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AI Productivity Tools & Integrations for Game1 BD

Research compiled 2026-02-12. Organized by priority for Shane's workflow.

Priority 1: Immediate Impact (Set Up This Week)

Cal.com -- Scheduling

  • What it does: Booking links for meetings. Prospects pick a time, it syncs to your calendar.
  • Cost: Free tier is extremely generous. Unlimited bookings, unlimited event types, multiple calendar connections, workflows, embeds. Paid starts at $12/mo for teams.
  • Game1 use: Drop a booking link in every outreach email. Eliminates back-and-forth scheduling. "Pick a time that works" converts better than "when are you free?"
  • OpenClaw connection: Webhooks on new bookings. Could trigger prep research automatically.
  • Setup difficulty: 15 minutes. Connect Google Calendar, create event types, done.
  • Verdict: Use Cal.com over Calendly. The free tier is far more capable (Calendly free limits you to 1 event type and 1 calendar).

HubSpot Free CRM

  • What it does: Contact management, deal pipeline, email tracking, meeting scheduling, basic reporting.
  • Cost: Free for up to 2 users, 1,000 contacts. Paid starts at $20/mo/seat.
  • Game1 use: Central place to track every prospect, deal stage, and touchpoint. Better than scattered spreadsheets. Email open/click tracking built in.
  • OpenClaw connection: HubSpot has a robust API. OpenClaw could query/update contacts and deals. Community skills may exist for CRM integrations.
  • Setup difficulty: 30-60 minutes for basic pipeline. Import existing contacts from spreadsheets.
  • Verdict: Best free CRM option. Airtable and Notion work as lightweight alternatives but lack built-in email tracking and sales-specific features. Google Sheets is too manual.

Hunter.io -- Email Finding

  • What it does: Finds professional email addresses by company domain. Verifies email deliverability.
  • Cost: Free tier gives 25 searches + 50 verifications per month. Starter is $49/mo for 500 searches.
  • Game1 use: When you identify a target company, find the right contact's email in seconds. Domain search shows all known emails at a company.
  • OpenClaw connection: Simple REST API. Could build a skill that takes a company domain and returns contact emails.
  • Setup difficulty: 5 minutes. Sign up, get API key.
  • Verdict: Start with free tier. Supplement with Apollo for higher volume.

Priority 2: High Value (Set Up This Month)

Apollo.io -- All-in-One Prospecting

  • What it does: B2B contact database (275M+ contacts), email sequences, email finder, basic CRM, intent data. It is the closest thing to an all-in-one outbound platform.
  • Cost: Free plan gives 60 email credits/month, 2 sequences, basic filters. Paid starts at $49/mo (annual) for 900 credits, unlimited sequences.
  • Game1 use: Build targeted prospect lists by industry, company size, title, location. Set up email sequences that auto-follow-up. Track opens and replies.
  • OpenClaw connection: Has an API. Could automate list building and sequence enrollment through OpenClaw.
  • Setup difficulty: 1-2 hours to set up sequences and connect email.
  • Verdict: Best bang-for-buck for a solo BD person. The free plan alone is worth using. If you pick one paid tool, this is the one.

PandaDoc -- Proposals and Contracts

  • What it does: Create, send, and e-sign proposals, quotes, and contracts from templates.
  • Cost: Free plan includes unlimited e-signatures and basic document creation. Starter is $35/mo for templates, analytics, and CRM integration.
  • Game1 use: Build a Game1 proposal template once. Customize per prospect in minutes. Track when they open it, which pages they read, and when they sign.
  • OpenClaw connection: API available. Could auto-generate proposals from deal data.
  • Setup difficulty: 1-2 hours to build first template. Fast after that.
  • Verdict: Free tier covers e-signatures. Worth paying for templates if you send 5+ proposals per month. Alternative: Docupilot for high-volume doc generation at lower cost.

Instantly.ai -- Cold Email at Scale

  • What it does: Cold email sending with unlimited email accounts, warmup, A/B testing, deliverability tools.
  • Cost: Growth plan starts at $30/mo for 1,000 contacts and 5,000 emails. Hypergrowth is $77.6/mo for 25,000 contacts.
  • Game1 use: If outbound email becomes a core channel, Instantly handles deliverability (the hardest part of cold email). Warms up new sending domains, rotates mailboxes, and tracks everything.
  • OpenClaw connection: API available. Could feed prospect lists from OpenClaw research.
  • Setup difficulty: Medium. Need to set up separate sending domains and email accounts for deliverability. Plan 2-3 hours.
  • Verdict: Only needed once you are sending 50+ cold emails per week. Before that, Apollo sequences are sufficient.

Priority 3: Worth Knowing About

Clay -- Data Enrichment and Workflows

  • What it does: Waterfall enrichment (queries 75+ data providers in sequence), AI research agent that pulls info from the web, workflow builder for prospect research.
  • Cost: Starts at $134/mo. Expensive but powerful.
  • Game1 use: Automates the research you currently do manually. Input a company name, get back tech stack, funding, decision makers, recent news, and personalized email copy.
  • OpenClaw connection: Has API and webhooks. However, OpenClaw + web search already replicates some of Clay's research capabilities for free.
  • Setup difficulty: Medium-high. Steep learning curve for building workflows.
  • Verdict: Aspirational tool. Too expensive for current stage. OpenClaw can replicate the core research function (company research, personalization) at no additional cost. Revisit when volume justifies the price.

