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.
| Jira | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|
| KLN-32 | MARCOM Ops + CRM Admin | ✅ Active · March 2026 |
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
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 — no customers, partners, bounces, or opt-outs — before proceeding. Run the pre-campaign checklist from the Governance page. Owner: MARCOM Ops · Salesforce · pre-campaign
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. Export as CSV and import to Clay, or sync via the native connector if available for the target GBU. KLN-23 · Owner: MARCOM Ops · Salesforce → Clay · stable IDs required
3 · ✨ Enrich leads in Clay Clay runs enrichment against the imported lead list — adding Company Description, Industry signals, and any other approved fields. Enrichment outputs are staged for writeback. MARCOM must confirm enrichment quality before proceeding to sending. Precedence rules from the Integration page apply — Clay does not overwrite existing SFDC values. Owner: MARCOM Ops · Clay · quality check required
4 · 📧 Launch outreach via Smartlead Clay pushes the enriched audience to Smartlead for sequenced email sending. AI-generated personalisation is applied using approved templates. AI identity guidelines must be followed — virtual agent disclosure or approved real-person sender. Sending volume is managed per the infrastructure blueprint to protect deliverability. Owner: MARCOM Ops · Smartlead · identity guidelines apply
5 · 💬 Capture replies in Clay / Smartlead Inbound replies are captured in Smartlead's Master Inbox. Clay classifies each reply as Positive, Neutral, or Negative using ReplyClassification__c. Has_Replied__c is set to TRUE on first response (set-once logic — cannot be reset). Hard bounces are flagged as external_hard_bounced__c and queued for sync back to Salesforce. KLN-4 · Owner: Clay / Smartlead · Automated · set-once logic
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
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.
| Dependency / Risk | Level | Description | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer/partner indicators in SFDC | 🔴 High | If flags are missing or unreliable, ineligible leads may enter outreach | Audit SFDC flags before each campaign. Agree fallback exclusion logic with CRM team. |
| Legal/DPO approval for enrichment | 🔴 High | Company Description and Industry writeback blocked until approved | DPO review tracked as dependency. Fields provisioned but locked pending sign-off. |
| Stable IDs in Clay export | 🟡 Medium | Missing CampaignMemberId / LeadId causes writeback mapping errors | Enforce use of approved export report only. Report validated to always include both IDs. |
| Connector sync errors | 🟡 Medium | Silent failures could leave SFDC and Clay out of sync | CRM Admin reviews connector error logs weekly. Full runbook in Integration page. |
| Sending infrastructure at scale | 🟢 P2 | Scaling 5k → 50k emails without multi-IP setup risks deliverability | Infrastructure blueprint to be delivered in Scale Readiness epic (P2). |
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