Whether I&#8217;m sending cards (physical cards which are delivered in the mail, not childish e-cards) to my coaching clients and apprentices, giving out anniversary gifts to DavisVA.com clients, or maintaining contact with friends in London, Send Out Cards, in a word or two, has got my back.  SOC can also play a significant role in all of the lives you lead, as well, and I&#8217;ll throw in a discount for next month to sweeten the deal.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> 12/11/08</b> is a tidy 10% discount on your January 2009 Send Out Cards management invoice from Davis Virtual Assistants.  If you&#8217;ve got your own account, turn over your SOC account management to the good and sassy folks at Davis Virtual Assistants, and claim your January discount!  Need your own account?  Become a <b><a href="http://www.sendoutcards.com/lori" target=”_blank”>sender of cards</a></b> by signing up for your free Gift Account then <b><a href="https://www.sendoutcards.com/cgi-bin/trnuser.pl?signup_show_account_select:::21487" target=”_blank”>registering</a></b> your own SOC account.  During January 2009, we&#8217;ll work with you to update your SOC Account Manager, and on card campaigns for your clients and prospects.  There are over 13,000 cards from which to choose, plus you may upload your own photos and add thought bubbles, fonts and graphics for the true custom card experience.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
You know that playing the networking game is critical to whatever you do to bring home the bacon.  <b><i>SOC campaigns must be included as part of your marketing and networking arsenal.</b></i>  The &#8220;touch&#8221; process is what helps to keep our name in lights with regards to our prospects.  Plus, saying &#8220;thank you&#8221; to clients who keep us in business is always a lovely thing to do.  Send Out Cards is your golden ticket for both, along with all the contact we need to maintain in our personal life, and the folks at Davis Virtual Assistants are with you every step of the way.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
You&#8217;re not stupid and you&#8217;re not a dork, but you will be both if you don&#8217;t take advantage of this offer.  &#8216;Nuff said.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> 12/11/08</b> phone lines close at 5:00 PM U.S. Eastern next Wednesday, December 17, 2008.  Contact me, Lori Davis and <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/thrifty-thursday.htm" target=”_blank”>Send Out Cards trainer</a></b> right now and scoop of your January 2009 discount!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<small><small><small>** This Thrifty Thursday discount may not be combined with any other offers or discounts offered by Davis Virtual Assistants. This discount may be claimed only by new Davis Virtual Assistants (DavisVA.com) clients.</small></small></small><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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			<wfw:commentRss>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/11/thrifty-thursday-send-out-cards-account-management/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<item>
		<title>Give Good Phone</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/10/give-good-phone/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/10/give-good-phone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:24:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[give good phone]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[lori recommends]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=480</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Rise and shine all my Killer Sharks!  Let&#8217;s get moving on the day, and show the Guppies how we roll.   

Best compliment I received last week?  &#8216;Lori, you give good phone.&#8217;  These five words were uttered by a new DavisVA client who made the switch about three months ago from [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Rise and shine all my <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/killersharks" target=”_blank”>Killer Sharks</a></b>!  Let&#8217;s get moving on the day, and show the Guppies how we roll.  <img src='http://davisva.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> <wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Best compliment I received last week?  &#8216;Lori, you give good phone.&#8217;  These five words were uttered by a new DavisVA client who made the switch about three months ago from another virtual assistance provider.  Apparently, my phone skills are key to this client, and we&#8217;ve been able to raise her prospect-to-client ratio dramatically.  Whereas her previous VA was converting approximately 7-10% of her prospects, we&#8217;ve increased that to nearly 74%.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b><big>Giving Good Phone</b></big> is art, science, ears and a smooth voice.  Read on for my take:<wbr></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Giving Good Phone</b> is all about <i>listening</i>, especially when the folks on the other end of the wire are in crisis.  (We work with psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and interventionists.)  Good Phone is ultimately about fixing or alleviating some level of pain, but before that point is reached you must listen to what&#8217;s being said.  Even if the person with whom you&#8217;re speaking isn&#8217;t in crisis, they are pissed off about something.  