Smartlead -- Email Infrastructure

  • What it does: Similar to Instantly. Unlimited mailbox rotation, warmup, centralized inbox for replies.
  • Cost: Starts at $39/mo for 2,000 active leads.
  • Game1 use: Alternative to Instantly if you need more mailbox flexibility.
  • OpenClaw connection: API available.
  • Setup difficulty: Similar to Instantly.
  • Verdict: Pick either Instantly or Smartlead, not both. Instantly has slightly better UX and AI features as of early 2026.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator -- Prospecting

  • What it does: Advanced LinkedIn search with 50+ filters (seniority, company size, job changes, etc.), InMail credits, lead alerts.
  • Cost: Core starts at $99/mo.
  • Game1 use: Find decision makers at target companies. Track job changes (new VP of Marketing = warm outreach opportunity). Save lead lists.
  • OpenClaw connection: No official API for automation. LinkedIn aggressively enforces ToS against scraping and automation tools. Use it manually for research only.
  • Setup difficulty: Low. It is just LinkedIn with better search.
  • Verdict: Worth it if you rely heavily on LinkedIn for prospecting. The free LinkedIn search is limited to 100 results and basic filters. Sales Navigator removes those limits. Do not use any automation tools (Phantombuster, Dux-Soup, etc.) as they risk account suspension.
  • Safe alternative: Use Apollo or Hunter to find emails, then reach out via email instead of LinkedIn. Lower risk, higher volume.

Lemlist -- Multichannel Sequences

  • What it does: Email sequences combined with LinkedIn steps and calls. Personalized images and videos in emails.
  • Cost: Starts at $39/mo per seat.
  • Game1 use: If you want to combine email + LinkedIn touchpoints in one sequence.
  • OpenClaw connection: API available.
  • Setup difficulty: Medium.
  • Verdict: Overkill for current stage. Apollo covers email sequences. Add Lemlist if you want multichannel later.

OpenClaw-Specific Opportunities

ClawHub Skills Marketplace

ClawHub (clawhub.ai) is OpenClaw's public skill registry. Community-contributed skills are free and open. Key areas to explore:

  • CRM integration skills -- may already exist for HubSpot, Notion, or Airtable
  • Email skills -- you already have Gmail Apps Script integration
  • Web research skills -- company research, competitor monitoring
  • Calendar skills -- booking and scheduling integrations

Check what is available: browse clawhub.ai or the GitHub repo (VoltAgent/awesome-openclaw-skills) for categorized skill listings.

What OpenClaw Already Does Well (No Extra Tools Needed)

  • Company research -- web search + fetch can pull company info, news, tech stack
  • Email drafting -- personalized outreach based on research
  • Document generation -- can create proposals, one-pagers, and contracts from templates stored in workspace
  • Contact organization -- can maintain prospect data in structured files
  • Follow-up reminders -- heartbeat system can check for overdue follow-ups

Custom Skills to Build

  1. Prospect research skill -- input company name, output structured brief (size, industry, key contacts, recent news, pain points)
  2. Email sequence tracker -- track who was emailed, when, and what stage they are in
  3. Proposal generator -- template-based, pulls in prospect-specific details automatically
  4. Meeting prep skill -- triggered by Cal.com webhook, researches the person 30 min before the call

Free tier (start now): 1. Cal.com -- scheduling 2. HubSpot Free CRM -- contact and deal tracking 3. Hunter.io free -- email finding (25/mo) 4. Apollo.io free -- prospecting + 2 email sequences 5. PandaDoc free -- e-signatures 6. OpenClaw -- research, drafting, automation glue

First paid upgrade (when volume justifies it): 1. Apollo.io Basic ($49/mo) -- more credits, unlimited sequences 2. Hunter.io Starter ($49/mo) -- 500 searches/mo

Scale upgrade (50+ outbound emails per week): 1. Instantly.ai ($30/mo) -- dedicated cold email infrastructure 2. Separate sending domain -- protect Game1's primary domain reputation

Total cost to start: $0 Total cost at first upgrade: ~$98/mo Total cost at scale: ~$128/mo

LinkedIn Research (ToS-Compliant Approach)

LinkedIn prohibits scraping, automated messaging, and third-party tools that access LinkedIn data without authorization. The safe approach:

  1. Use LinkedIn manually for research (read profiles, company pages, posts)
  2. Use Sales Navigator if you need advanced search filters ($99/mo)
  3. Use Apollo or Hunter to find email addresses (they source from public data, not LinkedIn scraping)
  4. Reach out via email, not LinkedIn automation
  5. Send manual, personal LinkedIn connection requests when appropriate (no bulk tools)

This keeps your LinkedIn account safe while still leveraging the platform for intelligence.

Quick Comparison: What Competitors Do

Capability Clay Apollo Instantly Smartlead
Contact database Via enrichment providers Built-in 275M+ None (bring your own) None (bring your own)
Email finding Yes (waterfall) Yes No No
Email sequences No Yes Yes Yes
Email warmup No No Yes Yes
Mailbox rotation No Limited Unlimited Unlimited
AI personalization Yes (strong) Yes (basic) Yes Yes
CRM built-in No Yes (basic) No No
Starting price $134/mo Free / $49/mo $30/mo $39/mo
Best for Research + enrichment All-in-one prospecting High-volume sending High-volume sending

The practical combination for Game1: Apollo (prospecting + sequences) + Instantly (sending infrastructure when you scale). OpenClaw fills the Clay-shaped gap by doing AI-powered research for free.