Log a call outcome
The dropdown tells you what saving will do before you commit. The label, the colour and the effect all come from one table, so they cannot drift apart.
Logging an outcome is not bookkeeping. It is the input that drives the whole calling system: the outcome decides whether the contact returns to your list tomorrow, whether their lead stage moves, and whether a task is created.
The design principle worth knowing is that the dropdown tells you what will happen before you commit. The label you read, the coloured line beneath it and what Save does all come from one table — so the interface cannot promise one thing and do another.
Steps
Write the note first, while the call is fresh
The note box sits above the outcome. Write what was said — what they want, what is blocking them, what you promised.
Open Log outcome and read what each one does
Eight outcomes, each stating its consequence. You are not guessing what "Reached — spoke" will do to the record.
Pick the outcome that describes the attempt
Not how you feel about the lead. The outcome describes one phone call; the lead stage describes the person over their lifetime. Conflating them is precisely why pipeline reports stop reconciling.
Set the time if you chose Callback requested
It creates a callback task at the time you set. This is the only outcome that asks for more, and setting a vague time defeats the purpose.
Save, or Save & next
Save & next logs the outcome, applies its effect and advances to the next contact — which is what makes a calling session flow rather than stutter.
Check the feed if you are unsure it took
Every attempt lands on the contact's activity feed as a call log entry with the outcome attached.
Check it worked
Log an outcome that moves a stage — "Reached — spoke" — and then look at the contact. The stage should have changed to Contacted and an audit entry should say so. That confirms the whole chain in ten seconds.
The parts people get wrong
- You cannot set queue state by hand. It is derived from stage and activity and is never offered for entry.
- Every campaign attempt lands on the same feed with the same outcomes, so campaign results and manual calling reconcile without any effort.
- An unlogged call is invisible to everyone, including tomorrow's version of you working the same list.