Something wasn&#8217;t delivered, they were overcharged, something doesn&#8217;t work, or whatever.  Put yourself in their shoes &#8230; you can sympathize as well as empathize with what they&#8217;re going through.  Treat them as you wish to be treated.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li><b>Giving Good Phone</b> is all about clarifying their needs and desires.  You&#8217;re taking copious notes and after the person comes up for a breath, you briefly play back to them what they&#8217;ve said.  This ensures you understand fully their needs.  It&#8217;s at this point you can begin to make things all better.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li><b>Giving Good Phone</b> is all about being respectful and yes, patient.  Sometimes the caller needs to mind-dump and vent.  <b><i>Let them.</b></i>  You do the exact same thing when you call your telco or your ISP or another service provider.  You&#8217;re paying for a service or product and as such, you deserve respect and the very best.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li><b>Giving Good Phone</b> is all about talking to the person in language they can understand, but never talking down to them.  If we&#8217;re talking about a technology problem and the person on the other end of the line is not so geeky, we&#8217;ll have to explain the how&#8217;s and why&#8217;s in a different way.  You must never allow a client to &#8220;lose face&#8221; or make them feel silly or stupid for asking a question.  Remember,  you&#8217;ve got the knowledge that someone else needs, so give up that knowledge in language which is easily digestible to their ears.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li><b>Giving Good Phone</b> is all about the tone and level of your voice.  Laughing when they laugh, verbally slapping your knee when they do so, and so on.  Mirroring their emotions, all the while fixing their problem, will serve you very well.</ul>
<p><wbr><br />
I truly believe good phone skills are genetic, and that most people can&#8217;t acquire this skill.  Say what you will Sharks, but this is what I believe!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
If your current <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/services.htm" target=”_blank”>Virtual Assistant company</a></b> is lacking in this department, give us a call today at 866.611.LORI.  Let&#8217;s see if the Davis Virtual Assistants team can help you increase your prospect-to-client ratio &#8230;<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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			<wfw:commentRss>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/10/give-good-phone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Lori Recommends:  &#8220;Pimp My Keywords&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/09/lori-recommends-pimp-my-keywords/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/09/lori-recommends-pimp-my-keywords/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:11:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[gigglebox]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[lori recommends]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=479</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good morning, campers!

I get a kick out of eye-catching (and sometimes snarky) copy, and this is one of the many reasons I&#8217;m a fan of Steve over at Purple Trout, an SEO consulting firm.  Case in point, the title of Steve&#8217;s blog is Pimp My Keywords.  (Yes, I am an easy audience.)  [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Good morning, campers!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
I get a kick out of eye-catching (and sometimes snarky) copy, and this is one of the many reasons I&#8217;m a fan of Steve over at Purple Trout, an <b><a href="http://www.purpletrout.com" target=”_blank”>SEO consulting firm</a></b>.  Case in point, the title of Steve&#8217;s blog is <b><a href="http://www.cincinnatisearchengineoptimization.com/" target=”_blank”>Pimp My Keywords</a></b>.  (Yes, I <i>am</i> an easy audience.)  An unusual name for a company and a blog and yet, because of this very fact, you easily remember both.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Another reason to recommend Purple Trout is their free <b><a href="http://www.purpletrout.com/" target=”_blank”>SEO Webinars</a></b> on such topics as SEO and link building.  Steve gives great presentation, and the knowledge and tips and tricks he dispenses are priceless.  The how&#8217;s and why&#8217;s, the do&#8217;s and don&#8217;ts of the topic at hand, combined with practical and real life examples, make Purple Trout&#8217;s Webinars must-attend events.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Scamper on over to Purple Trout right now and check &#8216;em out!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>1440</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/08/1440/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/08/1440/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:01:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[go virtual]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[ruminate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=478</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good morning, my Killer Sharks!  It&#8217;s Monday, December 8, 2008, and it&#8217;s time for you to snuff out the competition, or a least make &#8216;em really scared.  Call me at 866.611.LORI, and I&#8217;ll show you the way.   

