If you have never experienced what I am about to cover, and you currently have a LMS, LXP, Learning Platform or any other type of learning system, heck even a talent management system with learning as a component, this little ditty will at some point come into play.

For those of us, who have gone through this, not one, but multiple times, you know how it works and feels. There isn’t a lot of joy here – well, if you love your system, then yes, joy to renew – but for those who complain about the system, how much they hate it or they are in a conglomerate where the King decides to keep the one you hate, because they do not want to go thru the process again or have some other reason they espouse – this exercise can be exhilarating (okay, and grossly exaggerating) or nail biting, back and forth in your brain, decisions.

If you are about to purchase a system, at some point, whether you renew, or break will be upon you. When you buy a learning system, it should only be for three years, and then you either renew or break up. I’ve seen five-year deals, and that is not the route to go, for a couple (okay, more than that) reasons. Drum roll, please:

• The purchaser may have left the company, and whoever now is running the show is stuck with it (and hates it)
• The L&D or Training department gets gutted or reduced (resource restructure), and it falls upon another department, who has no idea on what or how to use it.
• The vendor whom you bought it from, gets acquired by another vendor (who you dislike or decided is not a fit) and now you are stuck for all those five years.
• The vendor is privately on the market, and may be in such a financial crunch, there are possibilities of all types of disorganization within it
• The vendor increases the price (always read everything in the contract, because plenty of vendors do not actually “lock” in the pricing. You want those words in the contract) at some point, under the guise of inflation (huh?), cost of doing business or some other excuse.
• Your use case has changed, and the system to which you purchased based on that use case, no longer applies – and you are stuck in that five-year agreement.

It takes three-years to build mass. If everyone is required to go into the system for assigned learning – than the mass angle is highly misleading. Sure, you are forced in, but I bet those folks never return – on their own – except to take the assigned learning courses/content, or regulatory/compliance content.

If you are doing external training, three-years to build mass, enough to generate sustainable revenue is the way to go here. Even if it is free, it still takes three-years, because this isn’t a build it, and think everyone is going to use it approach. You have to do far more on your side (ditto if you are offering content that isn’t just job role/skills required-assigned).

Vendors always want you to sign for more than three-years. It ties into something referred to in the industry as ARR. Annual Recurring Revenue. It exists in three-year deals too, but the longer you are in that contract, the ARR works fare better for the vendor.

It also works well in their marketing and sales approach. Who hasn’t heard the 90% plus customer renewal rate? No vendor will ever say, “Hey our renewal rate is 55%.” If that is the case, you are not going to renew.

In case you are curious on whether any vendor in our industry, has tried the Enron game plan, the answer is no. However, there was one vendor, whereas the numbers, well let’s just say the audit didn’t turn out so well for them.

Renewal – The vendor wants you as a client and you want to stay

Reasons for renewal. Never assume is my rule. It should be yours too. Oh, the vendor always wants you to stay as a client. Regardless, if privately, they roll their eyes when you call them.

• You love the system. Pretty simple.
• You may have had some issues or challenges, but the vendor responded quickly, helped quickly, and everything got resolved. You liked it. You renew.
• The price is far too good for you to depart. The renewal rate is really good, and even if the vendor’s system is dated, the price is really cheap.
• You do not want to go through the process again. It took a lot of your time. It seemed like it would never end. Regardless of if the system is really a fit or not, or even if you dislike it, you stay. This one, BTW, is very common. Which really hurts the learner more so, and even the client – especially if someone new comes in and can’t figure out why you choose to renew.
• The price to renew – similar to above, is awesome – the vendor has cut you a new deal – or at least you think they have.
• You did some research, and in the end, just stayed. Likely your research was based on a small selection of vendors, rather than exploring the market. You believe that the vendor you initially selected, continue to deliver what you want – even if they haven’t in the past.
• The Conglomerate – says you have to stay, because they are renewing with the vendor, and you, as a separate company or LOB, who hear from their learners, on how they hate the system, fails to change the mind of the person overseeing the system at the highest level. This happens quite a bit too.
• Procurement who has zero clue about the system, just bases it on price. You are stuck. But hey, you have a lower priced system, because procurement thinks it is a steal, when a better system out there, would offer a better deal.
• The system comes with 3rd party content you can’t find elsewhere, and thus you renew. I have seen this, and folks do not realize that the vendor often will sell the content to you, to place into a new system. They fail to mention this, and you are now stuck. There is one vendor, well-known in the healthcare space that does this. And they are expensive to begin with.
• Pressure – from the vendor. I mean there are people who just do not want to get engaged in the whole process and renew. There are some vendors out there, who I have seen, questionable behavior to get a client to renew. Always remember that your buddy, the salesperson, their goal is to get you to renew. If you have had issues that haven’t been resolved or take several months and still haven’t been resolved – they promise to get them resolved for you -even if their track record is poor.
• You can’t make up your mind. I see this quite often. Back and Forth. Back and Forth. Oh, look a new system has come out – should I go with them or should I renew? Make a decision. Either renew or break up. If you renew – there has to be reasons why – and not just because you can’t make a decision.

I always renewed with the vendors I selected. And yes, I always stuck the clause into my contract, “option to opt-out without any financial penalty at any time in the contract.” But, as noted, I always renewed – it comes back on whether you did your due diligence to begin with, really dove into this, and loved your system. And whether you still love them now. It’s really that simple.

