How to Land your First 3 Web Design Clients as a beginner (no portfolio)

Summary

This video script offers three effective methods for new web designers to secure their first clients. It emphasizes the importance of trust, suggesting starting with friends and family who can vouch for your work. The script also recommends approaching local businesses in person and leveraging past professional relationships to build trust. Additionally, it covers creating a strong portfolio, even without client work, and highlights the value of networking events for building business relationships and finding potential clients.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Building trust is crucial for new web designers to land clients, as people are hesitant to work with strangers without a proven track record.
• 🤝 Leverage your network by starting with friends and family, who can introduce you to potential clients through their connections.
• 🏘️ Local businesses can be a fruitful source of clients; visiting them in person can help establish trust and rapport.
• 💼 Working with companies and professionals you've previously paid can build trust, as they are more likely to reciprocate the trust you've shown them.
• 📲 Utilize a QR code linking to your portfolio as a convenient way to share your work with potential clients.
• 💼 Joining a school program can offer direct support, resources, and community for new web designers looking to grow their business.
• 🤝 Networking events are valuable for building business relationships and finding potential clients or partnerships.
• 📈 Creating a portfolio with example designs can showcase your skills even without prior client work, helping to establish credibility.
• 🌟 Highlighting your skills and how you solve customer problems on your portfolio site can attract clients looking for specific solutions.
• 📈 Getting reviews and testimonials from clients and showcasing them can significantly enhance your credibility and trustworthiness.
• 🔑 Scaling your business involves partnerships, referrals, outreach, and content creation to attract inbound clients.

Q & A

What is the main challenge for new web designers or online businesses when starting out?

The main challenge is landing the first couple of clients, as it can be difficult to establish trust with potential clients when you have no prior work to show or a proven track record.

What are the three methods suggested in the video to get clients for a new web designer?

The three methods are: working with friends and family, approaching local businesses in person, and leveraging companies and professionals from whom you've bought services or products.

Why is trust a crucial factor in acquiring new clients for a web designer?

Trust is important because people and businesses are more likely to invest in services from someone they trust, especially if the service provider is new and lacks a portfolio or client testimonials.

How can friends and family help a new web designer get clients even if they don't own businesses?

Friends and family can help by referring the designer to other people they know who might need web design services, leveraging the trust that already exists in their relationships.

What is the advantage of approaching local businesses in person rather than through phone calls or emails?

Approaching businesses in person allows for a more personal connection, making it harder for the business owner to say no and easier to establish trust, which can lead to more successful sales.

How can a new web designer build trust with companies and professionals they've bought from?

By becoming a customer of the company or professional, the web designer automatically gains a bit of trust, as they have shown trust in the other party's services or products.

What is a QR code and how can it be used by a web designer to showcase their portfolio?

A QR code is a quick response code that, when scanned, can link to a website or portfolio. A web designer can use it as a convenient way for potential clients to view their work instantly.

What is the importance of creating a portfolio even if a web designer doesn't have past client work?

Creating a portfolio with example designs is crucial as it demonstrates the designer's skills and capabilities, helping to build trust with potential clients.

How can a web designer use networking events to find potential clients and build business relationships?

Networking events provide opportunities to meet and connect with other professionals and potential clients in person, which can lead to partnerships, referrals, and new clients.

What are some strategies for scaling a web design business to reach higher revenue goals?

Strategies include asking for referrals from satisfied clients, forming partnerships with other professionals, conducting outreach through various channels, and creating content to attract inbound clients.

Why is it important for a web designer to collect reviews and testimonials from their clients?

Reviews and testimonials serve as social proof and help build trust with future clients, showcasing the designer's ability to deliver quality work and satisfy customers.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Landing First Clients as a Web Designer

The speaker discusses the challenges new web designers face in acquiring their initial clients, emphasizing the importance of trust in client relationships. They share three methods to gain clients, including leveraging friends and family who can introduce you to potential clients, approaching local businesses in person to offer your services, and building trust with businesses you've patronized. The speaker also mentions the importance of a portfolio, even without previous client work, and promises to discuss how to create one later in the video.

05:00

🤝 Building Trust and Acquiring Clients Through Personal Connections

This paragraph delves into the strategies of using personal networks to gain clients, such as friends, family, and local businesses. The speaker recounts personal experiences where they acquired clients by offering services to businesses they interacted with, like a steering wheel company and a plumber. They also suggest having a QR code linking to your portfolio as a convenient way to showcase your work, and they promote their school program for one-on-one support and resources.