1440.  You&#8217;ve got it, I&#8217;ve got it, and the little old lady from [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Good morning, my <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/killersharks" target=”_blank”>Killer Sharks</a></b>!  It&#8217;s Monday, December 8, 2008, and it&#8217;s time for you to snuff out the competition, or a least make &#8216;em really scared.  Call me at 866.611.LORI, and I&#8217;ll show you the way.  <img src='http://davisva.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> <wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
1440.  You&#8217;ve got it, I&#8217;ve got it, and the little old lady from Pasadena has it as well.  1440.  Every day, it&#8217;s 1440.  What you do with <i>your</i> 1440 makes all the difference in the world, and especially in the big bad world of business.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
1440.  As in minutes available to you every day you turn the calendar page.  No one has more minutes, so that part of the playing field is level.  Tick tock tick tock tick tock.  How are you spending your precious 1440 today?  Tomorrow?  Next Friday?<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Let&#8217;s go through some basics of the things we must on a daily basis, personal stuff only:<wbr></p>
<ul>
<li>Sleep (hopefully a full 8, but who gets 8 these days?)</p>
<li>Eat several well-balanced meals (I consume 5-6 small meals throughout the day)
<li>Dance between the sheets (hubba hubba)
<li>Exercise
<li>Bathe
<li>Brush the teeth
<li>Errands (banking, grocery store, big box retailer, etc.)
<li>Take care of the tax deductions
<li>Feed the animals
<li>Shovel the snow (no euphemism &#8230; I live in a snow state!)
<li>Gas up the 4-wheeled conveyance, or 2-wheeled as the case may be
<li>Stay in touch with family and friends
<li>Commute (I don&#8217;t commute.  Suckers.)
<li>Fill in the blank with the other personal stuff you&#8217;re going to do today</ul>
<p>Our 1440 has been slashed and probably at least by one-half with all of these daily personal activities.  Let&#8217;s now take a look at the business stuff:<wbr></p>
<ul>
<li>Blog</p>
<li>Client intake
<li>Update the CRM system
<li>Article Market
<li>Post campaigns to craig&#8217;s list and Backpage
<li>Typing projects
<li>Update the website
<li>Develop and release the newsletter
<li>Marketing
<li>Advertising the teleseminars and webinars
<li>Client appointments and meetings, either in-person or virtual
<li>Fill in the blank with the other business stuff you&#8217;re going to do today</ul>
<p>1440 minutes &#8230; they go by in the blink of an eye!  They&#8217;re zooming past you right now, and they&#8217;re going to make you even crazier throughout your day because you don&#8217;t have help to get through the business stuff, and some of the personal stuff.  How you divvy up your allotted 1440 says a lot about you, and shows the world you&#8217;re a success in business.  Or not &#8230;  Your 1440 are precious and special to you, and yet you continue to disrespect them.  You don&#8217;t have help and you&#8217;re wasting time, money and mental energy on the business stuff you shouldn&#8217;t be handling, the same business stuff which is best left to your very capable <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/services.htm" target=”_blank”>Virtual Assistant</a></b>.  <b>Riddle Me This, My Guppies:  You&#8217;ve got 1440 today.  What are you going to do with them?</b><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
I want 30 of your 1440 today!  Thirty minutes for a consultation with you, me and all of the business stuff roaming around in that gorgeous head of yours.  <b>Give me 30, and I&#8217;ll give you the keys to success!</b>  Contact the <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/contact!.htm" target=”_blank”>Admin Queen</a></b> and I&#8217;ll show you a better way to spend your valuable, and irreplaceable, 1440.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Thrifty Thursday:  Just the Typing, Ma&#8217;am</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/04/thrifty-thursday-just-the-typing-maam/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/04/thrifty-thursday-just-the-typing-maam/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[data entry]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[thrifty thursday]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[virtual assistant discount]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A fine good morning to all my Killer Sharks who are out there and making it happen today!

Thrifty Thursday** for December 4, 2008 is all about those pesky and annoying data entry and word processing projects you&#8217;ve been putting off for months &#8230; or years.  Take a 10% discount off your January 2009 invoice [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">A fine good morning to all my <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/killersharks" target=”_blank”>Killer Sharks</a></b> who are out there and making it happen today!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> for December 4, 2008</b> is all about those pesky and annoying data entry and word processing projects you&#8217;ve been putting off for months &#8230; or years.  Take a 10% discount off your January 2009 invoice and get these projects off your &#8220;this crap is driving me insane&#8221; list once and for all.  Whether you&#8217;ve got hundreds or thousands of business cards to have scanned, forms to be created in Word or WordPerfect, or any type of data entry or typing project, today&#8217;s Thrifty Thursday is just for you!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> 12/4/08</b> phone lines close at 5:00 PM U.S. Eastern next Wednesday, December 10, 2008.  Contact the <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/thrifty-thursday.htm" target=”_blank”>Virtual Assistant</a></b>, and let&#8217;s discuss how the DavisVA.com team will put these projects in your history book!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<small><small<small><sup>**</sup> This Thrifty Thursday discount may not be combined with any other offers or discounts offered by Davis Virtual Assistants. This discount may be claimed only by new Davis Virtual Assistants (DavisVA.com) clients.</small></small></small><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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		<title>HTML Basics Training Next Week</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/03/html-basics-training-next-week/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/03/html-basics-training-next-week/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:07:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[html training]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[sucks to be you]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=476</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good evening, campers!

