Let’s face it: We’re all juggling way too much. Between Slack pings, email threads, and endless Zoom calls, it’s a wonder we find any time to actually get work done.
So, I sat down with Alex Lindahl, a Go-to-Market (GTM) Engineer at Clay, and a self-proclaimed AI workflow geek, to discuss how he tames the chaos with clever automations, strong processes, and (surprise!) a sprinkle of AI magic.
Meet Alex: part seller, part technologist, all AI enthusiast
So, what is a GTM engineer anyway? In Alex’s words, it’s a hybrid role: half-sales, half-solution engineering. He helps customers figure out how to integrate and automate tasks using Clay—often powered by AI. Think of it as a next-level RevOps meets solutions consultant dynamic.
Clay in a nutshell
Clay’s platform is all about creating a go-to-market development environment—where you can import, enrich, and orchestrate data from 100+ sources, then build custom workflows. In simpler terms: You can turn manual tasks (like researching leads or compiling briefings) into automated flows so you spend less time drudging through spreadsheets and more time actually doing.
A day in the life: “back-to-back…with a toddler at home”
When asked about a typical day, Alex laughed:
“It’s almost back to back the entire day… Then I come home, make dinner, and spend time with my toddler. Afterwards, I try to remember everything that happened or finish my to-do list.”
He juggles:
- Customer calls – Showcasing Clay’s capabilities
- Internal alignment – Bringing feedback to product teams
- Building in Clay – Standing up automations for clients and personal side projects
- Family time – Because life isn’t just Slack messages
And once the day’s done, he might hop back online to catch up on leftover tasks or tinker with new AI tools—because, as he says, that’s the fun part.
Where AI fits in: “It’s my ultimate safety net”
Enter Hoop
Alex relies on Hoop to capture tasks across Slack, email, and meetings automatically. Why?
“We’re constantly getting pinged on Slack. Hoop just grabs all those Slack action items—ones I’d likely miss—and throws them into one place. So I’m not worried about forgetting critical tasks.”
He sorts them by priority, ensuring that at day’s end, he isn’t left wondering which tasks slipped through the cracks.
Pre-meeting briefs… on autopilot
Another AI-powered gem Alex loves? Automatic research briefs. Using Clay, a table pulls data from various sources—like company size, revenue, the prospect’s LinkedIn profile—then assembles it into a Notion page. Before a call, Alex checks the doc and arrives prepped, no frantic Googling required.
Instant post-call follow-up
For post-call action items, Alex’s team pipes recordings (from Gong, for instance) into Clay, uses custom prompts to parse key points, and even drafts follow-up emails. He just tweaks them and clicks send. That’s how you handle ten meetings a day without losing your mind.
Favorite workflows: Beyond the basics
When you live and breathe AI, you will discover mind-blowing automations. Some highlights:
- Keyword listening on LinkedIn
- The Setup: Use a tool (like Letterdrop) that flags LinkedIn posts containing certain keywords.
- The Clay Integration: Clay enriches those leads—finding emails, classifying post types, etc.
- The Result: Fully personalized outbound messages or newsletter invites.
- Newsletter growth loops
- Automated Welcome Messages: When someone subscribes to Alex’s newsletters (Claymation.io or The Augmented Seller), their email triggers Clay to enrich their data and auto-send a LinkedIn connect request + thank-you note.
- Outcome: A natural growth loop that keeps audience engagement high.
- AI summaries & quick podcasts
- Alex even experimented with dropping multiple transcripts into an AI model to get a five-minute podcast summary using NotebookLM. He listens to it on his commute to catch up. Because why not?
Getting started: from tinkerer to workflow wizard
Feeling daunted? Don’t worry. Alex suggests starting with a simple approach: break a task into the exact steps you’d do manually. Then figure out how to automate one piece at a time.
“Ask yourself: what do I do manually to accomplish [X]? Then consider how you’d automate each step.”
And if you’re new to AI prompts, check out games like Google’s image-generation puzzle (or any ‘prompt hacking’ tutorials). You’ll quickly see how being specific or adding context can transform the output.
The future is bright (but we’re still early)
Despite all the hype, Alex believes we’re only at the modem era of AI. Yes, there’s a lot of momentum, but most companies still haven’t fully baked AI into their day-to-day. He’s convinced that, as these tools get easier and more powerful, adopting automation will be as normal as sending emails.
“People dabble, but they don’t quite operationalize it yet. That’s coming—and it’s coming fast.”
Ready to level up?
If you’re pumped to try Clay or Hoop, or just to build your own AI-driven workflows:
- Check out Clay’s resources or copy one of their pre-built “Claybooks”
- Subscribe to Alex’s newsletters:
- Claymation.io (step-by-step automations and guides)
- The Augmented Seller (AI + sales workflows)
- Experiment with Hoop to capture your tasks so you can stop drowning in Slack DMs and meeting follow-ups.
At the end of the day, it’s not about replacing humans—it’s about augmenting them. If Alex’s story teaches us anything, it’s that you can survive a jam-packed schedule, provided you let AI handle the grunt work. Now, who doesn’t want that?