If your sales team is growing and you’re drowning in content, clunky onboarding, and scattered tools, you’re not alone. Most B2B teams struggle to keep reps sharp and deals moving as things scale. “Sales enablement” isn’t just a box to check—it’s the difference between a team that closes and one that chokes. This guide is for sales leaders, enablement managers, and anyone tired of cobbling together half a dozen apps to support their team.
Let’s get real about how Bigtincan works, where it doesn’t, and how to actually make it useful for a growing B2B team.
What Bigtincan Actually Does (and Doesn’t)
Bigtincan is a sales enablement platform. Ignore the buzzwords—it’s a hub for sales content, onboarding, training, and, if you want it, some lightweight automation and analytics. The idea is to give reps one place to find the right stuff, learn quickly, and spend less time hunting for info.
What it does well: - Gives reps a single spot for sales decks, playbooks, and product info. - Makes onboarding and training less painful. - Provides managers with basic analytics on what’s working. - Plays nicely with CRMs and common tools (most of the time).
What it doesn’t do: - Magically fix broken sales processes. - Replace your CRM or pipeline tools. - Make bad content good.
If your house is already on fire, Bigtincan won’t put it out—but it can help you stop pouring gasoline on it.
1. Centralize Content Without Making a Mess
The first thing most teams want is a place to put all their sales content where reps can actually find it. Bigtincan’s document management is solid, but it’s only as good as what you put in.
How to avoid the usual chaos: - Start with a clean-up. Don’t dump every dusty PDF you’ve got. Audit what’s actually used. - Organize by how reps think. Categories like “Pitch Decks,” “Case Studies,” “Pricing,” and “Competitor Battlecards” beat a 20-folder maze. - Set permissions early. You don’t want new reps sending internal docs to prospects. - Keep it updated. Assign someone to own content hygiene. If you don’t, it’ll rot.
Pro tip: Ignore the temptation to upload everything “just in case.” No one will find it, and search will get cluttered fast.
2. Onboard and Train New Hires Faster
Scaling teams hire fast. If your onboarding is “watch these videos and shadow someone,” you’re losing ground. Bigtincan’s training modules (they call it “Learning”) are decent for creating bite-sized, trackable lessons.
How to make it work: - Break training into short modules. No one wants an hour-long video. Five-minute chunks are your friend. - Tie content to real sales activities. Teach what actually matters in the field—objection handling, demo scripts, product updates. - Use tracking, but don’t obsess. See who’s done what, but don’t turn it into a surveillance state.
What’s just OK: The quiz tools are basic. If you want advanced coaching or video feedback, Bigtincan has some features, but they’re not best-in-class. Good enough for most, but not if you’re building a training academy.
3. Make Content Easy to Find (and Use)
Even the best deck is useless if reps can’t find it. Bigtincan’s search is fine, not magic. Tags and clean naming matter more than you think.
Tips that actually help: - Use clear, simple file names. “2024-Product-OnePager.pdf” beats “new_final_v2.pdf.” - Tag content for real scenarios. Think “Objections,” “Demo Prep,” or “Enterprise.” - Highlight what’s new or updated. Sales teams are busy—they won’t go hunting.
Don’t expect AI-powered search to read your mind. Garbage in, garbage out.
4. Monitor What’s Working (But Don’t Get Lost in the Data)
Bigtincan gives you analytics on what’s being viewed, shared, and (sometimes) what customers open. This helps you spot what’s actually getting used—and what’s just taking up space.
How to use analytics that matter: - See what content reps actually use in deals. Kill off the stuff nobody touches. - Spot who’s struggling with training. Reach out before it’s a problem. - Compare against closed deals. Are high-performers using different content?
What to ignore: Vanity metrics. Don’t obsess over views for content that doesn’t move the needle.
5. Integrate With Your Existing Stack
No one’s ripping out their CRM or chat tools. Bigtincan plays well with Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Slack (with varying degrees of smoothness).
What’s worth setting up: - CRM integration: Attach content to deals, log activity automatically. - Calendar/email plugins: Pull up content during calls or email threads. - Single sign-on: Make life easier for IT and new hires.
Heads up: Integrations can be fiddly. Test them with a small group before rolling out. Some features are only available on higher-priced plans.
6. Keep Your Sales Process Simple
Bigtincan can do a lot, but don’t let it overcomplicate things. The point is to help reps sell—not to create more admin work.
What to skip: - Over-customizing every workflow. Use defaults unless you truly need something different. - Heavy automation for small teams. Sometimes, it’s faster to just do it manually. - Trying to make Bigtincan your “everything tool.” It’s for enablement, not pipeline management, forecasting, or marketing automation.
7. Get Buy-In (Or Prepare to Watch It Flop)
Even the best tool fails if reps ignore it. If you want Bigtincan to stick:
- Involve end users early. Let reps and managers help shape how content is organized.
- Show, don’t tell. Demo how it actually saves time—don’t just send a login link.
- Reward usage, but don’t babysit. Celebrate wins when the tool helps close deals.
If you just email out a login and say “use this now,” expect crickets.
What Works, What Doesn’t, What to Ignore
Works: - Making content findable and trackable. - Streamlining onboarding for new reps. - Giving managers a window into what’s really happening.
Doesn’t: - Fixing bad sales processes or broken content. - Deep custom training/coaching—some features, but not best-in-class.
Ignore: - Fancy AI features unless you have a real use case. - Over-engineering permissions or workflows.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Bigtincan isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s a step up from shared drives and endless email threads. If you’re scaling, start with the basics: organize your content, set up quick onboarding, and get a few reps using it well. Don’t try to boil the ocean—add features as you need them. Sales enablement is about making life easier for reps, not showing off your tech stack.
Keep it simple, stay close to the team, and improve as you go. That’s how you get the real value—without the hype.