How to use Gong to drive more renewals and upsells

Your customers are your biggest growth lever.

Software companies with best-in-class net revenue retention (NRR) rates report shorter payback periods. According to McKinsey, these leaders also achieve higher growth efficiency and market valuations.

Unfortunately, many companies struggle to retain customers. Their post-sales teams lack reliable indicators of churn.

That’s why revenue teams are turning to AI-backed operating systems, like the Gong Revenue AI OS. Gong enables post-sales teams to identify early warning signs, align around a shared view of the account, and turn conversational insights into timely and relevant next steps.

Here are six ways to build a repeatable renewal and expansion strategy using Gong.

Many CS teams manage renewals based on the contract date, but customer decisions are made long before then. Warning signals often surface 3-6 months earlier than traditional metrics.

Again, most teams lack the ability to gather and act on these early warning signs.

Account Boards change that. They automatically aggregate all account data so you can focus on building a proactive risk mitigation plan. Instead of hoping for the best, you can use Account Boards to identify and address leading indicators of churn:

With greater insight into what’s really happening inside your customer accounts, you can intervene. Your team can engage the necessary stakeholders and address gaps before customers leave.

If your renewal management workflow involves digging through disconnected systems and piecing together CRM notes, email threads, and call recordings, you’re not alone. A full 40% of organizations track their renewals manually.

But this process is time-consuming, reactive, and leads to missed opportunities.

First, identify accounts that require attention using Account Boards. Then use the Account Console to dig a layer deeper and determine the best next step. Account Console organizes all customer calls, emails, account details, and AI-generated summaries in a single, unified workspace. That means you can turn insights into action.

With Account Console, it’s easy to:

• Access AI Briefer summaries of each account’s health, risks, and recommended next steps
• Revisit key discussions and commitments from sales and onboarding conversations
• Align with cross-functional partners on your renewal strategy
• Show up to customer conversations prepared

Consistency fuels predictability.

To drive renewals at scale, CS teams need to understand what’s working and what isn’t. A clearly defined operating rhythm helps teams build a repeatable retention playbook.

As a CS leader, you can use Account Boards to conduct comprehensive account reviews and:

• Segment accounts by risk level, ARR tier, and renewal timing
• Create standardized views for upcoming renewals
• Gain visibility into engagement signals and recent interactions
• Identify patterns across churned or at-risk accounts

Moving from ad hoc account management to a strategic approach ensures that no customer slips through the cracks.

Want help building a more proactive, signal-driven renewal motion? Download our latest playbook to get the 5-step framework.

A customer may casually mention a new initiative, headcount change, or growth plan during a conversation.

These insights are rarely captured automatically at scale, but customer conversations are a goldmine of information. They provide intel that won’t show up in your CRM.

Thankfully, Gong captures and analyzes all your customer interactions and uses that data to surface insights in Account Console. With in-depth intel, teams can:

• Identify discussions about new business initiatives or team growth
• Surface feature requests that align with additional SKUs or premium tiers
• Detect positive sentiment and adoption milestones that signal expansion readiness
• Spot executive-level conversations that indicate strategic alignment

When you surface the right signals, you can act while momentum is high. That means sharing time-sensitive, relevant solutions to your customers’ challenges.

When insights live across spreadsheets, your CRM, and point solutions, it’s nearly impossible to identify which accounts are healthy and expansion-ready. That means you miss potential growth opportunities.

Now, with Account Boards, you can review your entire book of business to pinpoint expansion opportunities. For example, you can:

• Identify highly engaged accounts with low ARR
• Filter for accounts not using a specific product or service
• Segment all accounts by recent engagement trends

Armed with more information, you can prioritize the accounts with the highest likelihood to expand. Plus, you can do it faster. Account Boards help you work smarter, not harder.

Sales and CS teams often use different processes, systems, and information. But without a single source of truth, the customer experience suffers. CSMs end up asking questions customers have already answered, and agreed-upon milestones are forgotten.

Account Console unifies all customer information in one place, keeping everyone on the same page. You can access sales commitments from the original deal, post-sale engagement history, and AI-generated summaries of current risks and opportunities. This gives you the complete context on that account. Equipped with comprehensive account information, you can make and execute more informed decisions.

No more misunderstandings between groups or wondering what a customer is hoping to achieve. When you work as one cohesive revenue team, growth happens.

Don’t wait for customers to tell you they’re leaving.

To improve renewals, you need to spot potential risk months in advance. Get aligned with cross-functional partners, and you’ll pinpoint more growth opportunities.

Gong’s account management workspace provides a unified view of your account health. Use it to identify early warning signs, ensure that every team is working in lockstep, and monitor expansion opportunities.

A more cohesive, coordinated renewal management strategy means happier customers and increased revenue.

Want to learn more?

• Spot risk early: Use AI to identify churn signals 3–6 months before a contract ends.
• Centralize data: Unify calls, emails, and CRM notes into a single account view.
• Surface expansion: Use revenue AI to detect growth signals like headcount changes or new initiatives.

Watch the on-demand webinar to see Account Boards and Account Console in action.

Sources:
McKinsey & Company: SaaS Retention Benchmarks 2025
Gong Labs: Early Warning Signals in the Customer Lifecycle
BetterCloud: 2025 State of SaaSOps Report