Clay Complete Guide
Enrich your prospect data with 75+ providers. Waterfall enrichment and AI qualification.
⏱️ TL;DR: Clay aggregates 75+ enrichment sources with a waterfall system. Enrich emails, phones, company data. Qualify automatically with AI.
What is Clay?
Clay is a B2B data enrichment platform that has transformed how sales teams find prospect information. Unlike traditional tools like ZoomInfo or Apollo that rely on a single database, Clay aggregates 75+ data providers (Clearbit, Hunter, Dropcontact, People Data Labs, and more) into one spreadsheet-like interface.
The killer feature is waterfall enrichment: Clay automatically tries multiple providers in sequence until it finds the data you need. This approach typically achieves 80-95% email find rates compared to 50-60% with single-source tools.
Clay also includes Clay AI, an AI-powered feature that can qualify leads, write personalized email openers, and score prospects based on custom criteria — all from minimal inputs like a LinkedIn URL or company domain.
Who Should Use Clay?
Clay is ideal for:
- SDR/BDR teams building targeted prospect lists with high-quality data
- Growth agencies running multi-client outbound campaigns
- RevOps professionals enriching CRM data and maintaining data hygiene
- Founders and solopreneurs who need automated lead research
If you're sending more than 100 cold emails per month and need accurate contact data, Clay will pay for itself in time saved and improved reply rates.
What You'll Learn
75+ Providers
Access all enrichment sources.
Waterfall
Automatic cascade between providers.
Clay AI
AI-powered qualification and scoring.
Easy Export
To CRM and outreach tools.
All 10 Chapters
Getting Started
Account and credits
Interface
Navigation and workspace
Data Sources
Import from LinkedIn, Apollo...
Enrichment
Waterfall and providers
Formulas
Data transformations
Clay AI
AI prompts and qualification
Credits
Management and optimization
Integrations
CRM and outreach export
Workflows
Automated flows
Best Practices
Expert tips
Why Clay for Lead Enrichment?
Clay aggregates 75+ data providers into one platform, letting you build waterfall enrichment flows that maximize your hit rate while minimizing cost.
- Waterfall enrichment — try multiple providers until you find the data
- AI-powered — qualify leads with custom prompts
- Spreadsheet UI — familiar interface, powerful capabilities
- 80%+ email find rates when combining providers
🔗 Complete Your Enrichment Stack
Clay integrates with your full prospecting workflow: