## Choose the Correct Sales Outcome

When a Sales Job or Inquiry is no longer expected to move forward, record the outcome in Pams instead of leaving it in an active stage. This keeps current work lists focused on genuine Sales Jobs and preserves the history needed to understand why business did not proceed.

Use the outcome that best describes what happened:

| Outcome | Use it when | Record with it |
|---|---|---|
| **Lost** | The sales Sales Job did not proceed and should be counted as a lost-sales outcome. | **Lost Reason** and, where needed, **Lost Comment** |
| **Regretted** | The sale cannot be fulfilled or accepted, but the outcome needs to remain available for review. | **Regret Reason**, **Regret Comment**, and **Regret Date** where shown |
| **Cancelled** | An existing sales outcome is withdrawn before it is completed. | **Cancellation Reason** and **Cancellation Date** where shown |

For example, use **Lost** when the customer selects another supplier or decides not to proceed. Use **Regretted** when your team cannot continue with the offer or order. Use **Cancelled** when the existing record is withdrawn before completion.

Do not use these outcomes as interchangeable labels. The outcome identifies what happened to the record, while the related reason identifies why it happened. A record marked **Cancelled** with a detailed **Cancellation Reason** gives a much clearer result than a record that only says “Cancelled.”

Before changing an outcome, review the record’s **Client**, **Inquiry Number**, **Sales Job Number**, **Project**, and current **Stage**. This is especially important when a client has several similar inquiries or offers open at the same time.

To locate and review Sales Jobs from lists before recording an outcome, use [Managing Inquiry Lists](doc:managing-inquiry-lists).

[SCREENSHOT: A Sales Job record showing the Client, Sales Job Number, Stage, and Lost, Regretted, or Cancelled outcome controls.]

## Mark a Sales Record as Lost, Regretted, or Cancelled

Use the outcome controls on the relevant Sales Job or Inquiry only after confirming that the record will not continue through the sales cycle. Recording the outcome removes uncertainty for the sales team and makes the record available for later review.

1. Open the Sales Job or Inquiry that is no longer expected to proceed. Check the **Client**, **Sales Job Number**, **Inquiry Number**, and **Project Name** before making a change.

2. Review the current **Stage** and any related offer or order information visible on the record. If the record is still active, confirm with the responsible salesperson that it should be recorded as **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled**.

3. Select the outcome that matches the business result. Pams may show outcome actions such as **Lost job**, **Regretted To Offer**, or a cancelled inquiry outcome such as **Inquiry Cancelled By Client**. Use the wording shown on the record.

4. Complete the related outcome details, including the appropriate reason field. For a lost record, use **Lost Reason**. For a regretted record, use **Regret Reason**. For a cancelled record, use **Cancellation Reason**.

5. Click **Save** or **Save and Close** after checking the selected outcome and reason.

6. If Pams shows an approval status such as **Awaiting Loss Approval** or **Awaiting Regret Approval**, wait for the record to be reviewed. Where approval actions are available, the reviewer can use **Aprove Lost**, **Disapprove Lost**, **Approve Regretted**, or **Disapprove Regretted**.

7. Reopen or refresh the record and verify that it displays **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled** rather than an active sales stage.

[SCREENSHOT: The outcome action area on a Sales Job, with Lost Reason, Regret Reason, or Cancellation Reason visible.]

## Capture the Reason for the Outcome

The selected outcome tells Pams whether the Sales Job or Inquiry was **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled**. The reason fields explain the business cause. Enter the reason when you record the outcome so the record remains useful during later sales reviews.

1. After selecting the outcome, locate the matching reason field on the record:
   - Use **Lost Reason** for a record marked **Lost**.
   - Use **Regret Reason** for a record marked **Regretted**.
   - Use **Cancellation Reason** for a record marked **Cancelled**.

2. Select the most accurate available reason. For a lost sale, the reason should reflect the customer or commercial result. For a regretted sale, it should describe why the sale could not be fulfilled or accepted. For a cancellation, it should state the cause of the withdrawal.

3. Add supporting information in **Lost Comment** or **Regret Comment** when the selected reason alone does not explain the situation. Keep the comment focused on the decision or event that ended the record.

