Clay Reference Architecture

Overview

Production architecture for Clay-based lead enrichment and go-to-market data operations. Covers the three integration patterns (webhook-only, webhook + HTTP API, and full Enterprise API), table schema design, and CRM synchronization flows.

Prerequisites

• Clay account with appropriate plan tier
• Clear understanding of data volume and enrichment needs
• CRM integration target (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.)
• Defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Instructions

Step 1: Choose Your Integration Pattern

Pattern A: Webhook-Only (All Plans)
──────────────────────────────────────
Your App ──POST──> Clay Webhook ──> Clay Table ──> Enrichment
                                                      │
                                         Manual export via CSV
                                         or native CRM action

Pattern B: Webhook + HTTP API Callback (Growth+ Plans)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Your App ──POST──> Clay Webhook ──> Clay Table ──> Enrichment
                                                      │
                                                HTTP API Column
                                                      │
                                               POST to your app
                                                      │
                                                  CRM / DB

Pattern C: Full Automation with Enterprise API (Enterprise)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Your App ──POST──> Clay Webhook ──> Clay Table ──> Enrichment
    │                                                  │
    │                                           HTTP API Column
    │                                                  │
    └──Enterprise API──> Person/Company lookup    POST to your app
                         (lightweight, fast)           │
                                                   CRM / DB

Step 2: Design Table Schema

Standard Lead Enrichment Table:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CLAY TABLE: Outbound Leads                                  │
├─────────────┬───────────────┬──────────────────────────────┤
│ Input Cols  │ Enrichment    │ AI + Formula + Output        │
├─────────────┼───────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│ domain      │ Company Name  │ ICP Score (formula)          │
│ first_name  │ Employee Count│ Lead Tier (formula: A/B/C)   │
│ last_name   │ Industry      │ Personalized Opener (AI)     │
│ source      │ Tech Stack    │ Recent News (Claygent)       │
│ linkedin_url│ Work Email    │ CRM Push (HTTP API)          │
│             │ Job Title     │ Outreach Push (HTTP API)     │
│             │ Phone Number  │                              │
│             │ LinkedIn URL  │                              │
└─────────────┴───────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘

Column execution order (left to right):
1. Company enrichment (Clearbit) ─ fast, provides context for later columns
2. Person enrichment (Apollo/PDL) ─ medium speed
3. Email waterfall (Apollo > Hunter) ─ conditional: requires domain + name
4. Phone lookup (if needed) ─ conditional: ICP Score >= 80
5. ICP Score formula ─ instant, computes from enriched data
6. Claygent research ─ slow, conditional: ICP Score >= 60
7. AI personalization ─ conditional: ICP Score >= 70
8. CRM push (HTTP API) ─ conditional: ICP Score >= 70 + has email