Migrating from Gong to lemlist: A Step-by-Step Plan

Why sales teams move from Gong to a dedicated outbound platform

Gong is a conversation intelligence tool built to record, transcribe, and analyze sales calls. It’s very good at that job. The issue surfaces when teams try to use Gong Engage (the add-on sales engagement module) as their primary outbound engine, because it wasn’t designed to be one.

Gong Engage is the sales engagement module designed for managing outbound sequences and prospecting activity, and it includes AI-assisted email composition, task management, and basic sequence automation. However, independent reviews note limitations: the platform lacks API access for parallel dialers, does not integrate with all third-party outreach tools, and is not suited for high-volume, LinkedIn-centric prospecting.

That means teams running multichannel outbound often end up stacking extra tools on top of Gong to cover gaps: a separate LinkedIn automation tool, a standalone lead database, a deliverability monitor, and sometimes a second dialer. Each tool adds cost, requires its own login, and creates data silos.

The tipping point usually comes at contract renewal. Gong pricing is not published, but reported figures are consistent: expect roughly $1,300 to $1,600 per user per year for a Foundations license, plus a platform fee reported between $5,000 and $50,000 a year. On top of the base, several capabilities are add-ons. Gong Engage is reported around $800 per user per year. Once you factor in the tool stack required to fill Gong’s outbound gaps, the total cost of running outbound through Gong becomes hard to justify.

What Gong does well and where lemlist fills the gaps

A fair comparison matters here. Gong and lemlist are different tools built for different problems, and understanding the overlap (and the gaps) will help you decide what to keep and what to replace.

Gong’s strength is post-call: understanding what happened in a conversation and coaching reps to improve. lemlist’s strength is pre-call and mid-funnel: finding the right people, reaching them across channels, and making sure your emails actually land in inboxes.

If your team still needs conversation intelligence (and many do), you can run Gong alongside lemlist. They solve different problems. But if you’re paying for Gong Engage primarily to send outbound sequences, that’s the piece lemlist replaces and expands.

5 real risks of migrating from Gong to lemlist (and how to prevent each)

Switching outbound tools mid-motion is risky if you don’t plan for it. Here are the five failure points we see most often, and how to avoid each.

1. Losing call recordings and coaching history

Gong stores all call data on its servers. Gong is designed to keep your data inside Gong. Bulk transcript export requires either admin access or API credentials. The CSV export does NOT include conversation text. If someone tells you to “just download from Gong,” they’re giving you metadata, not transcripts.

Tip: Request a GDPR/compliance data export or use the Gong API before your contract ends. Most conversation intelligence vendors give you a defined export window after cancellation. Don’t cancel first.

2. Breaking in-flight sequences and dropping prospects

Active Gong Engage sequences stop when the account is deactivated. Any prospect mid-sequence will simply stop receiving follow-ups, and you won’t get a warning. Tag and export all in-progress contacts with their current step number before pausing anything.

3. Damaging email sender reputation during cutover

Switching platforms without warming up new sending infrastructure can spike bounce rates and trigger spam filters. This is the risk teams underestimate most. Set up sending domains and activate lemwarm inside lemlist at least two weeks before running any live outbound.

4. CRM sync gaps and missing engagement data

Gong logs activity (opens, replies, call notes) to your CRM. Before disconnecting, confirm that historical engagement data is preserved in CRM records. Then map the same fields to lemlist’s native Salesforce or HubSpot integration so you don’t lose continuity.

5. Rep adoption stalls and productivity dips

Every tool change slows reps down for a week or two. You can minimize this by importing existing email templates and sequence structures into lemlist so reps start with familiar copy, not a blank dashboard. lemAgent can also generate campaign drafts from a plain-language description of your ICP and goals.

What to audit and export from Gong before you start

Before opening lemlist, do a full inventory of what lives inside Gong. This prevents data loss and makes the import faster.

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  Contact and account lists: Export all contacts, accounts, and associated tags as CSV. Remove bounced or unsubscribed addresses before importing.

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  Sequence templates and email copy: Copy subject lines, follow-up timing, and any A/B test variants. These become campaign steps inside lemlist.

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  CRM integration settings: Document which CRM fields Gong writes to (deal stage, activity type, last touch date). You’ll replicate these mappings in lemlist.

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  Performance benchmarks: Screenshot or export open rates, reply rates, and meetings booked. These baselines tell you whether lemlist matches or improves performance after migration.

Export reporting snapshots as PDFs or CSVs before you cancel Gong. Keep them in a shared drive as a compliance archive.

Step-by-step migration plan from Gong to lemlist

This is the sequence a RevOps lead or sales manager can follow in a single sprint.

