LinkedOtterby Asaf Katz Advisory
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How to Build an IAM Outbound Campaign with Clay in 2026: Targeting CISOs and Heads of Identity

By Asaf Katz · June 28, 2026

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Clay lets IAM and identity security vendors build enriched, personalized outbound campaigns targeting CISOs, Heads of IAM, and IT Security Directors at scale. Here is the workflow — from ICP list building to personalized event invites — that generates qualified meetings without cold email.

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is one of the fastest-growing segments in cybersecurity in 2026. With global security spending at $240 billion and CISOs consolidating around identity as a control plane, the buyer urgency is real. The challenge: reaching IAM decision-makers who receive 60 cold outreach attempts per week.

Clay changes this equation. Here is how to build an IAM outbound campaign that gets meetings.

Who to Target in an IAM Campaign

The IAM buying committee typically includes:

TitleRole in Deal
CISOFinal sign-off, budget holder
Head of IAM / Director of IdentityChampion, day-to-day evaluator
IT Security DirectorTechnical validator
VP of Engineering (smaller orgs)Sometimes owns identity stack

For outbound, prioritize Heads of IAM and IT Security Directors as your primary ICP — they are actively evaluating solutions and have context to engage. CISOs belong in your event invite sequence.

Step 1: Build the IAM Prospect List in Clay

Use Sculptor (or manual filters) to define your list:

Expected list size: 500-2,000 contacts depending on vertical focus.

Step 2: Enrich with Claygent and Waterfall Data

For each contact, run enrichment to pull:

This enrichment context enables personalization at scale without manually researching each account.

Step 3: Personalize with Claygent

For each enriched contact, use Claygent to generate a personalized opening line:

These opening lines reference real enrichment context. CISOs and IAM directors notice the difference from generic pitches.

Step 4: Build an Event Invite Sequence

The most effective IAM outbound channel in 2026 is event invites, not cold email. CISOs reject cold pitches but accept invitations to exclusive practitioner conversations.

Invite sequence:

Best IAM event topics for 2026: identity consolidation, zero trust architecture, CIAM for customer-facing applications.

Step 5: Push to Apollo and Track

Use Clay's Apollo integration to push enriched contacts into sequences. Track open rates by title, registration rates per invite variation, engagement signals during the event, and meeting conversion rate by attendee tier. After each event, run the Clay Signals scoring workflow to prioritize follow-up.

What This Looks Like in Practice

LinkedOtter built an IAM-adjacent campaign for a cybersecurity client targeting Heads of IAM and IT Security Directors in financial services. Using targeted event invites, the campaign generated 38 C-level or VP-level attendees at a single event and 43 qualified meetings in 60 days, with events starting at $6,000.

Summary

Frequently asked questions

Who are the best ICP targets for an IAM outbound campaign?

Head of IAM, Director of Identity Security, IT Security Directors, and CISOs at companies with 500-10,000 employees in financial services, healthcare, government, and enterprise SaaS verticals.

How do you find companies that need IAM solutions using Clay?

Filter by technology stack (companies using Okta, Azure AD, Ping Identity, CyberArk) as an indicator of active IAM investment, then layer on company size and industry filters, and add Clay Signals intent data to detect active research.

Why do event invites work better than cold email for IAM buyers?

CISOs and IAM directors receive 60+ cold outreach attempts per week and filter them aggressively. An invitation to a practitioner roundtable on a topic they are actively researching arrives as valuable, not promotional.

How long does it take to build an IAM Clay outbound campaign?

A GTM operator with Clay access can build the list, run enrichment, and configure personalized sequences in 1-2 days using Sculptor and Claygent. The first event-invite sequence can be live within a week.

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