A quick reminder that we&#8217;re presenting our next HTML training webinar next Thursday, December 11, 2008.  Two hours of virtual classroom instruction, handouts and practice exams to help you, once and for all, get over your fear of learning to code.  I taught my great-aunt how to code, and I can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Good evening, campers!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
A quick reminder that we&#8217;re presenting our next <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/webinars.htm" target=”_blank”>HTML training</a></b> webinar next Thursday, December 11, 2008.  Two hours of virtual classroom instruction, handouts and practice exams to help you, once and for all, get over your fear of learning to code.  I taught my great-aunt how to code, and I can teach you as well!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Also, to all my fellow Virtual Assistants and all the wannabe&#8217;s out there, this one&#8217;s for you:  You <i>must</i> know HTML basics.  Period.  Full stop.  Clients need us to code their Craig&#8217;s List and Backpage adverts, along with their articles and their blog posts.  You don&#8217;t know how to code?  You&#8217;re losing clients, and instead those clients are coming over to my team because we all know how to apply the basics to make their web docs super sexy.  I&#8217;m taking your clients and will continue to do so until you get with the program.  Sucks to be you &#8230; <img src='http://davisva.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> <wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Give me 2 hours of your time, along with a few bucks, and I&#8217;ll give you a technical skill you&#8217;ll use for life.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b><big><font color=maroon>Are you still here?</b></big><font color=black>  Scamper on over to the &#8220;Webinars&#8221; section of DavisVA.com, get the full info and registration information for next week&#8217;s <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/webinars.htm" target=”_blank”>HTML class</a></b>.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b><big><font color=maroon>Special Notice for IVAA and IAVOA Members</b></big><font color=black>  If you&#8217;re an IVAA and/or IAVOA member, contact me, the <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/contact!.htm" target=”_blank”>virtual trainer</a></b>, prior to registration for a discount coupon which you may apply to your registration and payment for next week&#8217;s HTML Basics Webinar!  You must include either Profile link in the Contact Us submission form in order to qualify for this discount.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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		<title>You are the Master of Time Suckage</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/01/you-are-the-master-of-time-suckage/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/12/01/you-are-the-master-of-time-suckage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:52:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[bad ass]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[big kahuna]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[time suckage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=475</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A fine, snowy, icy and teeth-chattering goooood morning to all my Killer Sharks!  The thermometer on the front porch currently reads 8 degrees and Mother Nature is showing me just how evil the Winter of 2008 is really going to be.  Bring it, baby girl, bring it!

