How Gong Launched Outbound After Dominating Inbound

Gong was thriving on inbound. But to go upmarket, they had to build outbound from the ground up. Here’s how they launched it, and what they learned.

Read time: 5 min

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So Gong started in 2015. They help sales teams by using AI to analyze calls and meetings.

In 2018, Gong was on fire.

• 90% of pipeline came from inbound

• AEs were hitting 200–300% of quota

Despite this success, Justin Geller, VP of Sales, saw the ceiling coming fast.

inbound alone couldn't sustain the company's ambitious growth plans, and couldn't feed AE headcount growth.

Translation: growth was too dependent on demand they couldn’t scale.

They needed outbound.

Pre-Outbound Team State:

• 20 GTM employees (U.S.)

• AEs: Order-takers closing inbound leads

• SDRs: Lead routers, not hunters

• Culture: Complacency from inbound glut

This highlights an important principle: outbound isn't just for struggling companies. Even high-performing organizations with strong inbound can benefit from developing outbound to accelerate growth.

The Impact of Outbound

• Pipeline: Outbound contributed to 45% of the pipeline within 18 months

• Product Development: Launched three new product lines informed by outbound insights

• Leadership: 80% of current sales leaders originated from the initial outbound team

• 2025: 4,000+ customers, including Snowflake and LinkedIn, with $300m+ ARR

How did Gong launch outbound, and what lessons can you apply immediately?

Now, let's focus on what specific actions did Gong take to scale efficiently, and build outbound from scratch?

In the paid edition, I break down exactly:

• Gong Outbound Framework

• The ICP frameworks each company used.

• Team structures, specialized roles, and hiring strategies.

• The tech stacks they used

• Clear “What Worked vs What Didn’t,” with actionable takeaways.

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