A Practitioner’s Guide to Buying an LMS (Without the 10-Page Spreadsheet)

That exhaustive, 10-page LMS feature list feels like good, objective due diligence. You think it’s the right way to start, but it’s not.

Here’s the problem: every modern vendor will say “yes” to 90% of your list.

You ask: “Do you have a ‘Manager Dashboard’?”

Vendor A says: “Yes.” (It’s a clunky, read-only table that managers never use).

Vendor B says: “Yes.” (It’s a dynamic, actionable hub that lets managers assign training and track skills in real-time).

On your scoring grid, both get a “5/5.” You’ve learned nothing, and you’re no closer to finding the right fit. You’re just comparing who has the best sales team for “checking the box.”

A feature list is a “what” list. It tells you nothing about the “how,” the “why,” or the experience.

Instead of that exhaustive list, I want you to focus on the 3-5 critical differentiators.

Your next platform will not be a success because it had every feature. It will be a success if it does 3-5 critical things exceptionally well. The rest is just “table stakes.”

This new selection process requires a clear division of labor. Your L&D team’s job is to find the winner, while your IT & Procurement team’s job is to find the deal-breakers.

Your team must focus 100% of its energy on identifying and testing the 3-5 Critical Differentiators that directly map to your specific business outcomes.

Don’t start with the platform. Start with your 3-year business goals.

You can’t be all things to all people. Pick one primary goal for this platform.

Now, look at that exhaustive list you first created and pick the few features that make or break that goal.

1. Multi-Tenant Architecture

2. B2B “Training as a Business” Tools

3. Payment Gateway Integration

4. CRM Integration (for tracking leads)

5. Advanced Certification & Recertification

1. CRM Integration (deep, in-Salesforce)

2. AI Tutor & Role-Play Simulator

3. Observable Skill Verification (for pitch practice)

4. Contextual Learning (In-Flow)

5. Mobile-First (for reps in the field)

1. AI-Driven Recommendations

2. Content Federation (for Pluralsight, etc.)

3. Internal Talent Marketplace (for “gigs”)

4. Proactive Skill Gap Analysis

5. Career Pathing & Mobility Tools

1. Advanced Certification & Recertification

2. Digital Signatures (e.g., 21 CFR Part 11)

3. Immutable Audit Trails

4. Advanced Data Residency & Security

5. Observable Skill Verification (for safety)

You’re done with the scoring grid. Your entire vendor demo process is now based on “Show-Me Scenarios” for your critical differentiators.

OLD WAY: “Do you have CRM integration?” (Yes/No)

NEW WAY: “Show me, in a live demo, how a sales manager in Salesforce—without ever leaving the CRM—can see that their rep has completed the ‘New Product’ training and passed the ‘Objection Handling’ simulation before they’re allowed to move a $100k deal to the next stage.”

OLD WAY: “Do you have an AI Course Creator?” (Yes/No)

NEW WAY: “I’m going to give you our 40-page ‘New Manager Guide’ PDF. Show me, right now, how your AI will turn this into a 5-module learning path, complete with a video script, a quiz, and a role-play scenario for our new managers.”

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So, what about the rest of that exhaustive feature list? That is the “Base Layer.”

This is the “table stakes” stuff: SCORM compliance, user uploads, basic reporting, a course catalog. In 2025, every platform has this.

A side benefit? Your vendors will thank you. Trust me, no high-quality vendor wants to spend their time ticking “Yes” on another 10-page RFP spreadsheet. They would much rather spend their time in a “Show-Me” demo where they can actually prove their product’s value. This process helps you, and it helps them, get to a real, partnership-focused conversation faster.

Give this “Base Layer” list to your IT & Procurement teams. Their job is not to score, but to find deal-breakers. They are looking for a simple “Yes” or “No” on the things that can kill a project.

Your new process is simple.

Your Learning team focuses on finding a vendor that can show you how they solve your critical business problems. Your IT team focuses on validating the rest.

You will find that many vendors want to be a true partner. When your “Show-Me Scenarios” reveal one or two who really drill into your success criteria—not just your learning objectives, but the overarching goals for the entire business—engage them. Work with them to deeply understand how their solution will help you win.

The vendor that can show you, not just tell you, is the one to buy.

Here are a couple of other things that caught my eye this week: