Trigger Event Monitoring Setup Guide (Clay)

Trigger events - job changes, funding rounds, company acquisitions - represent the highest-intent moments to re-engage dead leads or expand existing accounts. This guide shows you how to build an automated monitoring system using Clay's enrichment API and n8n's workflow engine to capture these signals and route them directly into your CRM

and team communication channels.

You'll walk away with a production-ready system that tracks LinkedIn profile changes, company news, and funding events for your target accounts, then automatically creates CRM

records and sends Slack alerts when opportunities surface.

Clay Account (Pro or higher)
The free tier won't cut it. You need API

access and sufficient enrichment credits. Expect to spend $349/month minimum for meaningful volume. Sign up at clay.com.

n8n Instance
Self-hosted or cloud. The cloud version ($20/month) works fine for most firms. Get started at n8n.io.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator (Recommended)
Clay's LinkedIn enrichment pulls significantly better data with Sales Navigator credentials. Core subscription runs $99/month per seat.

CRM

with API

API

Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

Access
Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive. You'll need admin rights to create custom fields and generate API

API

Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

keys.

Log into Clay and navigate to Settings > API

Keys. Generate a new API

API

Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

key with full read/write permissions. Label it "n8n Production" so you can track usage.

Copy the API

key. You'll need it in 60 seconds.

In n8n, create a new credential:

1. Go to Credentials > New Credential
2. Select "HTTP Header Auth"
3. Name it "Clay API

   API

   Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

   "
4. Header Name: Authorization
5. Header Value: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE
6. Save

Test the connection by adding an HTTP Request node to a blank workflow, setting the URL to https://api.clay.com/v1/tables, and executing. You should see a 200 response with your Clay tables listed.

Clay works best when you feed it a structured list of people and companies to monitor. Don't try to monitor your entire LinkedIn network - you'll burn through credits and drown in noise.

Create a new table in Clay called "Trigger Monitoring - Active Prospects". Add these columns:

• Full Name (text)
• LinkedIn URL (text)
• Current Company (text)
• Current Title (text)
• Last Interaction Date (date)
• Account Tier (single select: A, B, C)
• Assigned BD Rep (text)

Import your target list. This should be:

• Dead leads from the past 12-24 months who went cold
• Key contacts at target accounts you're pursuing
• Former clients who left for new roles

Aim for 200-500 contacts to start. More than 1,000 and you'll struggle to act on the signals.

Add an enrichment column in Clay called "LinkedIn Profile Data". Use Clay's "Find Person" enrichment, pointing it at your LinkedIn URL column.

Configure the enrichment to run weekly (every Monday at 9 AM). This checks for profile changes without hammering the API

.

Add a second column called "Profile Change Detected". Use this formula:

IF(
  OR(
    [Current Title] != [LinkedIn Profile Data.title],
    [Current Company] != [LinkedIn Profile Data.company]
  ),
  "YES",
  "NO"
)

This flags any contact whose title or company changed since your last check.

Add a third column called "Change Type" with this formula:

IF([Current Title] != [LinkedIn Profile Data.title], "Job Change", 
   IF([Current Company] != [LinkedIn Profile Data.company], "Company Change", "No Change"))

Create a second Clay table called "Target Companies". Add these columns:

• Company Name (text)
• LinkedIn Company URL (text)
• Domain (text)
• Last Funding Round (text)
• Last News Check (date)

Add an enrichment column called "Company News Scan". Use Clay's "Company News" enrichment, which pulls from Crunchbase, PitchBook, and news APIs

.

Set filters to only flag:

• Funding rounds (Series A and above)
• Acquisitions (as acquirer or acquired)
• Executive hires (C-level only)
• Office expansions or new locations

Run this enrichment daily at 6 AM.

Create a new workflow in n8n called "Clay Trigger Event Router".

Node 1: Schedule Trigger
Set to run daily at 10 AM (giving Clay's 9 AM enrichments time to complete).

Node 2: HTTP Request (Clay - Get Profile Changes)

• Method: GET
• URL: https://api.clay.com/v1/tables/YOUR_TABLE_ID/records
• Authentication: Use the Clay API

  API

  Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

  credential you created
• Query Parameters: filter=Profile Change Detected:YES

Node 3: Filter (Job Changes Only)
Add an IF node:

• Condition: {{ $json["Change Type"] }} === "Job Change"
• Route "true" to CRM

  CRM

  Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

  node
• Route "false" to next filter

Node 4: HTTP Request (CRM

- Create Lead)
Configure for your CRM

CRM

Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

. For Salesforce:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://YOUR_INSTANCE.salesforce.com/services/data/v58.0/sobjects/Lead
• Authentication: OAuth2
• Body:

