clay-reference-architecture

name	clay-reference-architecture
description	Design production Clay enrichment pipelines with table schemas, waterfall patterns, and CRM sync. Use when architecting new Clay integrations, reviewing data flow design, or establishing enrichment pipeline standards. Trigger with phrases like "clay architecture", "clay best practices", "clay pipeline design", "clay reference", "clay data flow".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Grep
version	1.14.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","clay","clay-reference"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code

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