Troubleshooting & FAQ

Leads and processing

A lead has been stuck in Incoming for a long time

Leads in the Incoming area show live progress while Pioneer researches them. If one stalls or fails, a warning icon appears next to it. Hover to see what went wrong, and click Retry to run it again. Retrying is safe: it re-runs the research without creating a duplicate.

I tried to add leads and got "A lead search is already running for this pipeline"

Working as intended: a pipeline runs one lead-adding job at a time, a search or an import, never both at once. This keeps each batch clean so you can review it before the next one starts. Wait for the running job to finish (you'll see it complete in the Incoming area), then start yours from more leads. If a job stalls, the block clears itself after a short while. Other pipelines aren't affected; the rule is per pipeline.

My import says "Reading your list…": is it stuck?

No, that's the parse stage. Pioneer is reading what you pasted and working out who each line refers to. Within a few seconds each lead from your list should appear as a muted row marked queued, and rows then fill in with live progress as research runs. If the queued rows never appear, check that your list has one lead per line and start the import again. See Import Your Own Leads.

A lead's email, photo, or other detail is wrong

Don't just ignore it, flag it. Hover over the wrong value, click the small trash icon that appears, and confirm Redo?. Pioneer clears the value, researches a replacement for that specific field, and permanently remembers the rejected value so re-research can never bring it back. This works on person details (photo, email, phone, LinkedIn, X, personal website, bio, news) and on any property value. Full details: Correct Pioneer's Research.

No new leads are appearing

A few things to check, in order:

1. Is a search running? The Leads column header shows an indicator while Pioneer is finding leads. If nothing is running, click more leads in the Leads column header and start a search.
2. Are your criteria too strict? If Pioneer searches but little arrives, your MUST criteria may be filtering almost everything out. See Refine Your Pipeline.
3. Have you hit your plan's lead limit? When you're out of credits, lead generation pauses until you top up or your monthly credits renew. See Credits & Billing. Everything already on your board stays fully accessible.

Discovery is taking a while

That's often a good sign. Pioneer explores iteratively (following sources, checking evidence, qualifying as it goes) rather than dumping a database query. Initial leads usually arrive quickly; thorough coverage of a space takes longer. Check back after a few hours for the full picture. How the search actually works: How Pioneer Finds Leads.

I imported the same company twice and got two leads

Pioneer deduplicates by resolved URL. If the same company enters via two different URLs (say, its homepage and its LinkedIn page), it can appear twice. Reject the copy you don't want; rejecting never deletes data.

Pioneer matched the wrong company

This usually happens when a name or URL is ambiguous: two companies with the same name, or a link to an aggregator page rather than the company itself. When importing, prefer the lead's own website or LinkedIn page over directory links. If a discovered lead is simply wrong, reject it; that feedback helps you tighten criteria too.

Results and relevance

A lead I like isn't relevant

The relevance rule is mechanical: a lead is relevant only when every MUST criterion is met. Open the lead and check its criteria breakdown. You'll see exactly which MUST failed and the evidence Pioneer found. If you disagree with the rule rather than the lead, edit the criterion: it's stricter than what you actually believe. See Refine Your Pipeline.

Lots of criteria come back "Inconclusive"

Inconclusive means Pioneer couldn't find enough public evidence either way. If one criterion is inconclusive across many leads, it probably isn't answerable from public information (exact revenue, internal tooling, private plans). Rewrite it around signals the web can verify: funding announcements, job postings, published case studies, press.

The results don't match what I asked for

Pioneer follows your written description and criteria, not intent it can't see. The fix is almost always to make the words match the intent: steer ("exclude agencies", "earlier stage only") or tighten criteria. Two refinement passes usually close the gap. See Refine Your Pipeline.

Data and enrichment

A property is empty on most leads

Properties are filled from publicly available information. If a property comes back empty across the board, the data likely isn't public (internal metrics, unpublished emails) or the property is described too vaguely for Pioneer to know what to extract. Make the description specific: "Head of Sales LinkedIn URL" beats "contact info". And when a property is missing on just one lead you care about, hover the empty value and click the search icon (Search?) to run a targeted pass on that field alone.

Pioneer didn't find a person's email

Contact details are found, never guessed. If the card shows no email, Pioneer looked and couldn't find one it could stand behind. You'll see the difference between "not found" and "not checked" on the card. Re-running enrichment picks up where it left off and keeps searching without overwriting anything already found.

For a single missing field there's a faster, targeted option: hover over the empty field on the person's contact card, click the small search icon that appears, and confirm Search?. Pioneer runs a research pass that chases just that field. Nothing else on the lead is touched, and it doesn't cost anything. See Correct Pioneer's Research.

What do the email verification badges mean?

• ✓ verified deliverable
• ? uncertain (the domain accepts all mail, so it can't be confirmed)
• ✗ likely to bounce

Generic inboxes (info@, sales@) are never presented as a person's email.

Board and workflow

I can't find the import button

Importing lives in the Leads column: click more leads in the column header, then Upload your own list. See Import Your Own Leads.

A whole column seems to be missing

Columns can be collapsed to save space. Look for a collapsed strip at the edge of the board and click to expand it.

I rejected a lead by mistake

Nothing is deleted. Open the Rejected column and move the lead back. Approvals, rejections, and stage moves are all reversible.

Can I rename columns or add my own?

Yes. Add custom stages between Relevant and Done to match your workflow ("Contacted", "Meeting Scheduled"), and rename Done to whatever fits ("Won", "Closed"). The full board tour: Your Pipeline & Board.

Sharing

My guest says the pipeline link is no longer available

Two usual causes. Either that share was revoked (open the Share dialog on the pipeline to see who still has access), or your guest is opening an old link from an earlier share. Revoked links never come back to life; create a fresh share and send the new link (email invites go straight to their inbox, named links land on your clipboard). See Sharing a Pipeline.

Can my guest change anything or use my credits?

No. The shared view is read-only: no editing, no moving leads, no lead generation, and nothing your guest does can spend your credits. If they need the data itself rather than the view, export the board and send them the file.

Can I share a pipeline without sending an email?

Yes. In the Share dialog, type a name for the link instead of an email address ("Alex", "Board deck") and click Create link. Pioneer copies a personal link to your clipboard and you deliver it however you like: text, DM, or a slide. It behaves exactly like an emailed share, read-only and revocable on its own. Details: Sharing a Pipeline.

Account

I just signed up and there's already a pipeline in my account

That's intentional. The Pioneer team sometimes builds a pipeline for a company before anyone there signs up, with real leads, researched and qualified. When you create your account with your work email, it's automatically handed to your workspace. It's fully yours to edit, refine, or archive. See Your first pipeline might already exist.

What happens when I run out of credits?

Lead generation pauses; nothing is lost. Your pipelines, board, and existing leads stay fully accessible, and enrichment on existing leads keeps working. See Credits & Billing.

Something else is wrong

Email support@pioneerclimate.com, and include the pipeline name and, if it's about a specific lead, the lead's name. A human reads every message.