Understanding lead stages

A stage is the single label that says where a person stands in your process. Used well, stages turn a flat list into a pipeline you can read at a glance — and they shape how RelkoAI understands your business.

Why stages matter

They make your pipeline legible, they feed your reports, and they keep your daily list clean. But they're only useful if they're honest — setting a lead more advanced than it deserves just hides where your real work is.

The lead stages

New — added, not yet worked. Contacted — reached, not yet qualified. Qualified — a confirmed real opportunity. Appointment Set — a concrete next step booked. Active Client — committed and in motion. Under Contract — an accepted offer working toward closing (still active). Closed — the relationship has concluded.

How stages interact with follow-ups

When a lead moves into a closed stage, RelkoAI automatically clears its next follow-up so it stops appearing in your daily list. That's intentional — but it means you should only move a lead to Closed when the active relationship is truly finished. To pause a lead instead, keep its active stage and push the follow-up date out.

Moving a lead forward

Update the stage as the relationship changes. The one rule that makes stages valuable is honesty: set each lead where it really is, and your pipeline becomes a tool for decisions instead of a feel-good chart. If a deal closed happily, consider moving the person into your contacts as a past client.