So, Mr. and Mrs. Time Suckage Experts, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">A fine, snowy, icy and teeth-chattering goooood morning to all my <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/killersharks" target=”_blank”>Killer Sharks</a></b>!  The thermometer on the front porch currently reads 8 degrees and Mother Nature is showing me just how evil the Winter of 2008 is really going to be.  Bring it, baby girl, bring it!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
So, Mr. and Mrs. Time Suckage Experts, here we are.  It&#8217;s Monday, December 1, 2008.  At this very nanosecond, your competition isn&#8217;t experiencing the Monday Morning Blahs, nor are they handling their own administrative back office.  Instead, they&#8217;re putting on their game face for tonight&#8217;s webinar, prepping for the big and final push for their exciting teleseminar series that starts in January, and going over the notes to discuss with their Virtual Assistant later today.  They&#8217;ve got it going on, eating your business for lunch and spittin&#8217; out the bones.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
You, on the other hand, have a PhD in Time Suckage.  You&#8217;re checking your own v-mail and e-mail messages, and you&#8217;re dreading all the client intake calls you have to make today &#8230; and tomorrow.  Your calendar is a mess and you&#8217;ll find out later today you missed a very important telephone call because you forgot to schedule it.  That prospect?  She went to the other guy.  You have a colossal amount of admin work which needs to get done, but you&#8217;re so overwhelmed by it all that you ignore it.  Fatal mistake #1.  <b>You can no longer ignore your administrative back office.  If you continue to do so, more of your business bones will end up on the floor.</b><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Fatal mistake #2 occurs when you don&#8217;t reach out to me and discuss outsourcing.  All those time suckers are bogging you down and preventing you from the making the money you want to make.  Examples:  Client intake, blog postings, article marketing, website updates, CRM maintenance, e-newsletters, drip campaigns, shopping cart updates, etc.  In order to keep your business strong and <i>in</i> business, you&#8217;ve got to have administrative support.  Your <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/services.htm" target=”_blank”>Virtual Assistant</a></b> will take over the work examples I&#8217;ve listed above, and so much more, so you may once again act like the Bad Ass Big Kahuna you are, and not Mr. Suckage.  <b>It&#8217;s okay to ask for help, and right now it&#8217;s detrimental to your livelihood if you don&#8217;t.</b><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b><big><font color=maroon>Call the Ball:</b></big><font color=black>  The Big Cheese who&#8217;s making big money, or the Master of Time Suckage who&#8217;s one bone away from being a heap on the floor?  That&#8217;s what I thought &#8230; <img src='http://davisva.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> <wbr><br />
<br />
<b><big><font color=maroon>Dial 866.611.LORI</b></big><font color=black><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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		<title>Black Friday 2008</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/28/black-friday-2008/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/28/black-friday-2008/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:11:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[gift certificates]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[virtual assistant discount]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=474</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Happy Thanksgiving!

Everyone is calling today &#8220;Black Friday.&#8221;  That sounds so ominous and sad.  I don&#8217;t like the name, so as is my custom I&#8217;m going to change it!  We could go with &#8220;Freaky Friday,&#8221; but that&#8217;s already been taken.  How about &#8220;Red Friday?&#8221;  Hmmmm, nope &#8230; too much of an [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Happy Thanksgiving!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Everyone is calling today &#8220;Black Friday.&#8221;  That sounds so ominous and sad.  I don&#8217;t like the name, so as is my custom I&#8217;m going to change it!  We could go with &#8220;Freaky Friday,&#8221; but that&#8217;s already been taken.  How about &#8220;Red Friday?&#8221;  Hmmmm, nope &#8230; too much of an accounting slant on that one.  Let&#8217;s go with &#8220;Fabulous Friday.&#8221;  Yeah, that&#8217;s the ticket.  Fabulous Friday it is!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
On this most Fabulous of Friday&#8217;s, I&#8217;m giving you a very special opportunity.  Screw the madness of driving to the mall and dealing with nasty clerks:  Shop DavisVA.com instead!  From today through next Friday, 12/5/08, take a 10% discount on your purchase of a DavisVA.com Virtual Assistance Gift Certificate.  Give the gift of time to that very special business owner in your life, and save some bank in the process.  We all know folks who are afraid of &#8220;going virtual.&#8221;  Your GC allows those folks to test the waters of outsourcing to a professional and qualified Virtual Assistant, without the out of pocket expense of doing so.  Whether you purchase 2 hours or 20 of Virtual Assistance, your unique and thoughtful gift will be cherished for years to come.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Can this special offer get any better?  Of course!  Not only are you receiving a 10% discount, but I&#8217;ve also temporarily dropped the price of per-hour Virtual Assistance.  Yes, yes, you&#8217;re welcome, and I love you too!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Take me up on this very special offer today by entering Coupon Code <b><font color=red>govirtual</b><font color=black> and by entering the name of the lucky recipient in the <b><font color=red>Comments/Special Delivery Instructions</b><font color=black> on the order form.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Order your <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/give-the-gift.htm" target=”_blank”>Virtual Assistance Gift Certificate</a></b> here!</p>
<p>
</font></font></p>
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		<title>Hey Mister DJ:  &#8220;Shining Star&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/26/hey-mister-dj-shining-star/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/26/hey-mister-dj-shining-star/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:25:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[giving thanks]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[hey mister dj]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=473</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Happy Thanksgiving!