10:00

🔗 Networking for Business Growth and Trust Building

The speaker highlights the value of networking events for finding clients and building business relationships. They advise attending such events with a mindset of giving rather than selling, focusing on building genuine connections. The speaker also recommends having a portfolio website with example designs to demonstrate your skills and services, which helps in establishing trust with potential clients.

15:00

🛠 Scaling Your Business Through Partnerships, Outreach, and Content Creation

The final paragraph outlines steps for scaling a web design business, including seeking partnerships and referrals, utilizing outreach strategies like cold emailing and calling, and creating content on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. The speaker encourages asking clients for referrals and partnering with other professionals to offer comprehensive services. They also stress the importance of content creation as a means to stand out and attract inbound clients.

Keywords

💡Web Designer

A web designer is a professional who creates and designs websites, focusing on the aesthetics and user experience. In the video, the term is central as it refers to the target audience and the role the speaker is advising. The script discusses the challenges web designers face in acquiring clients and offers strategies to overcome these challenges.

💡Portfolio

A portfolio showcases a professional's work and is crucial for demonstrating skills and past projects. The video emphasizes the importance of having a portfolio even without client work, suggesting creating example designs to build trust with potential clients.

💡Trust

Trust is a key factor in client relationships, especially for new businesses or freelancers. The script explains that people are hesitant to work with strangers and suggests building trust through personal networks, in-person interactions, and providing value upfront.

💡Cold Emails

Cold emails are unsolicited messages sent to potential clients. The video mentions the ineffectiveness of cold emails as a method for acquiring clients due to the lack of trust and personal connection.

💡Local Businesses

The script suggests targeting local businesses as a strategy for web designers to find clients. It implies that in-person visits to these businesses can help establish trust and increase the likelihood of securing work.

💡Referrals

Referrals are one of the most effective ways to gain new clients, as they come with a built-in trust factor from an existing client. The video advises web designers to ask for referrals and offer incentives to encourage clients to recommend their services.

💡Networking Events

Networking events are gatherings where professionals meet to build relationships and explore business opportunities. The video highlights the importance of attending such events to find potential clients and build business partnerships.

💡Testimonials

Testimonials are positive reviews from clients that can significantly boost a service provider's credibility. The script encourages web designers to collect testimonials, especially video testimonials, to display on their portfolio and social media to build trust with future clients.

💡Inbound Clients

Inbound clients are individuals or businesses that approach a service provider proactively. The video suggests creating content as a strategy to attract inbound clients, as most web designers do not utilize content creation to market their services.

💡Content Creation

Content creation involves producing and sharing original content, such as blog posts, videos, or social media posts, to engage an audience. The video emphasizes the rarity of content creation among web designers and positions it as a powerful tool for standing out and attracting clients.

💡Partnerships

Partnerships in the context of the video refer to collaborative business relationships where parties work together to offer complementary services. The script discusses the benefits of forming partnerships with other professionals or agencies to mutually benefit from client referrals.

Highlights

The challenge of landing the first few clients as a web designer or online business.

Three methods to acquire clients without relying on a large portfolio.

The importance of trust in client acquisition and how to establish it as a beginner.

Leveraging friends and family to gain initial clients through their networks.

Approaching local businesses in person to offer services and build trust.

Utilizing personal experiences with service providers to establish trust and gain clients.

The strategy of having a QR code linking to a portfolio for easy access during networking.

Offering one-on-one support and resources for web designers through a school program.

The benefits of networking events for finding clients and building business relationships.

Creating a portfolio with niche designs to showcase skills even without client work.

Using platforms like Eventbrite and Meetup to find local networking events.

The significance of client testimonials and reviews for building trust with potential clients.

Strategies for scaling a web design business to higher revenue marks.

The role of partnerships and referrals in growing a web design business.

Outreach methods including cold DMs, calls, and emails for lead generation.

Content creation as a means to stand out and attract inbound clients.

Maximizing luck in business through proactive strategies and networking.

