Inconsistent Lookup Issues in Company and Contacts Columns

I have a “Find company” column, which makes a lookup in a company table. and I also have a “Find contacts column” which saves employees in a separate table. Then I have a column which makes a lookup of the people from the company column inside of the contacts column, using the domain as a search term. Sometimes the lookup works, and sometimes it says “My input data is invalid”, which is super inconsistent, and I don’t know what the problem with it is.

9 comments

Channeled
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The "My input data is invalid" error typically occurs when the domain format in your lookup doesn't match what the system expects. This inconsistency happens because some domains may contain invalid characters or formatting issues. To fix this issue: 1. Check your domain format - ensure it's clean without extra characters or formatting issues 2. Rerun the lookup column linked to your company table to refresh the data 3. Use a formula to clean your domain data before using it in the lookup (remove any "+1" or special characters) 4. Test your lookup on a few cells first to identify and fix specific formatting problems If you're using the "Lookup Multiple Rows" integration, verify that your company domain column contains properly formatted website domains that can be matched against your contacts table.
Source: Enrich People (Waterfalls) [Automated Inbound] - Clay University
Darius M.
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The domain is already cleaning. (e.g. finescience.com)
Channeled
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Even with cleaned domain data, the "My input data is invalid" error can occur due to subtle formatting issues that aren't immediately visible. This could be related to: 1. Hidden characters or formatting inconsistencies in your domain data 2. The lookup column expecting a specific format that differs slightly from what you're providing Try using the "Normalize a Domain" integration to standardize your domains to a consistent format (bare, includeWWW, includeHTTPS, or bareDomain). If the issue persists, could you share a screenshot of your table setup and the specific error? This would help us identify the exact cause of the inconsistency.
Source: Normalize a Domain with Clay
Darius M.
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Men, this is so inconsistent. I just created another lookup column with the same settings and this one works.
Channeled
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This inconsistency with the "My input data is invalid" error can happen due to several reasons: 1. The column might be experiencing loading or processing delays, especially in larger tables where updates take longer to complete. 2. The issue could be related to how the formula is set up - it might be assuming there's valid data for every row when that's not the case. 3. When you edit sources or filters after a table has been run, Clay doesn't automatically reprocess previously generated data, which can cause inconsistencies. Creating a new column with identical settings (as you did) is actually one of the recommended solutions. If you need to fix the original column, try deleting it and creating a fresh one with the same settings.
Source: Sources | Documentation | Clay University
Darius M.
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https://app.clay.com/workspaces/402702/workbooks/wb_0swrhq1VzudjZ4b787e/tables/t_0swrhqseAfPfdQPJowW/views/gv_0swrhqsnFBtKBqNQ7oi The column in question is “Find Employees”. Again same error with the invalid input data. When I first create the column it works and at some point it stop working.
Bo (.
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The issue seems to come from the domain field in your Find Companies search — sometimes it’s missing, which causes the lookup to return “input data is invalid.” When the domain isn’t there, the lookup can’t run properly. But if you add the company to that table, rerun the Find Companies step and the domain gets populated, the lookup works again. This usually happens when the lookup runs before the domain is available, since lookups don’t automatically re-run or update when upstream data changes.
Let me know if you have more questions
Darius M.
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I understand the issue now. But I want the workflow to be fully automated and robust and with no need to rerun rows. Would a delay column between my “Create Company” and “Find Company” help?
Bo (.
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Hey, Circular workflows like the one you’re describing will always have some risk of timing issues or errors. The more robust setup is to structure it from Table A → Table B → Table C to keep things clean and consistent. But if you want to keep the current structure, you can introduce a delay using a free HTTP delay API like this: LBKS[https://deelay.me/20000/https://example.com](https://deelay.me/20000/https://example.com)LBKSThis will delay the request by 20 seconds. You can adjust the number in the URL (in milliseconds), but keep in mind that even with this, you might still see occasional downstream errors. Let me know if you have more questions.