4. Where Pams displays **Regret Date** or **Cancellation Date**, check that the recorded date reflects when the outcome occurred. This helps distinguish a recent outcome from an older record reviewed later.

5. Click **Save** or **Save and Close**. Reopen the record and confirm that both the outcome and its reason are visible.

Avoid using the outcome name as the reason. For example, do not select or write “Cancelled” as the **Cancellation Reason** if the record already displays **Cancelled**. Record the underlying cause instead, such as a customer withdrawal or another specific business event.

A complete outcome record should let another salesperson understand the result by reading the outcome, the reason, and any comment without having to reconstruct the history from separate conversations.

[SCREENSHOT: A completed lost-sales outcome section showing Lost, Lost Reason, and Lost Comment.]

## Use Consistent Reasons for Meaningful Analysis

Consistent reason values make lost-sales records useful beyond the individual Sales Job. When your team records comparable outcomes in the same way, you can review patterns across clients, projects, offers, and principals without combining unrelated situations.

Keep the outcome and reason separate:

- **Lost**, **Regretted**, and **Cancelled** describe the result of the Sales Job or Inquiry.
- **Lost Reason**, **Regret Reason**, and **Cancellation Reason** explain the cause of that result.
- **Lost Comment** and **Regret Comment** provide the additional context that does not fit into the reason alone.

Use the same available reason for similar cases. If several clients decide not to continue, use the same **Lost Reason** for those records rather than entering slightly different versions of the same explanation in comments. This makes those records easier to compare during sales analysis.

Use comments for the details that distinguish one record from another. For example, the reason can identify the general cause, while **Lost Comment** can capture the relevant customer decision, commercial circumstance, or timing. Do not replace the reason with a long comment when a suitable reason is available.

Avoid broad or repeated wording that adds no information:

- Do not use **Cancelled** as the **Cancellation Reason**.
- Do not use **Lost** as the **Lost Reason**.
- Do not use a regret reason for a record that should be marked **Lost**.
- Do not change a record to **Cancelled** merely because it is no longer active; first confirm whether it was actually cancelled, lost, or regretted.

Preserve the reason that was accurate when the outcome was recorded. If circumstances later become clearer, update an incomplete or incorrect reason, but do not rewrite the record in a way that changes the original business result without confirming what occurred.

[SCREENSHOT: Several Sales Job records showing consistent Lost Reason values and different Lost Comment details.]

## Review Lost-Sales Reasons in Your Analysis

Reviewing **Lost**, **Regretted**, and **Cancelled** records helps you understand which Sales Jobs did not complete and why. The value of this review depends on the outcome and reason being recorded clearly on each Sales Job or Inquiry.

Start with the records that display a lost-sales outcome. Use the available Sales Jobs, Inquiry lists, or **Lost Items** view to identify records marked **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled**. Open the records that need further context and review the relevant fields rather than relying on the outcome alone.

When reviewing each record, compare:

- The selected outcome: **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled**
- The associated **Lost Reason**, **Regret Reason**, or **Cancellation Reason**
- The **Client**, **Principal**, **Project**, and **Salesperson Responsible**
- Any supporting **Lost Comment** or **Regret Comment**
- Relevant dates, including **Regret Date** or **Cancellation Date** where displayed

Look for recurring causes among similar records. A group of records with the same **Lost Reason** may indicate a repeated customer-side or commercial issue. A group marked **Regretted** may highlight cases where the sale could not be fulfilled or accepted. Cancelled records should be reviewed separately so they are not treated as ordinary lost Sales Jobs.

Pay particular attention to records with no reason, a vague reason, or a comment that conflicts with the recorded outcome. Correcting these records before relying on them for reports or team discussions gives sales managers a clearer view of actual sales results.

For wider sales performance review, including booking and targets, see [Reviewing Sales Performance](doc:reviewing-sales-performance).

[SCREENSHOT: A Lost Items or Sales Jobs list showing outcome, client, salesperson, and lost-sales reason information.]

## Correct Missing or Incorrect Outcome Reasons

Correct an outcome record when it does not accurately reflect what happened or when the reason is missing. Make changes carefully because the outcome affects how the Sales Job or Inquiry is understood in later reviews.