Transcripts

when you're starting out as a web

designer or any online business the

hardest thing by far is to land your

first couple of clients a lot of you are

sending hundreds of Instagram DMS uh

cold emails or doing cold calls and you

can't even sell a free website and

there's a couple of reasons for that and

that's why in this video if you're still

struggling to land your first or your

first couple of clients then I'm going

to show you three methods on how you can

get clients with these and these three

methods are actually how I got my first

couple design clients and how most of my

students have gotten their first client

such as Tyler Carlos and many more who

are now working on their third and

fourth projects and these weren't free

clients by the way all of my first web

design clients were multi th000 projects

so you don't need to worry about having

to sell websites for free you can still

make a lot of money even when you're

just starting out now one factor that is

quite important is a portfolio and I

will be going over how to create the

perfect portfolio at the end of the

video because I know a lot of you are

thinking well how how do I create a

portfolio if I don't have any client

work to show but again I'll show that at

the end of the video so overall there is

one main reason why so many of you are

struggling to land your first web design

client and why these three methods are

perfect as a beginner and that is trust

people and businesses don't want to give

you money or even get a free website

from you not because your services are

bad but because they don't trust you and

why would they you're a stranger trying

to sell them on the phone via email DM M

saying I'm a web designer and I can

create a new website for you why will

they trust you if you can't show past

client work and results or if you're not

giving any free value to them and so the

best way to overcome that is working

with people who already trust you and

that is friends and family I know a lot

of you are going to say oh I would have

already thought about that or I've tried

it but hit me out because I know a lot

of you haven't either done it because

you're either too scared or nervous or

embarrassed to tell your friends or ask

your family or you don't think it works

because you're probably going to say

well my friends or family don't own any

businesses so how can they help me get a

client well here's a secret your friends

and family actually know other people

hopefully probably and they trust you

again hopefully if they don't trust you

then you probably shouldn't be trying to

sell services to random strangers or

businesses online anyway but that's

another issue but your friends and

family have other friends or know other

people who could need your services so

even if none of your friends or family

members own business or directly need a

website your uncle John might have a

neighbor who owns his own restoration

business or your friend Samy his dad

might own a local bakery or your

mother's yoga teacher wants to expand

his or her business and they now need a

new website or they need a redesign or

need some help with setting up their

social media or SEO or landing pages etc

etc and again because your family or

friends hopefully trust you it's a lot

easier to con iny that trust with a

person that already trusts a person if

that makes sense so because your friends

and family trust you it's a lot easier

for somebody else to trust you because

they are friends with somebody who

trusts

you yeah that makes sense right yeah now

number two is how I got my first of a

client and that is local businesses and

for this there are two options first

it's literally just going to local

businesses in person so in your local

area if you have a lot of businesses in

your local area or maybe in your local

city

literally just go to 10 20 30 40 maybe

even 100 businesses over the weekend or

over a couple of days and pit your

services because guess what it's a lot

harder to say no or to throw somebody

out of their store compared to just

saying no on the phone and hanging up or

not even looking at a message uh request

on the phone and it comes back to trust

because you're in person the business

owner can actually see you speak to you

get to know you a bit more and so

they're going to trust you 10 times more

than some random number that is phoning

them on a Friday afternoon and going in

person actually builds up your

self-esteem and your in-person sales

skills which is honestly just always a

plus and the second option is companies

and professionals that you've bought

from yourself because once you pay

somebody they automatically trust you

that little bit more because you're

trusting them right so trust goes both

ways because you trust them with their

knowledge with their service with their

food maybe or their product they trust

you back and so that already builds that

trust back uh that trust Gap slightly

and so because of that they are going to

trust you with their money just a little

bit more so as an example I once bought

a custom steering wheel for my car and

when I went to the company in person I

picked this up I asked them hey do you

need any ads or advertising Services you

know you make amazing products can you

use more clients and they said no but

then they said we actually need a

website and they asked me if I can build

a website for them and I said sure and

that's pretty much how I got that client

that was my second ever client after my

first client which you can uh see the

story about here a second example is a

plumber who came to us and at the end of

his shift I noticed that his website was

not optimized or responsive for the

phone for mobile and it was 13 years old

right so very very old design and I

mentioned this to him you know saying

that he could possibly be leaving a lot

of money on the table because a lot of

people in the local area aren't finding

him on Google or can't actually contact

him because of his outdated and

non-responsive website initially he said

that's fine I get all of my clients

through word of mouth but then a couple

weeks later he then messaged me and said

well um here's here's a text message uh

hi Patrick um name here you're up for

redoing my website and or making it

mobile friendly thanks right very quick

to the point then I said you know sure

