If you’re on a sales team and drowning in content chaos, you’re not alone. Organizing folders in Bigtincan can make or break your team’s ability to find the right pitch deck or case study when it actually matters. This isn’t a fluffy overview—this is how you set up and keep your Bigtincan folders working for you, not against you.
Why bother organizing Bigtincan folders?
Let’s be honest: most people just dump files wherever. That works until your team’s searching for a one-pager five minutes before a call and all they find is last year’s version. If you want to actually use the content your marketing team churns out, you need a simple, logical folder system in Bigtincan. Otherwise, you’re just collecting digital dust.
Step 1: Map out your folder structure before you touch Bigtincan
Don’t start clicking around creating folders just yet. Before you even log in, sketch out what you actually need. Overcomplicated folder trees are the fast lane to confusion.
What works:
- Organize by how your team sells, not how the marketing team thinks. Think: “Industries,” “Sales Stages,” “Product Lines.”
- Keep it shallow. Two or three main levels, tops. If you need a user manual to navigate your folders, you’ve gone too far.
What doesn’t:
- “Miscellaneous” folders. They always become the junk drawer.
- Deeply nested folders (e.g., “Sales > 2024 > Q2 > New Launches > Region > PDF”). No one will ever find anything.
Pro tip:
Ask a rep who’s new to your team to walk through your folder plan. If they’re confused, start again.
Example layout:
- Top Level:
- By Product (“Product A,” “Product B”)
- Or by Sales Stage (“Discovery,” “Demo,” “Proposal”)
-
Or by Industry (“Healthcare,” “Finance”)
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Second Level:
- “Presentations”
- “Case Studies”
- “Battlecards”
- “Pricing”
You get the idea. Make it match real sales conversations.
Step 2: Set up folders in Bigtincan
Ready? Now let’s actually build in Bigtincan. (You’ll need admin or content manager rights.)
- Log in to Bigtincan.
- Go to the “Content” area—sometimes called “Content Hub.”
- Click New Folder or the "+" button (the interface changes a bit depending on your version, but it’s usually up top).
- Name your folder clearly. No cryptic abbreviations.
- Repeat for your top-level folders.
- For subfolders, open the parent folder and create new folders inside it.
Quick tips: - Use consistent naming conventions (“Case Studies” not “CS” in one place and “Case_Studies” in another). - Don’t create folders for stuff you might need someday. Stick to what’s real now.
What to ignore:
- The urge to color-code everything. Bigtincan’s visuals are functional but not exactly beautiful. Focus on clarity, not aesthetics.
Step 3: Set permissions (but don’t overthink it)
Bigtincan lets you control who sees what. This is great in theory, but I’ve seen teams tie themselves in knots with endless permission tweaks.
What works:
- Default to “everyone can see everything,” unless there’s a real, legal reason to lock something down.
- If you need to restrict, do it at the folder level—not on every individual file.
What doesn’t:
- Micro-managing permissions for every new document. It wastes time and creates confusion when someone can’t find what they need.
How to set permissions:
1. Right-click (or select) the folder.
2. Choose “Permissions” or “Manage Access.”
3. Add teams or users, and pick their access level (view, edit, etc.).
4. Save.
If someone outside your team needs access, add them only when it’s needed—not “just in case.”
Step 4: Upload and organize your content
Now, start moving your sales materials in. Don’t just drag and drop everything at once.
- Start with your most-used content.
- Upload files into the right folders immediately.
- Avoid duplicates—if you find three versions of the same battlecard, pick one and archive the rest.
Pro tip:
Before uploading, check that filenames make sense. “Final_v3_ReallyFinal.pptx” isn’t helpful three months later. Use clear, dated names if versions matter.
What to skip:
- Bulk importing years of old content “just in case.” It’ll clog up your folders and confuse the team.
Step 5: Tag and describe (but don’t go overboard)
Bigtincan lets you add tags and descriptions to files and folders. This can help with search, but don’t spend hours tagging every file with ten keywords.
What works:
- Use 1-2 tags per file—think “Product A,” “Demo,” “2024.”
- Add a short description if the file’s purpose isn’t obvious.
What doesn’t:
- Tagging every file with every possible use case. “Less is more” applies here.
Step 6: Set up a regular folder clean-up
The hard truth: No folder structure stays perfect forever. People will ignore rules, old files will linger, and someone will create a “Temp” folder anyway.
How to handle it: - Set a calendar reminder every quarter to audit folders. - Delete or archive outdated content. - Ask reps what’s missing or hard to find. If everyone’s searching for “ROI Calculator” and not finding it, fix your structure.
Pro tip:
Make it part of someone’s job—not everyone’s job. Shared responsibility means no responsibility.
Step 7: Train (briefly) and get feedback
Don’t assume everyone will just “get it.” Take 10 minutes in a team meeting to walk through the new folder setup.
- Show where to find key content.
- Explain naming and where to put new files.
- Ask for feedback after a couple weeks—are people actually finding what they need?
What to ignore:
- Long, formal documentation. No one reads it. Short screen recordings or a quick walkthrough work better.
What works in the real world (and what doesn’t)
Here’s what I’ve seen after helping a bunch of teams:
Works: - Simple, logical folders that reflect how your team sells. - Regular clean-up so things don’t get messy. - Clarity on who’s in charge of organizing.
Doesn’t: - Overly complex folder trees. - Letting everyone do their own thing. - Ignoring feedback from actual reps.
Keep it simple—and keep improving
The best folder system is the one your team actually uses. Don’t try to make it perfect right away. Start simple, see how it works, and adjust as you go. If you’re not sure, ask the folks who use it every day.
Remember: the goal isn’t to win a folder-organizing award. It’s to make sure your sales team can find what they need, fast—so they can actually sell.