Partner spotlight: Clay
Clay Sequencer is Clay's native outbound engine. See how OutboundSync syncs its send and reply activity, one-way, into your Salesforce or HubSpot records.
Jason Ma
Clay → Salesforce
Clay + Salesforce integration
Clay can build the perfect Salesforce list. OutboundSync tells Salesforce what happened when that list was emailed: sends, opens, replies, and categories on every Lead or Contact.
LiveOne-way syncEmail
Clay + Salesforce at a glance
Clay's native email sequencer connects to Salesforce through OutboundSync. Sequence sends, manual sends, opens, clicks, replies, reply categories, bounces, and unsubscribes are logged on the matching Lead or Contact as Tasks or EmailMessage records. Events arrive through a Smartlead-style source, because Clay's sequencer is built on Smartlead.
| Status | Live |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Direction | One-way, Clay → Salesforce |
| Salesforce records | Leads, or Contacts and Accounts |
| Block lists | Not available for this pairing |
| Clay plan | Any plan with Sequences |
| Setup | Self-serve: create an External Client App, then connect it in OutboundSync |
RevOps teams use Clay to decide who to target and Salesforce to judge whether it worked. The piece in between, the sequence itself, usually never reaches Salesforce. OutboundSync logs each Clay sequencer event as a Salesforce Task or EmailMessage, with campaign details in the subject line you template.
That makes Clay-sourced outbound reportable next to every other channel. Build a report of replies by Clay campaign, trigger a Flow when a reply is categorized as interested, or compare meetings from Clay tables against other sources, all on standard Salesforce objects.
What syncs from Clay to Salesforce
Every event below arrives in near-real time and lands on the matched Salesforce record. Pick the ones you want per source.
| Event | Channel | Where it lands in Salesforce |
|---|---|---|
| Email sent— Sequence sends and manual sends from Clay | Task or EmailMessage on the Lead or Contact | |
| Email opened | Task on the Lead or Contact, plus optional OutboundSync fields | |
| Link clicked | Task on the Lead or Contact, plus optional OutboundSync fields | |
| Reply received | Task or EmailMessage on the Lead or Contact | |
| Email bounced | Task on the Lead or Contact, plus optional OutboundSync fields | |
| Lead unsubscribed | Task on the Lead or Contact, plus optional OutboundSync fields | |
| Lead category updated— Smartlead's built-in and custom lead categories | Task plus optional OutboundSync fields on the Lead or Contact |
Event names come from the Clay webhooks OutboundSync receives. See the Clay event reference.
What teams do with Clay + Salesforce
Report on Clay campaigns
Group Tasks by Clay campaign to see which tables and sequences produce replies.
Route categorized replies
Trigger a Salesforce Flow on the reply category so interested Leads reach an owner quickly.
Check before you send
Use OutboundSync's prior-outreach API in a Clay column to skip people who were contacted recently.
Ways to connect Clay and Salesforce
The options teams weigh before they commit a production sync.
| Option | What it does | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Clay's native Salesforce connector | Clay can push table rows and enrichment results into Salesforce from inside a Clay table. | It does not log sequencer activity as CRM events, and block lists are not supported in Clay's sequencer. |
| Zapier, Make, or n8nCompare integration platforms | Catch Clay webhooks and write each event to Salesforce with a workflow you build. | Every event type, retry, and field change is a workflow you maintain, billed per task or step. |
| Custom buildBuild vs buy | Write your own service against the Clay and Salesforce APIs. | You own matching, deduplication, API limits, and every upstream schema change. |
| OutboundSync | Pre-built email activity sync into Salesforce Leads and Contacts. | Self-serve setup, searchable event logs, and support from the team that maintains the connector. |
How to set up Clay + Salesforce
Step 1: Connect Salesforce
A Salesforce admin creates an External Client App, then connects it in OutboundSync and picks Task or EmailMessage logging.
Step 2: Connect Clay
Create a Smartlead-style source in OutboundSync and paste its URL into the webhook field on your Clay sequence.
Step 3: Choose events and fields
Pick which Clay events to log, whether they write Tasks or EmailMessage records, and which OutboundSync fields to fill.
Step 4: Send a test event
Trigger one Clay event and confirm it on a real Lead or Contact.
Step 5: Go live
Turn on the source and start building Salesforce reports, dashboards, and Flows on real Clay data.
Plan requirements
Clay plan
Any plan with Sequences
OutboundSync works with every Clay plan, because it connects to Clay's native sequencer rather than a plan-gated feature.
Salesforce
OutboundSync works across Salesforce editions. The difference is API capacity: plan for roughly 6 API calls per sent email once replies and status events are counted.
Which Salesforce edition you need
| Edition | Fit | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | Limited support - API limits may restrict ongoing sync. |
|
| EnterpriseMost common | Recommended - Best balance of capability, API capacity, and cost. |
|
| Unlimited | Ideal - Best for scale and high activity volume. |
|
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HologramClay + Salesforce FAQ
What Clay activity does OutboundSync sync to Salesforce?
Email sent, email opened, link clicked, reply received, email bounced, lead unsubscribed, and lead category updated.Which Salesforce records does it write to?
OutboundSync matches or creates Salesforce Leads and Contacts. Clay events land as task or EmailMessage on the Lead or Contact; or task on the Lead or Contact, plus optional OutboundSync fields; or task plus optional OutboundSync fields on the Lead or Contact. See the Salesforce data model docs for details.Can I use Salesforce reports as block lists for Clay?
Not today. Block lists aren't supported in Clay's sequencer. Use the prior-outreach API in a Clay column to filter people before they enter a sequence.Is the integration one-way or two-way?
One-way. Activity flows from Clay into Salesforce, and nothing is written back to Clay.Do I need admin access to set it up?
A Salesforce System Administrator creates the External Client App and authorizes OAuth.Which Clay plan do I need?
OutboundSync works with every Clay plan, because it connects to Clay's native sequencer rather than a plan-gated feature.How is Clay + Salesforce priced?
OutboundSync bills on sent messages per month. Replies, opens, clicks, and lead-category updates are not billed. Plan details are on the pricing page.Can I do this with Zapier, Make, or n8n?
You can wire simple Clay automations with a no-code builder, but step-based runs get costly and fragile as volume grows. OutboundSync gives you a pre-built path for Clay sequencer events, searchable event logs beyond 30 days, and pricing tied to outbound volume.What breaks first when this scales?
Data quality and reliability break first: duplicate events, retries, out-of-order webhooks, and bursts during big sends. OutboundSync handles idempotency, timing buffers, and queue recovery, and flags suspicious or mismapped payloads instead of writing them.
Clay resources
Tutorials, case studies, and updates related to Clay.
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