---
name: inbound-lead-routing
description: "Route each inbound lead to the right rep: enrich it in Clay, score ICP fit, assign an owner by clear rules, and alert them in Slack. Steps and a CLI script. Use when inbound leads wait in a shared queue or get assigned round-robin regardless of fit, so the best leads reach a rep late and poor-fit leads take up AE time."
---

# Automate Inbound Lead Routing with Enrichment and Fit Scoring

Inbound leads wait in a shared queue or get assigned round-robin regardless of fit, so the best leads reach a rep late and poor-fit leads take up AE time.

## When to use this skill

- The user wants to set up or run this workflow: "Automate Inbound Lead Routing with Enrichment and Fit Scoring".
- The user describes this problem: Inbound leads wait in a shared queue or get assigned round-robin regardless of fit, so the best leads reach a rep late and poor-fit leads take up AE time.

## At a glance

- Category: Inbound
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Time saved: 4 hours per week. This figure is an estimate, not a measured result.

## Tools

Options separated by "or" are alternatives; use whichever the user already has.

- Clay
- HubSpot or Salesforce
- Apollo
- OpenAI API
- Slack

## Steps

1. Send each form submission to a Clay webhook from your form tool or a HubSpot or Salesforce workflow, including email, name, company, and the form or page it came from
2. Enrich the lead and company (title, seniority, headcount, industry, country) with Clay and Apollo, using the email domain when the company field is blank
3. Score fit with a formula or an AI step against your written ICP, returning a tier (A, B, or C) and a one-line reason
4. Pick the owner with rules you can read: the existing account owner first, then territory by country, then segment by headcount, then round-robin within the matching team
5. Create or update the lead in HubSpot or Salesforce with the owner, tier, and reason, and never change an existing owner
6. Send the owner a Slack message with the lead details and reason for tier A leads, and route tier C leads to a nurture list instead of a rep

## Template outline

Field names, thresholds, and message text are starting points to adapt.

~~~text
Clay Workflow (webhook trigger, one run per form submission):
1. Webhook payload: email, first_name, last_name, company, form, page_url
2. Enrich: title, seniority, headcount, industry, country (fallback: email domain)
3. AI scoring prompt: "Score this lead against our ICP: {{icp}}. Return tier (A, B, C) and a one-sentence reason. Do not guess missing fields."
4. Routing rules, in order:
   - Account already has an owner: keep that owner
   - Territory: country to team
   - Segment: headcount band to team
   - Round-robin within the team
5. CRM upsert: owner, tier, reason, lead source = {{form}}
6. Slack: DM the owner for tier A with {{reason}} and {{page_url}}
7. Tier C: add to nurture list, no rep assignment
Output: every inbound lead has an owner, a tier, and a reason in the CRM, and tier A owners hear about it right away
~~~

## Optional: build it with the Clay CLI

This builds routing as a Clay workflow with a webhook trigger. Each form submission becomes one run: enrich the lead and company, score ICP fit, write the tier and reason to the CRM so its assignment rules can pick the owner, and alert the owner in Slack. The Clay CLI cannot create tables, so this build uses a workflow.

Written against Clay CLI v1.3.1. Run these commands only in the user's own Clay workspace, logged in with their own account, after they confirm. Items marked VERIFY are config shapes the CLI help does not document; check them in the workspace before relying on them.