If you decided to renew for any other reason, than you will never be satisfied. If the vendor charges low, they still can be very forward-thinking. I know of two vendors that really fit that bill. Just as I know of expensive vendors, who cannot seem to get out of their own way – mismanagement 101 – and even if they are forward thinking, they are discombobulated. Or, they are not forward-thinking, well, not in reality – just in their own mind, but hey they are cheap. If your system looks like Geocities from the 90’s it is time to move on.

Break-Up

What is the wording you hear with country music – it is hard to do.

Actually, it isn’t.

You can choose either the cloak and dagger approach (secretly) or just be honest (or spin it that way) with the vendor and tell them you are leaving – regardless of what they offer or promise. Because trust me, if you go open, they will wine and dine you, and offer all types of amazing to get you stay. If you wish to break-up, do it. Never go back and forth. Go with your gut. It is never wrong – which is why it wasn’t such a great idea to try the chimichurri grasshopper sauce on your steak, right after you ate six crab legs. Even if you thought “Why not!”

Cloak and Dagger – Secretly

You switch into your spy clothes. You say nothing to the vendor. In your search with other vendors, you tell them, that you cannot disclose the system you are using, because they do not know you are looking. Maybe you have the potential vendor sign an NDA, before disclosure.

There are folks who just blurt it out. The industry is really small from a sharing perspective. You never know – if that salesperson – won’t say anything to anyone else – or put it into that salesforce or whatever CRM they use, so others can see it. And who knows if while you are in due diligence mode and scheduling demos far out, that the salesperson doesn’t leave and goes directly to the vendor you are leaving? It has happened.

I’ve gone both ways for clients – some are just open about it, and say you can tell others, some are not, until the vendor is in the final three – and then they will tell them. And yes, some will want the vendor to sign the NDA. If you are truly in cloak and dagger mode, make sure the higher up is involved, before blurting out, who you are with.

Always add a layer of security if you will. The higher-up person won’t or at least shouldn’t share – unless you allow them to do so. I’ve been involved in some cloak and dagger approaches with clients wanting to buy another learning system, and leave their current, which seriously, get to a new level of secrecy, as though the client is about to spill the beans on the mission to the middle of the earth – to meet the Lizard people. And guess what? I’m fine with that.

Breaking up

I’ve already covered the cloak and dagger approach, here is the “I’m going to be honest with you,” or at least the try to be nice reasoning.

This is where the high pressure as though you are debating on a timeshare, after that free breakfast, will roll in. If you can handle that, and go “I’m out of here,” good for you. Never waver.

Vendor Retorts once they are aware of the break-up

Even if cloak and dagger at some point you will need to notify the vendor – my recommendation is 60 days out, prior to renewal. And never waver.

On the “we are going to be honest,” sure – 60 days out. I mean you should have already found another vendor by then. Never waver.

I have seen where the vendor you currently have is still with you, at the same time, you have signed on with the new vendor. That is not ideal – because a) it is expensive to have both running, since you are leaving one, b) it isn’t that difficult to move over your learners into the new system, despite what your original tells you (and some do).

Vendor Retorts when the break-up is announced

It will either be easy, or it will be challenging.

Before diving into what I have heard some vendors do on the challenging part, if you are breaking-up and need to move your content over, (your stuff), your 3rd party provider’s content – if the new vendor doesn’t have them, your learners and anything else – have your new vendor work directly with your current vendor.

Never become the middleperson. It is a pain, and seriously, the new vendor can handle all of this. Get it in the contract. Ignore the verbal, yes, we will do it – great, let’s get it in the contract. Ignore the SLA when it comes to this. There are vendors who will charge. It should be reasonable based on the number of users – and data migration as for the other stuff – they shouldn’t charge. Some do. You can negotiate this into your deal.

Vendor pulls a Challenge Angle – Remember they want you to stay

I’ve seen it all. Here are the top ones – and yes, I’ve heard from companies of all sizes, who hear the same thing.

• It will be very difficult for you to move over – your learner information (data migration) and your content.
• Silence. You reach out thereafter, and this is after you decide to leave – they help you in zero way. It is pretty much the worst thing you would think a business in this industry would do – and yet some do.
• To get your content from our system, you will need to download it yourself. We can’t help you. OR the need to download yourself and they won’t work with the other vendor (your new one) to move it over.
• We are unable to move your learner information – aka data migration to a new system. You can download it, if you choose.
• Your former best buddy – salesperson starts to ghost you. You can’t reach them, you e-mail them.
• They won’t work your new vendor in any manner or way. They ghost them.
• The push the renewal angle because by switching it is going to take you a long time, and it is such a hard process, why would you want to do it?

Bottom Line

When it comes time, you will need to make a decision. I’ve seen the back and forth, the wavering, even the trepidation of leaving to such an extent, you stay.

It’s okay to break-up.

Heck, it’s even okay to renew.

As long of you do it for the right reasons.

Renew should make you happy,

Breaking up, might make you even happier,

Relationships are tough.

Tough in life.

And tough in this industry.

That is why, it is never an easy decision to make,

However, if your gut says it is time to go,

Then go.

I mean, grasshoppers mashed up in a chimichurri sauce.

Seriously?

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