Everyone is shipping an MCP right now. Your CRM has one. Your cold email tool has one. The data provider you have never heard of launched one last week. The hard part is no longer finding a reason to use them, it is finding the right server for the tool you already love and getting it connected to Claude without losing an afternoon to config files.
This guide fixes both problems. First you will learn to connect any MCP to Claude in three steps, the same way every time. Then you will get a directory of the best MCP servers for prospecting, sales, and marketing, each one linked straight to its setup page, so you can find the one for your favorite software and plug it in today. By the end, Claude will be reading your CRM, enriching leads, and drafting outreach without you ever leaving the chat. Stick around to the end, because we built an MCP too, and it turns Claude into a lead magnet machine.
What an MCP actually is, in one minute
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It is an open standard, created by Anthropic, that lets Claude connect to outside tools and data in a consistent way. Think of it as a universal adapter. Before MCP, every integration was a custom job. With MCP, any app can expose a server that Claude talks to in the same language, so connecting HubSpot works the same way as connecting Notion.
There are two kinds you will meet. A remote MCP server runs in the cloud and connects to Claude through your account, which is what most software companies now ship. A local MCP server runs on your own machine and is mostly a developer thing. This guide covers both, but the cloud method is what you will use almost every time.
One quick word on names. In Claude, the thing you switch on is called a connector. The connector is powered by an MCP server behind the scenes. People use the two words interchangeably, and so will we.
Before you start: what you need
You need three things, and you probably already have them.
A Claude plan. Custom connectors work on Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise. Free is limited to one custom connector, while paid plans let you add several. The feature is in beta, so expect it to keep improving.
The MCP server URL of the tool you want to connect, or that tool already sitting in Claude's connectors directory. We will cover both, and the directory below links you straight to each one.
About two minutes.
One thing to know up front. Remote MCP servers are reached from Anthropic's cloud, not from your laptop. If a server lives behind a company firewall or a VPN, it will not connect until that network allows traffic from Anthropic. For every public tool in this guide, that is never an issue.
How to connect an MCP to Claude, step by step
These three steps work for any remote MCP. Read them once and you will never need this section again.
Step 1, open your connectors settings
Go to Settings, then Connectors. On a Pro or Max plan the path is Customize, then Connectors. This screen is the home for every tool Claude can reach.
If you are on a Team or Enterprise plan, an Owner adds connectors for the whole organization under Organization settings, then Connectors. After that, each member connects their own account, so Claude only ever touches data that person already has access to.
Step 2, add the connector
You have two paths here, and the first one is almost too easy.
The directory path. If your tool is in Claude's connectors directory, find it in the list and click Connect. That is it. Anthropic built this directory so popular apps like Notion, Canva, Stripe, HubSpot, Gmail, and Figma connect in one click, with no URL to copy. Check this list first, because the best setup is the one you do not have to do.
The custom path. If your tool is not in the directory, click the plus, choose Add custom connector, paste the remote MCP server URL the tool gave you, and click Add. If the server requires it, open Advanced settings and drop in the OAuth Client ID and Secret it provided. That is the entire setup.
Step 3, authenticate and switch it on in your chat
Most connectors open a secure sign in window so you log in to the tool and approve exactly what Claude can do. You never hand Claude your password, and you can revoke access at any time from Claude's settings or the tool itself.
Then comes the step people forget. Connecting a tool is not the same as using it. Open a chat, click the plus near the message box, choose Connectors, and toggle on the one you want for that conversation. Now Claude can actually call it.
That is the whole method. Three steps, every tool, every time.
For developers: local servers and one-click extensions
If you are connecting a server that runs on your own machine, you edit the claude_desktop_config.json file, add the server, then fully quit and restart Claude Desktop so it loads. If you would rather skip the JSON, many tools now ship a desktop extension file you simply drag into Settings, then Extensions. Both routes are for people building or self hosting servers, not for connecting a SaaS tool you already pay for.
The MCP directory for prospecting, sales, and marketing
This is the part you bookmarked the article for. Every tool below has a real, working MCP. Click the link in the last column to open its setup page, where you grab the connection or connect in one click. The ecosystem moves fast, so treat this as a living map and always check Claude's connectors directory for the newest one-click options.