Earth Wind &#038; Fire.  Wow &#8230; what can be said which hasn&#8217;t already been said?  Nothing really, so I&#8217;m not even going to try!  Instead, this very special Thanksgiving &#8220;Hey Mister DJ&#8221; goes out to everyone on the Davis Virtual Assistants team, including our VA Apprentices, our kick ass Associates and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Happy Thanksgiving!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Earth Wind &#038; Fire.  Wow &#8230; what can be said which hasn&#8217;t already been said?  Nothing really, so I&#8217;m not even going to try!  Instead, this very special Thanksgiving &#8220;Hey Mister DJ&#8221; goes out to everyone on the Davis Virtual Assistants team, including our VA Apprentices, our kick ass Associates and the Virtual Consultants who comprise the Joint Venture team.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Let&#8217;s start off with the following:<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<i>You&#8217;re a shining star<wbr><br />
No matter who you are<wbr><br />
Shining bright to see<wbr><br />
What you can truly be</i><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Powerful stuff, my friends, powerful stuff!  I believe we&#8217;re put here for a purpose, and I believe everyone has within them the power to be a shining star in their life.  You are a shining star, whether you realize it or not.  The folks you encounter during the day appreciate and need you.  When you hold open the door for the mom with the three under-the-age-of-5 tax deductions, your small deed is appreciated.  The card you sent to the friend you haven&#8217;t seen in years?  Well, you just made their day!  A &#8220;shining star&#8221; doesn&#8217;t necessarily have their name in lights, nor in the local newspaper &#8230; <wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
My team members make my eyes sparkle, every day!  I love, honor and respect all of you, and I&#8217;m grateful for having you in my life.  Where would I be without this team of amazing Virtual Consultants?  I don&#8217;t want to ponder that question!  As we approach my all-time favorite American holiday, I raise a glass of ice cold orange juice in honor of you.  I&#8217;m thankful I know you, and that I can call you my friends.  My life is pretty damn good, and the folks on my team make it that much more so.  <img src='http://davisva.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> <wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Hey Mister DJ:  I can&#8217;t take it anymore!  I&#8217;m gonna strap on my platform shoes and let the rock &#8216;n roll hair fly as you play me:<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Shining Star (Live)</b><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wLfVPBgGXqI&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wLfVPBgGXqI&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Shining Star (Album Version)</b><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zFl71IiZ1sk&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zFl71IiZ1sk&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
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		<title>WWLD:  Where do I start?</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/25/wwld-where-do-i-start/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/25/wwld-where-do-i-start/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:41:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[outsourcing expert]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[what would lori do]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=472</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good morning, campers!

Today&#8217;s edition of &#8220;What Would Lori Do&#8221; is dedicated to those business owners who are contemplating outsourcing, but have no clue how to begin the process.

What Would Lori Do if I were in your shoes and new to the warm and soothing waters of the Virtual Assistance industry?  Read on for more [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Good morning, campers!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Today&#8217;s edition of &#8220;What Would Lori Do&#8221; is dedicated to those business owners who are <i>contemplating</i> outsourcing, but have no clue how to begin the process.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>What Would Lori Do</b> if I were in your shoes and new to the warm and soothing waters of the Virtual Assistance industry?  Read on for more &#8230;<wbr></p>
<ol>
<li>Before you think about your budget or what you can outsource, you&#8217;ve got to take a good long look in the mirror and do a bit of self-analysis.  Remember, when you outsource to a professional <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com" target=”_blank”>virtual assistant</a></b>, chances are high you will <i>never</i> meet your VA.  Can you deal with the fact you&#8217;ll probably never meet your VA partner face-to-face?  What concerns, if any, do you have in regards to your own level of trust about your team members?  Also, are you so Type A and so control-freakish that the thought of outsourcing sends you screaming for the hills, minus <i>The Sound of Music</i> background?<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
There are some business owners who aren&#8217;t a good fit for my industry, and I&#8217;ve got no problems with that fact of life.  Some biz owners are best served, and their sanity is maintained, when their assistant visits them at their office.  Are you one of those people, or do you have a relatively high comfort level knowing you&#8217;ll never meet me?<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li>Budgeting is another step to take in your outsourcing plans.  Remember, the beauty of outsourcing is that you&#8217;re not going to make the same monetary investment you would with a full-time employee.  In addition, you don&#8217;t pay &#8220;benefits&#8221; of any kind, such as health insurance, over-time, workers&#8217; comp or vacation or sick time.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
