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Maarten 🇪🇺
Co-owner, face to face, hybrid and online sales trainer, speaker and influencer, Professional Capital and EMIC/CustomerLytics
Professional Background
Maarten Colijn is a highly regarded figure in the realm of sales training, recognized both online and in person for his expertise in Sales and Account Management, as well as Customer Focus. Over the years, he has trained more than 8,000 participants, demonstrating his ability to adapt training methodologies across various formats, including online, hybrid, and traditional face-to-face settings. His influence reaches far beyond Europe, with successful training initiatives across continents including Brazil, Japan, China, South Africa, the United States, Curacao, Turkey, and the Middle East. As a Co-Owner of Professional Capital, a leading sales and account management training company in Europe, Maarten is at the forefront of providing innovative and practical training solutions.
Maarten's work is characterized by a unique vision on sales training that embraces the contemporary dynamics of the industry. He believes that sales is not merely a transactional process but an art that requires creative engagement and adaptive strategies. His training programs are informed by the latest trends emerging from Generation Z, ensuring that content is not only practical but also future-proof. By focusing on science-based content and demonstrated skills, Maarten offers a comprehensive framework that resonates well with trainees, enabling them to develop effective solutions to the challenges they face in their sales roles.
In addition to his training and speaking engagements, Maarten is a sought-after speaker and columnist, having been featured in numerous European magazines. He passionately shares insights on entrepreneurship, personal branding, and effective sales practices, thus contributing to the discourse on modern business strategies.
Education and Achievements
Maarten’s academic journey has been robust, marked by distinguished educational institutions that have equipped him with essential skills in economics, marketing, and sales. His educational background includes:
- Drs. in Economics with a focus on Marketing, Sales, and Entrepreneurship from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- Post Graduate Course in Sales Practice Perfection at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- Post Graduate Course in Strategic Account Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- International Course for Purchasers, Operational Procurement at the Vereniging voor Inkoop en Bedrijfslogistiek in Brussels, Belgium.
- Executive Development program at CEDEP in Fontainebleau.
These qualifications have laid a strong foundation for his professional achievements, allowing him to critically analyze and innovate within the sales landscape. Maarten's commitment to continuous improvement and professional development exemplifies his passion for the industry and his desire to empower others.
Achievements
Maarten Colijn's achievements are not only reflected in the number of participants he has trained but also in the significant influence he has had on the sales training industry in Europe and beyond. His vision for a modern, practical sales training approach sets him apart as a leader in the field. With Professional Capital, he has successfully led initiatives that prioritize innovative training methods and engagement, fostering a culture of learning among participants from diverse backgrounds.
Additionally, Maarten’s expertise in personal branding has contributed to his reputation as an industry thought leader. He frequently engages with media outlets as a columnist, providing valuable insights that inform and inspire professionals in entrepreneurship and sales management. His contributions have helped shape best practices and have positioned him as a credible voice on relevant topics within the business community.
Maarten is also known for his enthusiasm for speaking engagements. His charismatic and down-to-earth approach resonates with his audience, allowing him to build meaningful connections with professionals eager to enhance their skills. His office, located in the vibrant Rotterdam area, further emphasizes his dedication to an innovative business environment, where creativity and collaboration thrive.
In his spare time, Maarten enjoys golfing and exploring local restaurants, indulging not only in his passion for entrepreneurship but also in leveraging the cultural richness of his surroundings. Ultimately, Maarten Colijn’s professional journey is a testament to his dedication to excellence in sales and account management training. His extensive training experience, formidable educational background, and innovative approach to teaching make him a leading figure in the industry, continuously inspiring countless individuals to reach their potential in the business world.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.