What you'll be able to do after this guide: check that you have the accounts, connections and documents in place to build your first prospecting agent, and decide where its instructions will live.
| You need | Why | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A paid Claude plan with scheduled tasks | Agents must run on a timetable without you | Scheduled tasks are in the Claude app under Scheduled in the sidebar |
| A CRM with an MCP connector | Agents read and write prospects here | We use Attio. Any CRM with an MCP connection and custom attributes will work |
| Admin rights in the CRM | You will add custom attributes | Agents should never create fields themselves |
| A place for written instructions | Each agent reads its spec at the start of every run | A folder Claude can read, such as a project or a connected folder |
| A clear picture of who you sell to | The agent can only find what you can describe | Covered in Define Your Targets |
| Optional: an enrichment tool | Company size, revenue and contact details | Treat its data as a lead, not a fact (see Grade Your Evidence) |
| Optional: Claude in Chrome | Some research needs a real browser | Install it from the Chrome Web Store and sign in |
The agents in this library use the CRM as their memory and their to-do list. They need fields such as a research date, a fit score and an outreach status. If your CRM won't let you add your own fields, the agents have nowhere to record what they have done, and the next run will repeat it.
So the test for a CRM is simple:
Can Claude connect to it through an MCP connector?
Can you add custom attributes to companies and people, including dates, numbers, single-select options and ratings?
Can Claude create notes and tasks on a record?
Attio passes all three. Its connector is in Claude's connector directory, and it exposes tools for searching, creating and updating records (including deals), notes, tasks, comments and lists.
Every agent reads two kinds of document:
The scheduled task prompt: a short instruction that tells the agent who it is and which document to follow.
The spec: the full, detailed procedure.
You will edit specs often, especially in the first few weeks, so keep them somewhere easy to change and somewhere every run can read. Good options are a Claude project or a folder Claude can access. Wherever you choose, keep a dated record of every change, because you will want to know later why a rule exists.
Before you build anything, write down the actions that stay human. We recommend:
Sending anything a prospect will read.
Replying to a prospect.
Marking a company as a customer, rejected or churned.
Closing a deal as won or lost.
Adding or changing CRM fields and options.
Writing this list first makes every later decision easier, because each agent's instructions can simply say "never do these things".
If you plan to use a social platform for outreach, read its terms before you automate anything there. LinkedIn's User Agreement, for example, prohibits using bots or other automated methods to add contacts or send messages. The guides in this library show a human-in-the-loop approach for those steps: the agent selects, checks and drafts, and a person carries out the action.
Prospecting means contacting people who haven't asked to hear from you, and storing their names, emails and profile links. Before you start, check the rules where you and your prospects are based. In most places that means at least:
Identifying who the email is from, and offering a clear way to opt out in every email.
Knowing which rules apply to business contacts as opposed to individuals.
Having a lawful basis for storing personal data in your CRM, and honouring requests to be removed.
Write the outcome into your specs as fixed rules (for example, an approved footer), so agents never have to decide this for themselves. This library doesn't give legal advice; if you're unsure, ask someone who can.
You're ready for the next section when you can say yes to these:
Claude is on a plan that includes scheduled tasks.
You can add custom attributes in your CRM.
You know where specs will be stored.
You have a written list of actions that stay human.
Next: Connect Attio to Claude.
