How to prepare for a call with an LMS provider

A guide to all the things an LMS provider is likely to ask you during a call.

We’ve all been there: you’ve made an enquiry about a product or service and now the company is asking you questions and you’re scrambling around to find the information they’re asking for.

Nobody likes feeling flustered or unprepared like that so we’ve put together this guide on how to prepare for a call with an LMS provider. It’s based on the things we typically need to know when a new customer gets in touch. After an initial enquiry, we’ll be in touch to arrange a discovery call — a chance to chat about what you’re looking for in an LMS. 

You can use this guide to pull together any information you need, mull things over and discuss them with your colleagues ahead of your discovery call.

Why are you getting in touch?

Something prompted your initial enquiry. Telling us what it was that made now the right time to get in touch about getting an LMS — or reviewing your current platform — frames your situation for us.

Are you currently using a learning management system (LMS)?

We’ll want to know a bit about what platform you’ve currently got in place. This helps us to understand whether you’re embarking on something completely new or if your organisation already has experience of working with an LMS. 

If you do already have an LMS, that will lead to follow-up questions about which platform you use, who hosts or manages it, as well as any plugins, customisations and integration you have in place. It will also be useful to know how many users, how much data and how much content is on the existing system.

Do you have an interest in a specific platform?

There’s no expectation for you to know which platform you want. We’re happy to listen to your requirements and advise you on the LMS we think is best suited to your needs. The reason for asking is that, because we’re a leading Moodle Premium Certified Service Provider and Totara Platinum Alliance Partner, we often get enquiries from organisations that already have a particular platform in mind.

What will be the primary use of your LMS?

We want to build our understanding of how the LMS will be used within your organisation. Are you providing onboarding training to new employees? Do you need to deliver compliance training to people out in the field? Do you have external stakeholders who need access to product training? Are you selling courses to customers? Understanding your key uses will start to paint a picture of what you need from an LMS.

How many users will use your LMS annually?

This can be just an estimate at the discovery call stage. But since the pricing tiers of many platforms and managed hosting packages are based on the number of users, it’s worth thinking about how many people will be accessing your LMS.

When would you like your new LMS to be live?

This helps us to understand the approximate timeline that you’re working to and any hard deadlines you’re up against. We can then start to think about an approximate schedule and how your LMS will slot into our upcoming projects.

Do you need a fridge, groceries or both?

You can think of an LMS as being like a fridge and learning content as being your groceries. It’s good to think about what you’re shopping for before the call. Do you need a basic fridge that’s already stocked with the essentials? Or do you need a higher-spec fridge that you can stock with the groceries you really need? 

You might already have content you want to add to a system. You might need to purchase or create content. Maybe it’s a mixture of the two. It’s useful to understand where you’re currently standing and where you want to be.

What features or functionality do you need?

If you know there are specific things you need your LMS to do, we’ll want to know about them. This will guide us towards which platform might be right for your requirements, start considering the best way to achieve what you want to achieve, and prepare to show you the features that are most important to you in your demo.

What integrations do you need?

Which systems or apps do you need to integrate with your LMS? For example, does your LMS need to be integrated with your HR system, analytics tools, single sign-on (SSO) or e-commerce platform? 

Who is involved in the project?

Can you give any insight into your organisation’s decision-making process? Are there any other stakeholders that we need to be aware of? Who is involved in the budget sign-off process? Who will be approving the LMS?

Do you have a budget?

Again, this is something that we can guide you on with ballpark figures. But if you already know the project has to be brought in within a specific budget, it’s best to share that with us. We can then advise you on the best way of achieving the outcomes you need within your budget.

When would you like a demo?

The next step after a discovery call is usually a demo of the platform or platforms that you’re interested in or we’re proposing. It may be helpful to check your calendar — and the calendars of any colleagues you want to join the demo — ahead of the call so we can get that scheduled straight away.

Ready for your discovery call?

Those are the basics of a call with an LMS provider. If you’d like to share the answers to those questions with us and discuss your LMS project in more detail just fill in the form below to arrange a discovery call.

Tags