{
  "FirstName": "`{{ $json['Full Name'].split(' ')[0] }}`",
  "LastName": "`{{ $json['Full Name'].split(' ').slice(1).join(' ') }}`",
  "Company": "`{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.company'] }}`",
  "Title": "`{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.title'] }}`",
  "LeadSource": "Trigger Event - Job Change",
  "Description": "Job change detected: `{{ $json['Current Title'] }}` at `{{ $json['Current Company'] }}` → `{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.title'] }}` at `{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.company'] }}`"
}

Node 5: Slack Notification

• Method: POST
• Webhook URL: Your Slack incoming webhook

  webhook

  Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.
• Message:

🎯 *Job Change Alert*
*`{{ $json['Full Name'] }}`* just moved from `{{ $json['Current Company'] }}` to *`{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.company'] }}`* as `{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.title'] }}`

Last interaction: `{{ $json['Last Interaction Date'] }}`
Assigned to: `{{ $json['Assigned BD Rep'] }}`

<`{{ $json['LinkedIn URL'] }}`|View Profile>

Node 6: HTTP Request (Clay - Update Record)
Update the Clay record to mark it as processed:

• Method: PATCH
• URL: https://api.clay.com/v1/tables/YOUR_TABLE_ID/records/{{ $json['record_id'] }}
• Body:

{
  "Current Title": "`{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.title'] }}`",
  "Current Company": "`{{ $json['LinkedIn Profile Data.company'] }}`",
  "Profile Change Detected": "NO"
}

Duplicate the workflow structure for company news events.

Node 7: HTTP Request (Clay - Get Company News)

• URL: https://api.clay.com/v1/tables/YOUR_COMPANY_TABLE_ID/records
• Query Parameters: filter=Company News Scan:NOT_EMPTY

Node 8: Filter (Funding Events)
Check if {{ $json['Company News Scan.event_type'] }} === "funding".

Node 9: CRM

Update (Add Note to Account)
For HubSpot:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://api.hubapi.com/engagements/v1/engagements
• Body:

{
  "engagement": {
    "type": "NOTE"
  },
  "associations": {
    "companyIds": [`{{ $json['hubspot_company_id'] }}`]
  },
  "metadata": {
    "body": "Funding Alert: `{{ $json['Company Name'] }}` raised `{{ $json['Company News Scan.amount'] }}` in `{{ $json['Company News Scan.round_type'] }}` from `{{ $json['Company News Scan.investors'] }}`"
  }
}

Node 10: Slack Notification (Funding Channel)
Post to a dedicated #funding-alerts channel:

💰 *Funding Alert*
*`{{ $json['Company Name'] }}`* just raised *`{{ $json['Company News Scan.amount'] }}`* in `{{ $json['Company News Scan.round_type'] }}`

Lead investors: `{{ $json['Company News Scan.investors'] }}`
<`{{ $json['Company News Scan.source_url'] }}`|Read announcement>

Add an Error Trigger node at the start of your workflow. Connect it to a Slack notification that posts to #n8n-errors with full error details.

Add a final node that logs all processed events to a Google Sheet for audit purposes:

• Timestamp
• Event Type (Job Change, Funding, etc.)
• Contact/Company Name
• Action Taken (CRM

  CRM

  Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

  Created, Note Added, etc.)
• Assigned Rep

This creates an audit trail and helps you measure ROI on the system.

Reduce False Positives
Add a "Minimum Title Level" filter. Don't alert on individual contributor moves unless they're at Director level or above.

Prioritize by Account Tier
Route Tier A account changes to individual rep DMs in Slack, not just a channel. They need to act within 24 hours.

Batch Low-Priority Events
Send a daily digest at 4 PM for Tier C accounts instead of real-time alerts. Reduces notification fatigue.

Add Sentiment Analysis
Use Clay's AI enrichment to analyze whether a job change is a promotion, lateral move, or demotion. Promotions are higher-intent reactivation opportunities.

Track Response Rates
Add a custom field in your CRM

for "Trigger Event Source". After 90 days, compare close rates for trigger-sourced leads vs. other sources. If trigger leads convert 2-3x better, increase your monitoring budget.

Clay Credits Burn Too Fast
You're monitoring too many contacts or running enrichments too frequently. Cut your target list by 30% and move to weekly checks instead of daily.

Slack Channel Gets Ignored
Too much noise. Tighten your filters and route only Tier A/B events to Slack. Everything else goes to a weekly email digest.

CRM

Records Aren't Getting Created
Check your API

API

Click to read the full definition in our AI & Automation Glossary.

authentication. Salesforce tokens expire every 90 days. Set a calendar reminder to refresh.

n8n Workflow Times Out
You're processing too many records in a single run. Add a "Limit" parameter to your Clay API

calls (start with 50 records per execution) and let the schedule trigger handle batching.

This system should take 3-4 hours to build and test. Once live, expect to spend 30 minutes per week reviewing alerts and tuning filters. The payoff is 15-20 high-intent conversations per month that wouldn't have happened otherwise.