### Prerequisites

- Install the Clay CLI: Use version 1.3.1 or later, installed from Clay's own instructions. This page does not include an install command because the CLI reference it was written from does not list one. You also need jq, which the script uses to read the JSON the CLI prints.
- Log in to your workspace: Browser login is the default. Use the device flow on a headless machine. A static key in the CLAY_API_KEY environment variable also works. Workflow commands need the terracotta:cli scope, so an auth error that names it means your login cannot manage workflows.
  - Log in with a browser: `clay login`
  - Log in on a headless machine: `clay login --device`
  - Confirm who you are logged in as: `clay whoami`
- Pick the workspace to build in: The workflow is created in your active workspace. Switch first if you belong to more than one.
  - List workspaces: `clay workspaces list`
  - Show the active workspace: `clay workspaces current`
  - Switch workspace: `clay workspaces switch <workspaceId>`
- Find your action keys: Action package ids and keys are specific to your workspace. Save the catalog, search it for person and company enrichment, an AI text action, your CRM create or update action, and Slack, then paste their ids into the top of the script. Skip "clay workflows actions test": it spends credits.
  - Save the action catalog: `clay workflows actions list > catalog.json`
  - Search the catalog: `grep -Eio '"[^"]*(enrich|apollo|use ai|generate|hubspot|salesforce|slack)[^"]*"' catalog.json | sort -u`
  - See an action's inputs and outputs: `clay workflows actions schema <packageId> <actionKey>`
- Connect your CRM and Slack, and plan the form hookup: Connect HubSpot or Salesforce and Slack inside Clay. Decide what will POST form submissions to the webhook: your form tool, a CRM workflow, or a Zapier relay.

### Workflow: Inbound lead routing

Trigger (webhook): Your form tool, a CRM workflow, or a relay POSTs one JSON object per submission to the trigger's webhook URL. The fields arrive as run inputs as-is.

Inputs (webhook payload fields):

- email: Work email from the form (example: jane@example.com)
- first_name: First name (example: Jane)
- last_name: Last name (example: Doe)
- company: Company name, may be blank (example: Example Co)
- form: Which form was submitted (example: demo-request)
- page_url: Page the form was on (example: https://yourdomain.com/pricing)

1. Enrich the lead and company (action): Adds title, seniority, headcount, industry, and country, using the email domain when the company field is blank.
   - Inputs: email, company
   - Outputs: title, seniority, headcount, industry, country
2. Score ICP fit (action): An AI text action compares the lead to your written ICP and returns a tier with a reason a rep can read.
   - Inputs: title, seniority, headcount, industry, country, form
   - Outputs: tier, reason
   - Prompt:

~~~text
Score this inbound lead against our ICP.
ICP: {{your_icp_description}}
Lead: {{title}} ({{seniority}}) at a {{headcount}}-person {{industry}} company in {{country}}.
Form: {{form}}
Return JSON with tier (A, B, or C) and reason (one sentence).
A means strong fit and a buying role. C means outside the ICP. Do not guess missing fields.
~~~

3. Assign the owner in the CRM (action): Creates or updates the lead with tier, reason, and source, leaving any existing owner unchanged.
   - Inputs: email, first_name, last_name, company, tier, reason
   - Outputs: owner, CRM record
   - VERIFY: Owner assignment usually works best in the CRM itself (Salesforce assignment rules, or a HubSpot workflow that sets or rotates owners by property). This step writes the fields those rules read.
4. Alert the owner in Slack (action): Sends the owner the lead, tier, reason, and form for tier A leads.
   - Inputs: owner, tier, reason, form, page_url
   - Outputs: Slack message
   - VERIFY: The tier A rule needs a run condition, which the CLI help does not document. Set it in the Clay UI.