If you&#8217;re new to my world, I want you to start with outsourcing 5 hours per month and do so for the first 1-3 months.  I&#8217;ve yet to meet a business owner whose budget couldn&#8217;t handle the 5 hour threshold.  As you and your VA work out the mechanics of your business partnership and as you begin to increase sales and acquire new clients, you&#8217;ll have more money for your budget and in turn will be in a position to outsource even more work to your awesome Virtual Assistant.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li>Finally, you&#8217;ve got to think about what you can outsource!  (This may be the toughest thing of all.)  Here are some pointers:<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<ol>
<li>Download a copy of DavisVA.com&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="http://www.davisva.com/forms/DavisVirtualAssistantsGoingVirtualChecklist.doc" target=”_blank”>Going Virtual Checklist</a>&#8221; to help you get moving in the right direction.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li>Make a list of those projects and tasks which you despise doing.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li>Make a list of those projects and tasks which are consistently falling through the cracks.<wbr><br />
<wbr></p>
<li>Make a list of those projects and tasks which are best left to an assistant.</ol>
<p><wbr><br />
<b>One of the goals of outsourcing is to get those things off your plate which are preventing you from keeping your business IN business.</b>  If you&#8217;re handling your own appointment setting and calendar management, shopping cart and website updates, article marketing and blog administration, you&#8217;re a prime candidate to work with a virtual assistant.</ol>
<p><wbr><br />
<b>What Would Lori Do</b> is to start with the basics and to set a solid and firm foundation for my outsourcing plans.  There really is no other way!  Set the foundation and put your plans in motion &#8230; today.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Call me at 866.611.LORI or <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/contact!.htm" target=”_blank”>talk to me</a></b> about your outsourcing plans.  Outsourcing isn&#8217;t scary, nor is it difficult.  Let&#8217;s connect, and I&#8217;ll show you the way!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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		<title>Monday&#8217;s DON&#8217;T have to be like this &#8230;</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/24/mondays-dont-have-to-be-like-this/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/24/mondays-dont-have-to-be-like-this/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:52:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[monday morning blahs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=471</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good morning, campers!  Get your fine self out of bed, and let&#8217;s get rolling on the day.  Remember to have a filling breakfast and take the stairs instead of the elevator!

So, here we are, just you and me.  I know you may be feeling like this right now:



No, no, not hungover (well, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Good morning, campers!  Get your fine self out of bed, and let&#8217;s get rolling on the day.  Remember to have a filling breakfast and take the stairs instead of the elevator!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
So, here we are, just you and me.  I know you may be feeling like this right now:<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/04/14/funny-pictures-mundayz/" target=”_blank”><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-48289" style="word-spacing:868038px;font-size:868038px;" src="http://icanhascheezburger.wordpress.com/files/2008/04/funny-pictures-monday-polar-bear.jpg" alt="humorous pictures" /></a><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
No, no, <i>not</i> hungover (well, that might factor into your personal equation!), but you&#8217;re feeling like Monday&#8217;s suck.  Big time.  Another day as The Big Kahuna Entrepreneur <i>and</i> another day without an administrative support team.  No wonder you&#8217;re hanging your head in shame!  <b>Monday&#8217;s, and all of the other days of the week, don&#8217;t have to suck, if you do something positive and make a change.</b><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Your competition is getting the best of you, and you know it.  They&#8217;re probably sleeping in an extra hour or two because they know their team is making them look ohhhhh so good to their clients.  Instead of dreaming about the insanity of having to return 10 phone calls, update the blog, add 50 contacts to the CRM, schedule 3 appointments and add the 4 new info products to their shopping cart, your competition is in action and spending their time planning to keep their business <i>in</i> business.  Your competition has &#8220;gone virtual&#8221;, and they&#8217;re not feeling like the chap above.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Outsourcing to a qualified and professional <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/services.htm" target=”_blank”>virtual assistant</a></b> is one step in the right direction.  For the majority of you, partnering with a VA is a good fit and will give you the time and energy (and sanity) to help you keep your eye on the prize regarding your business.  Your family, colleagues and clients will thank you for doing so!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>It&#8217;s Monday, November 24, 2008, and if <i>you&#8217;re</i> ready to go virtual, I want to talk with you.  Pick up the phone and call me at 866.611.LORI, or tell me your <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/contact!.htm" target=”_blank”>business pain</a></b> and how the Davis Virtual Assistants team can help you make the Monday Morning Blahs a thing of the past.</b><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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		<title>Thrifty Thursday:  A CRM&#8217;ing we will go (final reminder)</title>
		<link>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/20/thrifty-thursday-a-crming-we-will-go-final-reminder/</link>
		<comments>http://davisva.com/blog/2008/11/20/thrifty-thursday-a-crming-we-will-go-final-reminder/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:55:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[client relationship management]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[thrifty thursday]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://davisva.com/blog/?p=470</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good morning, campers!

