Problem-Signal Prospecting with Clay + Auggie

~15 min setup

Build an automated outbound pipeline that targets companies based on real business pain, not just firmographics.

Overview

Traditional outbound targets companies by size, industry, and tech stack. Problem-signal prospecting goes deeper: it identifies companies actively experiencing problems your product solves, then generates messaging that speaks directly to those problems.

Company Domains

  ↓

Auggie Research (scores + business problems + talking points)

  ↓

Filter by Pain Score (≥ 70)

  ↓

Generate Personalized Email Sequences

  ↓

Export to Sequencer

Traditional Outbound

  • Filter by industry + company size
  • Generic value prop messaging
  • Low reply rates (1-3%)

Problem-Signal Prospecting

  • Filter by actual business pain signals
  • Messaging references specific problems
  • Higher reply rates from relevance

Prerequisites

  • 1
    Auggie API key — create one at /api-keys (starts with aug_)
  • 2
    Clay account — free or paid plan at clay.com
  • 3
    Auggie credits — 1 credit per company researched

Step 1: Import Domains into Clay

  1. Create a new table in Clay.
  2. Add a Company Website column (text type).
  3. Import your target company domains — paste from a spreadsheet, import a CSV, or use Clay's built-in company search to populate rows.

Each row should have one company domain (e.g., example.com or https://example.com).

Step 2: Add Auggie Enrichment Column

Add an HTTP Request column and configure it to call the Auggie Clay enrichment endpoint. This is a synchronous endpoint — Clay will wait for the result (no polling needed).

Important: Set your Clay HTTP column timeout to 120 seconds. Research typically completes in 30-60 seconds, but complex companies may take longer.

Method POST
URL https://auggie.app/v1/clay/enrich
Headers Authorization: Bearer aug_your_key
Content-Type: application/json
Body {"company_url": "{{/Company Website}}"}

24-hour caching: If the same company was researched within the last 24 hours, the cached result is returned instantly at no credit cost.

Then add additional columns to extract fields from the response. All fields are flat (no nested paths):

Column Name JSON Field
Pain Score pain_score
Composite Score composite_score
Fit Score fit_score
Score Summary score_summary
Pain Reasons pain_reasons
Business Problems business_problems
Talking Points talking_points
Product Fit product_fit
Document ID document_id

Alternatively, you can use the async POST /v1/research endpoint with polling if you prefer. See the API docs.

Step 3: Filter by Pain Score

Add a filter to your Clay table to focus on companies with the highest pain signals:

85+
High Pain — Strong active pain signals. Prioritize these accounts.
70-84
Moderate Pain — Notable pain signals. Good candidates for outreach.
<70
Low Pain — Weak or no pain signals detected. Consider deprioritizing.

We recommend starting with a filter of Pain Score ≥ 70 to focus on companies most likely to respond.

Step 4: Generate Personalized Sequences

Add a second HTTP Request column to generate email sequences for your filtered accounts. This calls the sequence endpoint using the Document ID from Step 2:

Method POST
URL https://auggie.app/v1/research/{{/Document ID}}/sequence
Headers Authorization: Bearer aug_your_key

Extract the generated emails:

Column Name JSON Path
Email 1 Subject emails[0].subject
Email 1 Body emails[0].body
Email 2 Subject emails[1].subject
Email 2 Body emails[1].body
Email 3 Subject emails[2].subject
Email 3 Body emails[2].body

Download Clay Template

Download a JSON template with pre-configured column definitions and filters. Import this into Clay to get started quickly.