Lead Research Process: Clay, Ahrefs & SpyFu

A repeatable framework for prospect research and contact discovery, combining Clay for contact sourcing, ZoomInfo for enrichment and CRM sync, and Ahrefs/SpyFu for competitive intelligence. This process feeds directly into the ^[1] outreach workflow.

Overview

Before any outbound sequence can begin, prospects must be identified, enriched, and imported into HubSpot. This document covers the research and data pipeline phase — from defining who to target through to having contacts ready for sequence enrollment.

Step 1: Define the ICP for the Campaign

Before touching any tool, define the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) for the specific campaign you're running. This should include:

• Industry / vertical
• Company size (headcount, revenue range)
• Geography
• Job titles / personas to target
• Signals (e.g., running paid ads, recently funded, hiring for specific roles)

The ICP definition drives all downstream filtering in Clay and informs the competitive research done in Ahrefs and SpyFu.

Step 2: Find Contacts in Clay

Use Clay to build a list of companies and contacts that match the ICP.

Typical workflow:
1. Set up a new Clay table for the campaign.
2. Use Clay's data sources and enrichment columns to filter by company attributes (industry, size, location, tech stack, etc.).
3. Identify the right contact personas at each company (e.g., VP of Marketing, Head of Growth).
4. Validate and clean contact data within Clay before export.

Output: A clean list of companies + contacts ready for enrichment.

Step 3: Export from Clay → Import to ZoomInfo

Clay does not sync directly to HubSpot. The handoff goes through ZoomInfo:

1. Export the contact list from Clay (CSV or direct integration if available).
2. Import the list into ZoomInfo for additional data enrichment (phone numbers, verified emails, firmographic data).
3. ZoomInfo's native HubSpot integration automatically syncs imported contacts into HubSpot as new contact records.

Why ZoomInfo as the middle step? ZoomInfo's HubSpot integration handles deduplication and field mapping, reducing manual cleanup. It also enriches records with verified contact data before they enter the CRM.

Step 4: Enroll in HubSpot Sequence

Once contacts are in HubSpot, they can be enrolled in the appropriate outbound sequence immediately.

• Contacts flow into the ^[1] starting with the initial phone call step.
• Ensure contacts are tagged with the correct campaign/ICP for reporting purposes.

Competitive Research Tools

Ahrefs and SpyFu are used during the ICP definition and campaign planning phase to understand the prospect's competitive landscape — informing messaging and positioning.

Ahrefs

Use Ahrefs to analyze a prospect's (or their competitors') organic search presence:

• Traffic & keyword analysis — what topics/problems are they focused on?
• Backlink profile — who are they partnering with or getting coverage from?
• Content gaps — where are they underinvesting that you can address?

Access note: Log in via the direct verified link shared in the team password manager. The standard team email login may trigger a verification loop — use the direct sign-in link to bypass this.

SpyFu

Use SpyFu to analyze paid search and competitor ad strategies:

• PPC keywords — what are prospects or their competitors bidding on?
• Ad copy — what messaging is resonating in the market?
• Competitor overlap — who else is targeting the same audience?

Practical use: SpyFu data helps sharpen cold outreach messaging by surfacing the pain points and language prospects are already responding to in paid channels.

Process Summary

Related

• ^[1]
• ^[2]
• ^[3]