Wins Library Setup Guide

Your wins library is the difference between scrambling through email threads at 9 PM and pulling a perfect case study in 90 seconds. Most firms treat this as a file dump. You need a searchable, tagged, maintainable system that your BD team will actually use.

This guide covers exact setup steps for SharePoint, Google Drive, and Notion. Pick your platform, follow the numbered steps, and you'll have a production-ready wins library in under four hours.

Stop debating. Here's what each platform actually delivers:

SharePoint - Best for firms already on Microsoft 365 with 50+ employees.

• Native metadata columns (not just folders and tags)
• Enterprise search that actually works across document text
• Granular permissions (lock down client-sensitive wins by practice group)
• Downside: Requires SharePoint admin access to configure properly

Google Drive - Best for firms under 50 people or heavy Google Workspace users.

• Zero learning curve for your team
• Fast sharing via links
• Downside: Metadata is limited to custom folder structures and file naming only

Notion - Best for firms that want flexibility and don't need enterprise-grade permissions.

• Database views (filter by industry, service line, deal size in one click)
• Inline editing and commenting
• Downside: Not built for storing large proposal PDFs (link to Google Drive or Dropbox instead)

Decision rule: If you have SharePoint licenses and an IT team, use SharePoint. If you're all-in on Google Workspace, use Drive. If you want maximum flexibility and your wins are mostly text summaries (not full proposals), use Notion.

Step 1: Create the Document Library

1. Navigate to your SharePoint site (or create a new site called "Business Development")
2. Click New > Document Library
3. Name it "Wins Library"
4. Under Advanced Options, enable versioning (keep last 10 versions minimum)

Step 2: Build Your Metadata Columns

Click Add Column and create these custom columns:

• Client Name (Single line of text)
• Industry (Choice: Financial Services, Healthcare, Technology, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Government, Other)
• Service Line (Choice: Audit, Tax, Advisory, Consulting, Legal, Other)
• Project Type (Choice: M&A, Digital Transformation, Compliance, Litigation, Restructuring, Other)
• Engagement Year (Number, format as year only)
• Deal Size (Choice: Under $100K, $100K-$500K, $500K-$1M, $1M+)
• Key Contact (Person field, link to your directory)
• Status (Choice: Active Client, Completed, Lost Client)

Step 3: Configure Views

Create three saved views:

By Industry - Group by Industry, sort by Engagement Year descending By Service Line - Group by Service Line, sort by Deal Size descending
Recent Wins - Filter where Engagement Year equals current year, sort by modified date

Step 4: Set Permissions

• Grant Edit access to BD team and practice leaders
• Grant Read access to all fee earners
• Restrict sensitive client wins using item-level permissions (right-click file > Manage Access)

Step 5: Create the Upload Template

In the library, click New > Word Document and save this as "Win Template.docx":

CLIENT: [Client Name]
PROJECT: [One-line description]
ENGAGEMENT DATES: [Month Year - Month Year]
DEAL SIZE: [Revenue]

CHALLENGE:
[2-3 sentences on the client's problem]

OUR APPROACH:
[Bullet list of what you did, 3-5 items]

RESULTS:
[Quantified outcomes - percentages, dollar amounts, time saved]

KEY TEAM:
[Names and titles of 3-5 people]

CLIENT QUOTE:
"[Testimonial if available]"

Pin this template to the top of the library.

Step 1: Create the Folder Structure

In your shared drive (not My Drive), create this hierarchy:

Wins Library/
├── By Industry/
│   ├── Financial Services/
│   ├── Healthcare/
│   ├── Technology/
│   └── [Other industries]/
├── By Service Line/
│   ├── Audit/
│   ├── Tax/
│   └── [Other services]/
└── Templates/
    └── Win Template.docx

Step 2: Establish Naming Convention

Every file must follow this format:

[YYYY-MM] [Client Name] - [Project Type] - [Deal Size]

Example: 2024-03 Acme Corp - Digital Transformation - $750K

This makes Drive's search function actually useful.

