> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sales-docs.keinsaas.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Stages and outcomes

> Understand derived pipeline stages, set human outcomes, and stop or restart outreach safely.

Every prospect in the Sales Agent carries two pieces of status information that serve different purposes:

* A **stage** describes what has happened so far. The Sales Agent derives it automatically from recorded activity — you cannot set it manually.
* An **outcome** records a human decision or a sales result. Setting any outcome stops all automated outreach for that prospect immediately.

Understanding the distinction helps you know when to intervene and what each status actually means.

## Stages are automatic

Stages update as the pipeline acts on a prospect or as the prospect responds. You cannot select **Invited**, **Connected**, **Messaged**, or **Replied** from a dropdown — they appear when the corresponding event is recorded.

For example:

* Sending a connection request produces **Invite Sent**
* Detecting an accepted connection produces **Connected**
* Sending an initial email or LinkedIn message produces **Messaged**
* Detecting a reply on either channel produces **Replied**

The Sales Agent derives every stage from the underlying facts. That makes stages a reliable audit trail of what actually happened, independent of human judgment.

See the [pipeline stage reference](/reference/pipeline-stages) for a complete list of every stage and the conditions that trigger it.

## Outcomes are manual controls

Open a prospect's profile and use the outcome selector to record a human decision. Every outcome immediately stops automated outreach for that prospect.

| Outcome            | When to use it                                                                 |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Meeting**        | A meeting is booked or the conversation has entered your direct sales process. |
| **Offer Sent**     | You have sent a commercial proposal to the prospect.                           |
| **Closed Deal**    | The opportunity was won and the deal is complete.                              |
| **Not Interested** | The prospect declined and should receive no further automated outreach.        |
| **Lost Deal**      | A progressed opportunity was lost after a proposal or active discussion.       |
| **Unreachable**    | All available automated channels are exhausted or invalid for this contact.    |

All six options display "stops outreach" because they all remove the prospect from automated steps. The distinction between them is for your reporting and pipeline visibility — not for changing automation behaviour.

## Use In play carefully

**In play** is the default state: no outcome is set, and automation can still claim the prospect for eligible steps. Returning a stopped prospect to **In play** can make it eligible for automated work again based on its existing history.

<Warning>
  Changing an outcome back to **In play** does not erase sent messages, follow-up counts, replies, or connection history. The next eligible action is determined by those existing facts — a prospect who has already received three follow-ups will not restart from scratch.
</Warning>

Before returning a prospect to **In play**, review their activity timeline to understand exactly which automated step would run next.

## Archive versus outcome

Archiving a prospect hides them from the active view and stops automation — but it does not change the outcome field and does not delete any history.

* **Unarchiving** restores the previous state. If the prospect still has an outcome set, they remain stopped after unarchiving.
* **Outcome** records *why* the sales process ended or moved to a human conversation.
* **Archive** removes a record from the active view without rewriting or deleting its history.

Use an outcome when the sales result is known. Use archive to declutter the active view for records that no longer need attention, such as contacts who left a company or were added in error.