1. Open the affected Sales Job or Inquiry and confirm its **Client**, **Sales Job Number**, **Inquiry Number**, and current outcome. Read the existing **Lost Reason**, **Regret Reason**, **Cancellation Reason**, and any related comment before changing anything.

2. If the outcome is correct but the explanation is incomplete, keep the current outcome and update only the related reason or comment. For example, retain **Lost** and correct **Lost Reason** rather than changing the record to another outcome.

3. If the wrong outcome was selected, use the available action on the record to return it for correction. Pams may show actions such as **Consider as not lost**, **Consider As Not Cancelled**, **Restore**, or **Reactivate**, depending on the record’s current state.

4. After returning the record for correction, select the outcome that matches the actual result: **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled**. Enter the matching reason field and update any comment or date shown on the record.

5. Click **Save** or **Save and Close**. If the record enters **Awaiting Loss Approval**, **Awaiting Regret Approval**, or another review state, confirm that the outcome is approved before treating the correction as final.

6. Reopen the record and verify that the final outcome, reason, comment, and relevant date are all displayed correctly.

If several records use different wording for the same business cause, standardize the comparable reason values when you review them. Keep the original business facts in **Lost Comment** or **Regret Comment** so standardizing the reason does not remove useful context.

[SCREENSHOT: A Sales Job being returned from Lost status using Consider as not lost, then updated with a corrected Lost Reason.]

## Overview

Pams records sales outcomes so Sales Jobs and Inquiries that will not proceed remain visible without appearing as active work. The three outcome types covered here are **Lost**, **Regretted**, and **Cancelled**.

A **Lost** outcome records an Sales Job that did not proceed. A **Regretted** outcome records a sale that cannot be fulfilled or accepted while preserving it for review. A **Cancelled** outcome records a sales result that was withdrawn before completion. Each outcome has related fields that explain the reason for the result, including **Lost Reason**, **Regret Reason**, and **Cancellation Reason**.

Use the outcome fields together:

- Select the outcome that accurately describes what happened.
- Select the matching reason to explain why it happened.
- Add a **Lost Comment** or **Regret Comment** when additional business context is needed.
- Check dates such as **Regret Date** and **Cancellation Date** where they appear.
- Save the record and verify that it no longer displays an active sales state.

Outcome records may also pass through review states such as **Awaiting Loss Approval** or **Awaiting Regret Approval**. When these statuses appear, the outcome has been submitted for review and should be checked again after the approval decision.

This process supports more accurate review of Sales Jobs, client decisions, principal-related Sales Jobs, and sales performance. It also prevents unclear records from remaining in active lists after the Sales Job has ended.

The quality of the outcome analysis depends on selecting the correct result and capturing the underlying cause. A clear **Lost Reason**, **Regret Reason**, or **Cancellation Reason** helps distinguish customer-driven losses from cases where a sale could not be accepted or was withdrawn.

## Prerequisites

Before recording a Sales Job or Inquiry as **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled**, make sure you have enough information to identify the correct record and the actual business outcome.

- Open the relevant Sales Job or Inquiry from the lists you use to manage sales records. Confirm the **Client**, **Sales Job Number**, **Inquiry Number**, and **Project Name** so you do not update a similar record for the same client.

- Review the current **Stage** and the record’s active commercial information. Check whether an offer, order, or related sales activity is still being handled before selecting a final outcome.

- Confirm whether the Sales Job was truly **Lost**, **Regretted**, or **Cancelled**. Use **Lost** for an Sales Job that did not proceed, **Regretted** when the sale cannot be fulfilled or accepted, and **Cancelled** when the existing outcome was withdrawn before completion.

- Obtain the underlying reason from the responsible salesperson, client communication, or the record’s existing sales history. You need this information to complete **Lost Reason**, **Regret Reason**, or **Cancellation Reason** accurately.

- Check whether a useful explanation should be added in **Lost Comment** or **Regret Comment**. Use these fields for relevant context that the selected reason does not fully capture.

- Be ready to save the record with **Save** or **Save and Close**. If Pams displays **Awaiting Loss Approval** or **Awaiting Regret Approval**, allow for the outcome to be reviewed before relying on it in sales analysis.

For help identifying and opening the right records before making a change, refer to [Managing Inquiry Lists](doc:managing-inquiry-lists).