Step 3: Create the Template

Copy this into a Google Doc named "Win Template":

[Copy the same template structure from SharePoint Step 5 above]

Save it in the Templates folder and share the link in your BD Slack channel.

Step 4: Set Up Shared Drive Permissions

• Make the entire Wins Library folder a Shared Drive (not just a shared folder)
• Grant Content Manager access to BD team
• Grant Contributor access to practice leaders
• Grant Viewer access to all professionals

Step 5: Build a Tracking Sheet

Create a Google Sheet named "Wins Library Index" with these columns:

| File Name | Client | Industry | Service Line | Year | Deal Size | Link | Last Updated |

Use this as your searchable index. Update it monthly.

Step 1: Create the Database

1. Create a new page called "Wins Library"
2. Add a Database - Table block
3. Configure these properties:

• Win Title (Title field)
• Client (Text)
• Industry (Select: same options as SharePoint)
• Service Line (Select: same options as SharePoint)
• Project Type (Select: same options as SharePoint)
• Year (Number)
• Deal Size (Select: Under $100K, $100K-$500K, $500K-$1M, $1M+)
• Summary (Text, long form)
• Key Team (Multi-select or Text)
• Status (Select: Active, Completed, Lost)
• Files (Files & Media - upload PDFs here or link to Drive/Dropbox)

Step 2: Create Database Views

Click Add a View and build:

By Industry - Group by Industry, sort by Year descending By Service - Group by Service Line, sort by Deal Size This Year - Filter where Year = 2024 (update annually) Gallery View - Switch to Gallery layout, show Summary as preview text

Step 3: Build the Entry Template

Click the dropdown next to New > New Template and create "Standard Win Entry":

## Challenge
[What problem was the client facing?]

## Our Approach
- [Action 1]
- [Action 2]
- [Action 3]

## Results
[Quantified outcomes]

## Key Team
[Names and roles]

## Client Feedback
"[Quote if available]"

Step 4: Set Permissions

Click Share in the top right:

• Invite BD team as Full Access
• Invite practice leaders as Can Edit
• Invite all professionals as Can View

Step 5: Link to File Storage

If your proposals are large PDFs, don't upload them to Notion. Instead:

• Store PDFs in Google Drive or Dropbox
• Paste the share link into the Files property
• Notion will create a preview card

Your wins library dies without a maintenance schedule. Implement these three rules:

Rule 1: Monthly Update Cycle Assign one BD coordinator to add new wins on the first Monday of each month. Block 90 minutes on their calendar. Non-negotiable.

Rule 2: Quarterly Audit Every quarter, review wins older than 3 years. Archive or delete anything from clients you no longer serve or projects that aren't relevant to current pursuits.

Rule 3: Ownership by Practice Each practice group leader owns their section. They approve new entries and flag outdated content. Add this to their annual goals.

Make your library findable:

SharePoint: Use the search box at the top. Filter by metadata columns on the left sidebar. Save frequent searches as alerts.

Google Drive: Search by file name using the naming convention. Use operators like type:pdf "financial services" 2024 to narrow results.

Notion: Use the search bar (Cmd+K or Ctrl+K). Filter database views by multiple properties simultaneously. Create a "Favorites" view for your most-used wins.

Every win entry must include:

1. Client name (or "Confidential Client" if NDA applies)
2. Industry and service line tags
3. 2-3 sentence challenge statement
4. 3-5 bullet approach summary
5. At least one quantified result (percentage, dollar amount, time saved)
6. Engagement year and approximate deal size
7. Names of 3-5 key team members

If you can't fill these fields, it's not ready for the library.

Your wins library only matters if people use it during live RFPs. Connect it to your workflow:

• Add a "Pull Relevant Wins" step to your RFP response checklist
• Include the library link in your RFP kickoff email template
• Train your BD team to search by industry + service line, not just client name
• When you win a new deal, add it to the library within 30 days (while details are fresh)

Build this system once. Maintain it monthly. Your next RFP response just got 4 hours faster.