ADAM LORD

The buyer's questions, answered before they call.

Business buyers do their homework: they compare specifications, check that you can deliver and often draw up a shortlist before they speak to anyone. I design and build websites and online shops that answer those questions properly, and I keep them found.

More than 1,600 websites since 2001Purchase orders and 30-day terms on requestA reply by the next working day

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A man in a pinstripe suit at a desk with an old typewriter and an open notebook, pen in hand, in black and white

Five things a buyer checks first.

Here is one supplier's homepage: GRP Grating UK, which sells trade-price GRP grating online across the United Kingdom.

The GRP Grating UK homepage: trade price bulk GRP grating, with 60-day payment terms and stock for immediate despatch on the first screen, Technical Data and a Credit Application button in the header, and the hole size printed on the product photographs
  • Will it do the job? The specifications should be there for a buyer to find without telephoning: the sizes, the loads and the documents. Here, Technical Data sits in the main menu, and the hole size is printed on the product photographs.
  • Have you got it, and when? Stock and lead times should be stated plainly, because a buyer working to a deadline draws up a shortlist on the strength of them. Here, the stock held for immediate despatch is stated on the first screen.
  • What will it cost? A buyer should be able to see the prices, or to ask for a quotation in a couple of clicks. Here, trade-price bulk grating is the heading, with the shop one click away.
  • Can we open an account? Trade accounts, credit and terms, and the form to apply for them, belong where a purchasing manager expects to find them. Here, 60-day payment terms are stated on the first screen, with a credit application in the header and an apply button beneath.
  • How do we ask? A telephone number, an email address and a contact button should work as well on a phone in a yard as they do at a desk. Here, Contact Us sits beside the apply button, with the number and the email address across the top of the page.

The rest of the shortlist.

Not every firm that sells to other businesses does so online. Recruiters, contractors, IT firms and equipment suppliers are compared in the same way, on the detail, and the website either has it or does not.

Xpert Resourcing

An independent recruitment agency in Ely. The live vacancies by sector sit on the homepage, each with its count, above the latest roles and their salaries, because a candidate's first question is what is open now and an employer's is whether you can fill it.

“We were looking for a website refresh and he came up with some great ideas and made the whole process very straightforward.”Emma SmithXpert Resourcing
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The Xpert Resourcing website on a phone, top to bottom, from the agency's introduction to a job search by location and sector
The vacancies by sector on the Xpert Resourcing homepage, with the number of jobs open in each, above four of the latest roles and their salaries

Kept found, and reported on.

For suppliers who sell online, being found is never a finished job. GRP Grating UK (opens in a new tab), Grating Direct (opens in a new tab) and Safety Products Direct (opens in a new tab) each receive the technical housekeeping their shops need, and category and product pages written for the searches their buyers make. At the start of every month comes a short report in plain English: what changed, which searches and pages brought enquiries, and what I am doing next.

The SEO page shows what one of those reports sets out.

What your finance team receives, in order.

A 30-minute call comes first, and the paperwork follows in the order your company will see it, with about four weeks of building between the first piece and the last, or six for a shop.

The paperwork

From the first call to the final invoice

The proposal
This reaches you within two working days of the call and sets out in writing what the website will do and what it includes, with one fixed price and a launch date. Nothing begins until you have it.
The assurances
I hold professional indemnity insurance, and there are references you are welcome to take up before you commit.
Your purchase order
Whenever your process requires one, you raise it and its number goes on the invoice.
The invoices
These can be issued on 30-day terms if you need them. Larger projects are paid in three stages: a deposit, a payment on approval of the design, and the balance before launch.
“Delivered on time and on budget, having worked morning, noon and night as he said he would.”
Chris TebbitTECT Risk Services
“Creativity and expert technical knowledge, and he takes the time to understand what his clients want.”
Jo EvansCambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce

What B2B firms ask on the first call.

These are the questions that come up when a business sells to other businesses. If yours is not among them, you are welcome to send it to me, and I will answer it plainly.

How much does a B2B website cost?

Every website is quoted to the job, whether it is a set of pages that explains what you do or a shop with trade areas, calculators and integrations. After a free 30-minute call you receive a written proposal within two working days, with one fixed price and a launch date. That is the price you pay however long the work takes, and should the scope change, the new price is agreed in writing before the extra work happens.

Can you sell to trade customers online?

Yes, I can. WooCommerce can handle trade accounts, prices that appear only once a customer has logged in, and products that ask for a quotation instead of going into the basket. GRP Grating UK, Grating Direct and Safety Products Direct all run on it, and Betsy's Raw Food has trade accounts with their own prices built in.

We already have a website. Can you improve it rather than start again?

In many cases I can. I look after existing websites as well as building new ones, All Controls among them, and sometimes the better course is to improve the pages buyers actually use rather than rebuild the whole site. I will tell you plainly which it is on the first call.

Who will we be dealing with?

You will be dealing with me, from the first call to launch and for as long as you would like afterwards, with no account manager and no ticket queue. I read and answer every email myself by the end of the next working day, and a trusted associate is on call for cover when I am away. I have also worked for large corporates, on the intranets for RWE, npower and Thames Water.

Do you work with businesses outside Cambridgeshire?

Yes, I do. Most of my clients are in and around Cambridge and Ely, but suppliers sell nationally, and I work with businesses across the country by video call; All Controls, for one, sells across the UK and Ireland. If you are near Ely and would rather meet, I will come to you.

Tell me what you sell, and who buys it.

It begins with thirty minutes on a call, or a note in the form. If you are able to, it helps to consider beforehand which products or services you would most like more enquiries for, because that changes what the website should lead with. If I can help, I will tell you how, and if I am not the right fit, I will say so.

Book a 30-minute call

Or write to enquiries@adamlord.co.uk. For a fuller picture, the project brief takes about ten minutes.

Tell me about your company

Please add your name, so that I know who I am replying to.

That email address does not appear to be complete. Would you mind checking it?

Your message comes straight to me, and your details are used only to reply to it, never added to a list or passed on.

Thank you. Your message is with me.

It has come straight to me rather than to a queue, and I will reply by the end of the next working day.

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