A final reminder regarding this very special Thrifty Thursday, which was originally posted in October 2008.  Nearly 50 business owners have taken advantage of this offer, and I want you to be next!

Thrifty Thursday** for November 20, 2008 has your name written all over it if you&#8217;re venturing into the world of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="verdana"><font size="-1">Good morning, campers!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b><font color=maroon>A final reminder regarding this very special Thrifty Thursday, which was originally posted in October 2008.  Nearly 50 business owners have taken advantage of this offer, and I want you to be next!</b><font color=black><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> for November 20, 2008</b> has your name written all over it if you&#8217;re venturing into the world of CRM, or Client Relationship Management.  <b>If you&#8217;ve been using spreadsheets or a word-processed document for this task, it&#8217;s time to play a bigger game.</b>  Lucky you, the good, sassy and ohhh so geeky folks at Davis Virtual Assistants have got your back!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
It comes down to this:  <b>Clients beget money.  Clients beget referrals.  Clients get pissed off when you don&#8217;t &#8220;touch&#8221; them on a consistent basis.</b>  With me so far?  Excellent.  Read on for more &#8230;<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
Today (not next week or next month) you are going to stop using that humongous, multi-tabbed, multi-colored spreadsheet to track your clients.  That&#8217;s weak and low-man-on-the-totem-pole action.  To join the big <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/killersharks" target=”_blank”>Killer Sharks</a></b> in the deep end of the business pool, you&#8217;ve got to step up your game and use the tools they&#8217;re using.  All <i>serious</i> business owners are CRM&#8217;ing, and it&#8217;s time for you to jump on the same bandwagon.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> for 11/20/08</b> is a whopping 20% off your 1st invoice when you work with the DavisVA.com team to launch and manage your CRM project!  I&#8217;ve got my well-manicured hands in all types of systems, including salesforce.com, Infusion, SugarCRM, Trackvia, Highrise and Autotask, and chances are I already know the system you&#8217;re about to use.  Even if I don&#8217;t, remember the learning curve is on me.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>This very special Thrifty Thursday is extended through December 31, 2008,</b> which means you have until the very last day of 2008 to get in touch with me and claim this discount.  Do I <i>want</i> you to wait that long?  Hell to the no, <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/killersharks" target=”_blank”>Shark</a></b>!  The longer you wait, the more your competition will get the best of you.  If you&#8217;re not ready right now to get started on this project this calendar year, you&#8217;ll at least have until the end of the year to claim the discount, and then we&#8217;ll get started on this project during Q1 of 2009.<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<b>Thrifty Thursday<sup>**</sup> 11/20/08</b> phone lines close at 12:00 PM U.S. Eastern on Wednesday, December 31, 2008.  Contact this <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/thrifty-thursday.htm" target=”_blank”>Virtual Assistant</a></b>, show me your business fins, and show me you&#8217;re ready to make the leap from that confining <b><a href="http://www.davisva.com/killersharks" target=”_blank”>Guppy</a></b> bowl and cannonball with joy into the business shark tank!<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<small><small>** This Thrifty Thursday discount may not be combined with any other offers or discounts offered by Davis Virtual Assistants. This discount may be claimed only by new Davis Virtual Assistants (DavisVA.com) clients.</small></small><wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
<wbr><br />
</font></font></p>
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