Learning Systems Buyer’s Guide

The Learning Systems Buyer’s Guide by Craig Weiss provides a practical framework for navigating platform selection, vendor evaluation, pricing models, contract terms, and customer support standards.

System Classification & Target Alignment

• System Types: Distinct platform categories include traditional LMSs, LXPs, Learning Suites, Coaching/Mentoring platforms, and Talent Experience Platforms (TXPs).
• Audience Focus: Platforms evaluate primarily as Employee-Focused (>80% internal staff), Customer-Focused (>80% external/B2B/B2C clients), or Combo platforms balancing both.

Pricing Models & Contract Terms

• Monthly Active User (MAU) Traps: MAU pricing often relies on annualized “up to” projections where buyers pay for total allocated capacity regardless of actual monthly logins.
• Optimal 3-Year Contracts: A 3-year agreement is the ideal term—1-year deals carry higher renewal costs, 2 years is too short to prove ROI, and terms beyond 3 years risk platform stagnation or vendor acquisitions.
• Inflation Clauses: Always negotiate out annual percentage price increases tied to cost-of-living or inflation to lock in predictable rates.

Evaluation & Vendor Selection Best Practices

• Use Case vs. Business Case: Define detailed, step-by-step end-user scenarios (use cases) alongside measurable organizational goals (business cases) such as sales growth or incident reduction.
• Streamlined RFPs: Keep RFPs under 8 pages, allow vendors 3 weeks to complete responses, and eliminate candidates that fail to follow instructions or send generic, uncustomized proposals.
• Customer Support Standards: Demand dedicated points of contact, guaranteed response times under 120 minutes during business hours, and transparent semi-annual support metric reporting.