### Script: build-inbound-routing.sh

Creates the workflow, the webhook trigger, and four steps, then pauses so you can map step inputs and the tier A condition. It validates the graph, offers one test run, and asks before publishing.

~~~bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Builds the "Inbound lead routing" Clay workflow
# in YOUR Clay workspace, using YOUR Clay CLI login.
# Written against Clay CLI v1.3.1. Not run or tested by GTM Playbooks.
# Lines tagged VERIFY use a shape the CLI help does not document.
set -euo pipefail

# Copy these from catalog.json (see "Find your action keys").
ENRICH_PACKAGE_ID="" # Person and company enrichment
ENRICH_ACTION_KEY=""
SCORER_PACKAGE_ID="" # Use AI or another AI text action
SCORER_ACTION_KEY=""
CRM_PACKAGE_ID=""    # HubSpot or Salesforce: create or update
CRM_ACTION_KEY=""
SLACK_PACKAGE_ID=""  # Slack: send message
SLACK_ACTION_KEY=""

# One input to test before real traffic. Use yourself or a teammate.
TEST_ROW='{"email":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","company":"","form":"","page_url":""}'

for v in ENRICH_PACKAGE_ID ENRICH_ACTION_KEY SCORER_PACKAGE_ID SCORER_ACTION_KEY CRM_PACKAGE_ID CRM_ACTION_KEY SLACK_PACKAGE_ID SLACK_ACTION_KEY; do
  [[ -n "${!v}" ]] || { echo "Set $v at the top of this script." >&2; exit 1; }
done
command -v clay > /dev/null || { echo "Clay CLI not found on PATH." >&2; exit 1; }
command -v jq > /dev/null || { echo "jq is required to read CLI output." >&2; exit 1; }
clay whoami > /dev/null || { echo "Not logged in. Run: clay login" >&2; exit 1; }

# VERIFY: only "workflows create" documents an "id" field in its output.
read_id() {
  local id
  id=$(jq -r '.id // empty' "$1")
  [[ -n "$id" ]] || { echo "No id found in $1. Open it and adjust read_id." >&2; exit 1; }
  echo "$id"
}

mkdir -p clay-inbound-routing
cd clay-inbound-routing

echo "1/8 Create the workflow"
clay workflows create --name "Inbound lead routing" > workflow.json
WF_ID=$(read_id workflow.json)
WF_URL=$(jq -r '.url // empty' workflow.json)

echo "2/8 Add the webhook trigger"
clay workflows triggers create "$WF_ID" --input '{"triggerType":"webhook","inputSchema":{"type":"object"}}' > trigger.json
TRG_ID=$(read_id trigger.json)

echo "3/8 Step 1: enrich the lead and company"
# VERIFY: help shows nodeType and name only; actionPackageId and actionKey are a guess.
STEP1=$(jq -nc --arg p "$ENRICH_PACKAGE_ID" --arg k "$ENRICH_ACTION_KEY" '{nodeType: "tool", name: "Enrich the lead and company", actionPackageId: $p, actionKey: $k}')
clay workflows nodes create "$WF_ID" --input "$STEP1" > step1.json
STEP1_ID=$(read_id step1.json)

echo "4/8 Step 2: score icp fit"
# VERIFY: action fields inside "step" are inferred from the documented utility example.
STEP2=$(jq -nc --arg n "$STEP1_ID" --arg p "$SCORER_PACKAGE_ID" --arg k "$SCORER_ACTION_KEY" '{target: {type: "after-node", nodeId: $n}, step: {kind: "action", actionPackageId: $p, actionKey: $k}}')
clay workflows nodes insert "$WF_ID" --input "$STEP2" > step2.json
STEP2_ID=$(read_id step2.json)

echo "5/8 Step 3: assign the owner in the crm"
# VERIFY: same inferred insert shape as step 2.
STEP3=$(jq -nc --arg n "$STEP2_ID" --arg p "$CRM_PACKAGE_ID" --arg k "$CRM_ACTION_KEY" '{target: {type: "after-node", nodeId: $n}, step: {kind: "action", actionPackageId: $p, actionKey: $k}}')
clay workflows nodes insert "$WF_ID" --input "$STEP3" > step3.json
STEP3_ID=$(read_id step3.json)

echo "6/8 Step 4: alert the owner in slack"
# VERIFY: same inferred insert shape as step 2.
STEP4=$(jq -nc --arg n "$STEP3_ID" --arg p "$SLACK_PACKAGE_ID" --arg k "$SLACK_ACTION_KEY" '{target: {type: "after-node", nodeId: $n}, step: {kind: "action", actionPackageId: $p, actionKey: $k}}')
clay workflows nodes insert "$WF_ID" --input "$STEP4" > step4.json
clay workflows graph get "$WF_ID" --mode full > graph.json

echo "7/8 Map step inputs"
cat <<EOF

Step inputs are specific to your workspace. Map them before validating:
  Step 1 enrich: email and company from the form payload
                 (use the email domain when company is blank)
  Step 2 score:  title, seniority, headcount, industry, country, form,
                 and the scoring prompt with your ICP written in
  Step 3 CRM:    email, name, company, tier, and reason; do not change
                 an existing owner
  Step 4 Slack:  owner, tier, reason, and form; add a run condition for tier A
Map them in the Clay UI${WF_URL:+ at $WF_URL}, or per node with:
  clay workflows nodes get $WF_ID <nodeId>
  clay workflows nodes update $WF_ID <nodeId> --input node.json
graph.json in this folder shows the current nodes and edges.

EOF
read -r -p "Press Enter when inputs are mapped. "

echo "8/8 Validate, test once, publish"
clay workflows graph validate "$WF_ID"
clay workflows diagram "$WF_ID"

if jq -e 'all(.[]; . != "")' <<< "$TEST_ROW" > /dev/null; then
  read -r -p "Run TEST_ROW once? It can spend Clay credits, write to your CRM, and post to Slack. [y/N] " answer
  if [[ "$answer" == [yY] ]]; then
    clay workflows runs test "$WF_ID" --inputs "$TEST_ROW" > test-run.json
    echo "Saved test-run.json. Check each step with: clay workflows runs steps $WF_ID <runId>"
  fi
else
  echo "TEST_ROW is empty, skipping the test run."
fi

read -r -p "Publish the workflow now? [y/N] " answer
if [[ "$answer" == [yY] ]]; then
  clay workflows publish "$WF_ID" --name v1
fi

echo "Workflow $WF_ID, webhook trigger $TRG_ID. All responses are saved in $(pwd)."
~~~

