3.End-to-End Process SFDC → Clay → Smartlead → SFDC

The full operational workflow for running an AI Outreach campaign — from lead selection in Salesforce through enrichment and sending in Clay and Smartlead, all the way to reply handling and data writeback. This page replaces tribal knowledge and is the single source of truth for teams, auditors, and security reviews.

3.1 High Level Flow

The campaign lifecycle runs in two directions — outbound (steps 1–4) and inbound/writeback (steps 5–7). Every step is connected through the native Clay ↔ Salesforce connector, eliminating manual CSV transfers.

📋 Note: The diagram below shows the full flow. Import this page into Confluence, then insert the Campaign Lifecycle Diagram (separate HTML snippet) into an HTML macro directly below this paragraph.

3.2 Step-by-Step Walkthrough

3.2.1🗄️ Build the audience in Salesforce

MARCOM Ops creates or updates a Campaign with AI_Outreach__c = TRUE. Campaign Members are added using a list view or report filtered by Cold_Lead_Eligible__c = TRUE. All eligibility criteria must be validated before proceeding.

1. Navigate to Campaigns in Salesforce and click New or open an existing Campaign.
2. Set the field AI_Outreach__c to TRUE on the Campaign record.
3. Open the Campaign Members related list and click Add Members — Search.
4. Select the list view or report filtered by Cold_Lead_Eligible__c = TRUE. Or add members by other means. 
5. Save the Campaign record. It is now ready for export.

3.2.2📤 Export Campaign Members to Clay

Use only the approved 'SFDC Campaign Member Export for Clay Import' report. This report always includes CampaignMemberId and LeadId as stable mapping keys — critical to avoid writeback mismatches.

1. Go to Reports in Salesforce and search for SFDC Campaign Member Export for Clay Import.
2. Open the report and apply the Campaign Name filter to scope it to your current campaign.
3. Confirm the report includes CampaignMemberId and LeadId columns — do not export if either is missing.
4. Save the report.
5. Go to Clay, open the table, click Import from SalesForce Report.
6. Choose the correct credentials for the instance you are using (iCare or Core).
7. Select the report and hit Submit. 
8. Verify row count in Clay matches Campaign Member count in Salesforce before proceeding.

3.2.3 ✨ Enrich leads in Clay (DEMAND7 MARCOM TO DETAIL)

Clay runs enrichment against the imported lead list — adding Company Description, Industry signals, and other approved fields. Enrichment outputs are staged for writeback. MARCOM must confirm enrichment quality before proceeding.

DEMAND7 MARCOM TO DETAIL

3.2.4 📧 Launch outreach via Smartlead (DEMAND7 MARCOM TO DETAIL)

1. In Clay, open the Smartlead sync action column and confirm the target Smartlead campaign is mapped correctly.
2. Click Push to Smartlead — Clay will transfer the enriched audience to the Smartlead campaign.
3. In Smartlead, open the campaign and navigate to Leads — verify the imported count matches Clay's export count.
4. Open Sequences and confirm the correct approved template is attached. Do not use unapproved or experimental templates.
5. Check sender identity: confirm the sending profile uses either a virtual agent disclosure or an approved real-person sender name per the AI identity guidelines.
6. Review sending schedule and daily volume limits — refer to the infrastructure blueprint for limits per GBU.
7. Click Launch to activate the campaign. Monitor the first 30 minutes for bounce or error spikes.

3.2.5 💬 Capture replies in Clay / Smartlead  (DEMAND7 MARCOM TO DETAIL)

Inbound replies are captured in Smartlead's Master Inbox. Clay classifies each reply as Positive, Neutral, or Negative. Has_Replied__c is set to TRUE on first response (set-once — cannot be reset). Hard bounces are flagged and queued for sync.

1. This step is automated — no manual action is required for the core flow.
2. Monitor Smartlead Master Inbox daily during an active campaign to spot misclassified replies.
3. To review classification: in Clay, filter ReplyClassification__c by value (Positive / Neutral / Negative) and spot-check 10–15 records per day.
4. If a reply is misclassified, update ReplyClassification__c manually in Clay — the corrected value will sync to Salesforce on the next connector run.
5. Do not attempt to reset Has_Replied__c to FALSE — this field uses set-once logic and changes will be rejected by the connector validation.
6. Hard bounces are automatically flagged as external_hard_bounced__c and queued for Salesforce writeback — no manual action needed.

3.2.6  🔄 Write back to Salesforce via connector

 The native Clay → Salesforce connector automatically pushes reply data (Has_Replied__c, ReplyClassification__c) and enrichment fields to Campaign Members and Leads. Hard bounce status is also written back. No manual CSV involved. CRM Admin monitors the connector for errors — see the Integration page for the full runbook. KLN-5 · Owner: CRM Admin · Automated · near real-time

3.2.7  🤝 Sales follow-up on positive replies

Positive replies surface in the SFDC Sales Visibility dashboard. Sales reps are notified and must follow up within the agreed SLA. MARCOM monitors the Funnel dashboard (Replies, Positive Replies, Converted Leads). AI-generated draft reply assistance is available for common inbound questions — P2 feature currently in planning. KLN-12 · Owner: Sales · Salesforce dashboard · SLA applies · P2 draft replies

3.3 Key Dependencies & Risks

⚠️ Action required: Two High risks must be confirmed before EVERY campaign run — customer/partner indicators and Legal/DPO approval for enrichment. These are not one-time gates.