CRM
| Tool | What it unlocks in Claude | MCP link |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Read contacts, companies, deals, and tickets, and pull live pipeline context into any answer | Claude directory or mcp.hubspot.com/anthropic |
| Salesforce | Query leads, accounts, opportunities, and custom objects across your org | Hosted MCP setup |
| Attio | Full read and write on people, companies, deals, lists, and notes, with batch actions | mcp.attio.com, OAuth |
Prospecting and data enrichment
| Tool | What it unlocks in Claude | MCP link |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo | Search people and companies, enrich with verified emails and phones, and add prospects to sequences | Apollo MCP, Claude directory |
| Lusha | Find and enrich B2B contacts and companies through natural language | mcp.lusha.com |
| Hunter.io | Find and verify professional emails and pull company insights | Hunter MCP setup |
| FullEnrich | Waterfall enrichment across 20+ providers for emails and mobile numbers | FullEnrich MCP |
| Enrow | Find and verify emails and mobile numbers from just a name | Enrow MCP, via Pipedream |
| Crustdata | Live company and people data for building target lists | Crustdata MCP, via Composio |
Cold email and sequencing
| Tool | What it unlocks in Claude | MCP link |
|---|---|---|
| lemlist | Build multichannel sequences, import and enrich leads, and read campaign stats | app.lemlist.com/mcp, OAuth |
| Emelia | Run multichannel cold email and LinkedIn campaigns, warm up inboxes, and find emails | Emelia MCP |
| Smartlead | Manage campaigns, check deliverability, and read reply and lead data | Smartlead MCP setup |
| Instantly | Create and manage sending campaigns and core outreach operations | mcp.instantly.ai/mcp |
| Salesforge | Build full sequences and run mailbox health checks conversationally | mcp.salesforge.ai/mcp |
Email infrastructure and deliverability
| Tool | What it unlocks in Claude | MCP link |
|---|---|---|
| Zapmail | Buy domains, bulk create mailboxes, and export them to your sending tool | Zapmail MCP, npx |
LinkedIn outreach
| Tool | What it unlocks in Claude | MCP link |
|---|---|---|
| HeyReach | Run and coordinate multi account LinkedIn campaigns and read your unified inbox | HeyReach MCP |
Web scraping and live data
| Tool | What it unlocks in Claude | MCP link |
|---|---|---|
| Apify | Run thousands of ready made scrapers for search, maps, social, and e-commerce data | mcp.apify.com |
| Firecrawl | Turn any website into clean, structured data that Claude can read | mcp.firecrawl.dev |
Automation and the glue around your stack
| Tool | What it unlocks in Claude | MCP link |
|---|---|---|
| Notion | Read and write docs, databases, and project notes | mcp.notion.com/mcp |
| Slack | Search messages and post updates to channels | Claude directory |
| Gmail and Calendar | Read, draft, and schedule without leaving Claude | Claude directory |
| Airtable | Query bases, create records, and update fields | Airtable MCP, npx |
| Zapier | A bridge to thousands of apps that do not have their own server yet | mcp.zapier.com |
| n8n | Connect your own automation workflows as tools Claude can call | n8n MCP setup |
| Stripe | Pull payments and customer data for revenue questions | mcp.stripe.com |
A quick note on honesty. Some of these servers are read only, and some are community built or run through an aggregator rather than hosted by the vendor, so quality and coverage vary. Popular tools without a native server yet, such as Pipedrive, ZoomInfo, and Clay, can still be reached through Zapier or Composio. Always check a server's permissions and who maintains it before you connect, and be careful with anything that can write or delete data.
How to actually use this: a starter stack
You do not need all of them. A simple, powerful setup for outbound is three connectors working together: one data source to find and enrich leads, such as Apollo or Crustdata, one CRM to check who you already know, such as HubSpot or Salesforce, and one outreach tool to draft and queue messages, such as Smartlead or lemlist.
With those three switched on, you can ask Claude to find ten companies that look like your best customers, enrich the decision makers, skip anyone already in your CRM, and draft a first message for each. That used to be a morning of tab switching. Now it is a single sentence.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
The connector will not connect. The server is probably behind a firewall or a VPN. Remote MCP connects from Anthropic's cloud, so the server has to be reachable on the public internet.
Claude is not using the tool. Connecting is not the same as enabling. Switch the connector on for the specific conversation using the plus menu near the message box.
It asks for an OAuth Client ID and Secret. Some servers need these. Find them in the tool's MCP or developer settings and paste them under Advanced settings when you add the connector.
You are worried about safety, and you should be. Only connect servers built by companies you trust, review the permissions during sign in, and be careful with any tool that can write or delete data. Claude has built in protections against hidden instructions, but trust is still your first line of defense.
Build and publish lead magnets from inside Claude: the Magnetly MCP
We did not just write about MCP, we built one. The Magnetly MCP lets you create, customize, and publish interactive lead magnets, quizzes, calculators, and AI generators, straight from a Claude conversation. You describe the tool you want, Claude builds it through the MCP using your brand, and you publish it to your site without ever opening a separate builder.
It closes the loop on everything above. You use your data and CRM connectors to understand who you are selling to, then you use the Magnetly MCP to spin up the exact interactive tool that will capture them, all in the same chat.
Connecting it works exactly like every other tool in this guide. Open Settings, then Connectors, and add Magnetly the same way you added the rest.
If you want to see what a finished lead magnet looks like before you wire anything up, run our free lead magnet idea generator, or read how to create an AI lead magnet.
Conclusion
The hard part of MCP was never the idea, it was the setup and the hunt for the right server. Now you have both: a three step method that works for every tool, and a directory of the ones that actually matter for sales and marketing, each with a link to connect. Bookmark this page, connect one server this week, point Claude at your pipeline, and let it handle the busywork while you close.
Build your first lead magnet free
Frequently asked questions
What is an MCP in Claude?
MCP, or Model Context Protocol, is an open standard from Anthropic that lets Claude connect to outside tools and data. In Claude's interface, an MCP server powers what you see as a connector, which you switch on to give Claude new abilities like reading your CRM or sending an email.
How do I connect an MCP to Claude?
Open Settings, then Connectors. Either click Connect on a tool already in the directory, or click the plus, choose Add custom connector, and paste the server URL. Then sign in to authenticate, and toggle the connector on inside your chat using the plus menu.
Do I need a paid plan to use MCP connectors?
No. Custom connectors work on the Free plan, which is limited to one custom connector. Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans let you add several at once.
Are MCP connectors safe?
They are safe when you connect tools you trust. You authenticate through a secure sign in, you can limit and revoke permissions, and Claude has protections against malicious instructions. Be especially careful with connectors that can write or delete data.
What is the difference between a connector and an MCP server?
The MCP server is the technical piece that exposes a tool's data and actions. The connector is the user friendly version of that server inside Claude. You connect to a server, and you see it as a connector.
What is the best MCP for sales and prospecting?
It depends on your stack, but a strong starting trio is a data source like Apollo, a CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce, and an outreach tool like lemlist or Smartlead. Connect those three and Claude can find, enrich, and message prospects from one chat.
Does Magnetly have an MCP?
Yes. The Magnetly MCP lets you build and publish interactive lead magnets, quizzes, calculators, and AI generators directly from a Claude conversation, using your own branding, with no separate builder to learn.
