042 Udi Ledergor (Gong) on Igniting Demand and Evangelism

Chief Evangelist with Ethan Beute

This episode features Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist at Gong. Udi’s been along throughout Gong’s success journey, primarily as CMO. Learn why the shift to evangelism made sense for him, the company, and their community.

Get insights into how Udi created the job description, how he sources 20-25 speaking engagements each quarter, how he lines up appointments with people in customer and target accounts, what his quarterly KPIs include (like influenced and impacted revenue), and more!

Four top takeaways:

• The most important role of a Chief Evangelist is to ignite market demand and create other evangelists in order to drive a self-sustaining movement.
• B2B marketing, influenced by B2C practices, has adopted a more human, approachable, and communicative style, exemplified by Gong's vibrant, unbuttoned branding. The rise of evangelism is consistent with this more human approach.
• After years of growth, a VP or C-suite role can become slower and more operational. If this doesn’t play to your strengths, shifting to an evangelist role brings you back to the work of solving problems, acting quickly, and - in Udi’s case - doing hands-on marketing.
• When hiring an evangelist, consider their domain expertise, connections, and credibility. Ensure genuine alignment with your company's values. Strong communication skills, especially in public speaking, are obviously helpful, too. Look for someone who can tell a bigger story—whether your company is creating or disrupting a category. Evangelism isn't for every company, but for those with transformative ideas, it can be a powerful strategy.

Quote of the Show:

• “I do see evangelism as an extension of marketing. More and more companies are starting to realize the importance and impact evangelism can make. And I see more companies talking to me about hiring this function for themselves.”

Links Related to This Episode:

• Udi Ledergor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor
• Gong (Website): https://www.gong.io
• Gong (Blog): https://www.gong.io/blog
• Gong & Forrester Article: https://www.gong.io/press/gong-named-a-leader-in-revenue-operations-and-intelligence-forrester

See or Hear More Conversations on Chief Evangelist with Ethan Beute:

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/OJ1egx1k0fQ
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5tEPLXnkNSYAsjpwD3O69t
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chief-evangelist-with-ethan-beute/id1652687400
• Chief Evangelist: https://www.chiefevangelist.com
  
  

Chief Evangelist is produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/