Start from ICP, not from a database
TAM work fails when it starts with "all companies in industry X". Start from your best current customers: what do they share that prospects do not? Convert that into filters you can apply in Clay (headcount bands, tech stack, hiring patterns, geography).
The build
- Sourcing. Build the base list from Clay's database, your CRM (all accounts ever touched), or imported lists. Deduplicate on website domain.
- Firmographic enrichment. One good firmographics pass; avoid multiple providers for the same fields.
- Tiering. Score on fit signals with documented weights. Keep tiers discrete (A/B/C) — they map to plays; continuous scores that feed nothing create noise.
- Assignment. Map tiers to plays: A gets personalized outbound, B gets scaled sequences, C stays in the database until signals raise their tier.
Keep it alive
TAM decays: companies shrink, get acquired, change focus. Schedule a quarterly refresh pass and a signal-driven upgrade path (e.g., hiring spike moves a C to B).
Need help applying this?
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