1. Pause active Gong Engage sequences and tag in-flight contacts

Stop all running sequences. Tag every contact mid-sequence with their current step number so you can resume outreach at the right point inside lemlist.

2. Export contacts and sequence data as CSV

Download contact lists, sequence enrollments, and template copy from Gong. Include all custom fields and engagement history available in the export.

3. Clean and deduplicate your lead lists

Remove invalid emails, duplicates, and opted-out contacts. This protects deliverability from day one.

4. Connect lemlist to your CRM

Set up the native CRM integration first so all future activity syncs automatically. Map lead status, owner, and last activity date before importing contacts.

5. Import leads into lemlist

Upload cleaned CSVs or pull contacts directly from your CRM. Use lemlist’s waterfall enrichment to fill in missing emails or phone numbers across 14+ data providers.

6. Rebuild sequences as multichannel campaigns

Recreate your top-performing sequences as lemlist campaigns. This is also the moment to add LinkedIn steps, call steps, or SMS touchpoints that Gong Engage couldn’t support.

7. Set up sending domains, authentication, and lemwarm

Purchase or connect dedicated sending domains inside lemlist (DNS authentication is handled automatically). Activate lemwarm on every mailbox and let it run before sending outbound at volume.

8. Run a test campaign with a small batch before full rollout

Send to a controlled group first. Check inbox placement, bounce rates, and reply quality. Fix any issues before scaling to your full list.

How to protect deliverability when switching outbound platforms

A platform switch is one of the highest-risk moments for sender reputation. Inbox providers track sending patterns per domain and IP. A sudden shift in volume or infrastructure, even if the content is identical, can trigger spam filtering.

Four things to get right:

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  Warm up every mailbox first. Activate lemwarm on each sending account. It exchanges real emails with real inboxes to build sender reputation gradually.

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  Rotate sending across multiple inboxes. lemlist’s Deliverability Hub distributes volume automatically so no single mailbox gets overloaded.

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  Match sending patterns to prior volume. If you were sending 50 emails per day from Gong, don’t jump to 500 on day one in lemlist. Ramp gradually.

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  Run inbox placement tests before scaling. lemlist’s testing feature confirms whether emails land in primary, promotions, or spam across Google, Microsoft, and other providers.

Running Gong and lemlist in parallel during the transition

A hard cutover, where you cancel Gong on Friday and launch lemlist on Monday, invites problems. A parallel period of one to two weeks is safer.

During this window, reps finish existing Gong Engage sequences while new campaigns launch in lemlist. No prospect goes without follow-up, and your team gets comfortable with the new interface while still having Gong as a fallback.

If your team is keeping Gong for call recording and coaching (a common setup), the parallel period transitions naturally into a long-term coexistence. Call context from Gong or Claap recordings can be pulled into lemlist via AI Agentic Enrichment, turning conversation insights into personalization variables for outbound.

What to set up first inside lemlist after migration

Once your data is imported and deliverability is warming, these four priorities get you back to full outbound velocity in week one.

Multichannel campaign sequences

Build your first campaign using at least two channels (email plus LinkedIn, for example). Add conditional logic so the sequence adapts based on whether a prospect opens, clicks, or replies.

Lead enrichment with verified contact data

Run waterfall enrichment on imported contacts. lemlist queries 14+ data providers and charges only for verified results, typically finding emails for about 80% of leads and phone numbers for about 77%.

Intent signal agents

Set up signals to track events like job changes, funding rounds, or website visits. When a signal fires, lemlist adds the lead to a campaign with messaging personalized to that specific event, so your timing matches the buyer’s moment.

Unified inbox

Activate the unified inbox so all replies (email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp) appear in one view. This replaces the fragmented reply tracking that teams often struggle with during a tool switch.

How lemlist replaces Gong Engage and adds multichannel outbound

lemlist covers everything Gong Engage does for email sequencing, then goes further. You get LinkedIn automation, native calling, SMS, WhatsApp, a 600M+ lead database, AI enrichment agents, and a full deliverability infrastructure, all in one platform instead of four or five.

lemlist pricing runs from $55 per user per month on the annual Email Pro plan to $87 per user per month on annual Multichannel Expert, with no mandatory platform fee or required onboarding charges. Compare that to Gong Engage at around $800 per user per year, on top of a Foundations license. Bundling Foundations with the common add-ons pushes the reported all-in figure to roughly $2,400 to $3,000 per user per year.

The math is straightforward. You consolidate tools, reduce total spend, and gain channels Gong never offered.

Over to you

Migrating from Gong to lemlist takes about a month when you follow the sequence above: audit, export, clean, connect, warm up, test, then scale. The biggest risk is rushing the deliverability warm-up, so give that step the time it needs.