### Sample form payload: sample-lead.json

~~~json
{
  "email": "jane@example.com",
  "first_name": "Jane",
  "last_name": "Doe",
  "company": "Example Co",
  "form": "demo-request",
  "page_url": "https://yourdomain.com/pricing"
}
~~~

### Send it leads

After publishing, read the webhook URL and send the sample payload once. Each POST is one run.

- Load the saved ids (run inside clay-inbound-routing/): `WF_ID=$(jq -r '.id' workflow.json); TRG_ID=$(jq -r '.id' trigger.json)`
- Read the webhook URL (argument order inferred, see the verify notes): `WEBHOOK_URL=$(clay workflows triggers get "$WF_ID" "$TRG_ID" | jq -r '.webhookUrl')`
- Send the sample payload (needs a published workflow, one run per request): `curl -sS -X POST "$WEBHOOK_URL" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' --data @sample-lead.json`
- List runs: `clay workflows runs list "$WF_ID"`
- Inspect one run: `clay workflows runs get "$WF_ID" <runId>`
- See each step's output for that run: `clay workflows runs steps "$WF_ID" <runId>`

### Verify in the workspace

- The webhook trigger shape comes from the CLI help, but the help does not say how "triggers get" orders its arguments. If the run commands fail, copy the webhook URL from the Clay UI instead.
- The help documents "nodes create" with nodeType and name only. If it rejects actionPackageId and actionKey, create the node with a name only and pick the action in the Clay UI.
- The reference says action steps take actionPackageId and actionKey but shows only a utility example for "nodes insert", so the placement of those fields inside "step" is inferred.
- Only "workflows create" documents an id field in its response. The script reads .id from trigger and node responses too and stops if it is missing.
- Package ids and action keys differ by workspace and depend on which integrations you have connected. Copy them from your catalog; this page does not guess them.
- Step input mapping is dynamic per workspace. The CLI path is "nodes get" then "nodes update", where incomingEdges is a full replacement. The argument order for "nodes get" is inferred from "nodes update".
- The help does not say whether step 1 connects to the trigger automatically. "clay workflows graph validate" reports a disconnected graph.
- "runs test" without --live is assumed to run the draft. The reference lists --live without describing it.
- Workflow runs can spend Clay credits and write to connected tools. Exit code 3 means re-run clay login, and exit code 4 means you are rate limited (wait for details.retryAfter).

## Guardrails

- Work only in the user's own accounts and workspaces, with their credentials.
- Confirm with the user before any step that writes to a CRM, sends email or messages, spends credits, or moves money.
- Treat every hours, cost, and threshold figure as a starting assumption and replace it with the user's numbers.
- Do not invent data, prices, or results. If a vendor price matters, check the vendor's current pricing page.

## Source

https://gtmplaybooks.io/playbooks/inbound-lead-routing/