sounds good we could do a one page or we

could do complete website and then from

him going you know I don't need a

website I get all of my clients Word of

Mouth he then said what do you recommend

you're younger and more knowledgeable I

want something good the best actually

and so from you know going from being a

skeptic to wanting a complete website is

just the power of telling everybody that

you know about what you do and again

it's because we were using the services

I bought a product from that person I

gave them money they trust me a little

bit more and so therefore or because I

trust them they're going to trust me

with my services and with their money

and as a bonus tip on one of our recent

school coaching calls a student of ours

or student of mine um actually gave an

awesome tip of having a QR code so a

link to your website a link to your

portfolio on your phone as a wallpaper

background and you guys can actually

scan this right now and and see where

this takes you little surprise there we

go um if you want a link to the website

to the generator that I use to generate

this free QR code send me the uh send me

the word code on Instagram at Patrick

spegel and I will send you that link

there now I do just want to mention if

you want to get oneon-one support

directly from me I do have a school

program link is down below you get free

go high level with done for you

automations and the next couple of

people get a free one-on-one in on

boarding call with myself now these

spots are going to be taken up very

quickly over the next couple of days you

also get all of my DM scripts on

Instagram we have a complete cold email

training an hour long with follow-ups

with scripts to write example Loom

videos sales scripts resources like

contracts and also an ad expert so if

you want to run ads for a web agency you

can work with somebody directly in our

team and to weekly group coaching calls

where we have a lot of fun honestly

they're super fun um but also we go over

a ton of amazing topics such as SEO uh

cold calling you know what scripts to

use what offers to do so if you need any

help with your Niche with your DM

scripts with Outreach with cold calling

with creating your offer join down below

again you get a free one-on-one on

boarding call if you join in the next

couple of days and if you miss it you

still get direct access to me and of

course you can ask any questions in the

school group or the group coaching calls

where I will help you directly plus of

course you are surrounded

by amazing web designers developers

agency owners who are you know either at

the same level as you or are a lot

further down the line who are running

you know multi th000 per month agencies

again link is down below and I can't

wait to see you there now next up we

have networking events and networking

events aren't just great for finding

potential clients but they're also

amazing for building business

relationships now this can be a

partnership for example or you can also

find an agency to work with or work for

most of you want to start your own

business or agency and that's fine

that's great however sometimes the smart

thing to do is to actually learn from

somebody who is a lot further along in

the journey than you are and so this

might be working for an agency or

working for somebody who is again you

know already making 50 $100,000 per

month and you shatter them or you help

them with a couple of systems and

processes and you do that for 6 months a

year maybe two years you're going to

learn so much in that time period make

some money and then you can always start

your own business afterwards and again

bring your QR code right this is an

awesome Tool uh thanks again to that

member in the school Community for this

uh suggestion and bring it again network

with everybody this doesn't mean that

you have to pitch to everybody right

don't go up to everybody and say hey uh

can I build your website or I'm a web

designer can I help you with your

business or you know um do you know any

clients that could need my services

don't do that literally try and have

conversations build connections mention

what you do but not in a trying to take

mentality but in a giving mentality

actually want to help their business

because they might be an agency offering

marketing services or photography

services and they are looking for a web

designer or developer to help them with

that offer and so I had a recent

experience with that myself where a

copywriter was looking for a web

designer to offer a complete website

package and we are now in talks because

of that for those of you not sure where

to find networking events in your area

you can use websites like Eventbrite or

meetup.com or you can just Google

networking events near me or business

meetups or business events near me be

creative try and figure it out right

it's not that hard and again tying

everything up together with trust

because you are at networking events

you're in person you're going to build

that trust a lot more because once again

the person can see you they can get to

know you a bit more they will trust you

inherently a lot more compared to

somebody who is just a phone number or a

text message basically just pixels on a

screen now with that being said earlier

I mentioned the importance of having a

portfolio even when you don't have past

clients and so what I personally did and

what I would highly recommend you do is

literally just create three to five

example designs it's even better if you

have a niche right if you create niched

uh designs and these can be an example

landing page for a roofing company a

service page for a plumbing company and

a contact page for a solar business and

I will develop one website so they can

see that you can actually develop and

build a website if that's part of your

service of course and in my opinion I

think this should be your portfolio

website you know if you can build your

portfolio Plus have example designs

amongst other things and I'll go into

that in a second that again is going to

build that trust because they can see

that you can actually do and provide the

services that you are offering and

promising and I will do this with a web

Bolder of your choice my personal

favorite favorite is webflow again link

to that is also in the description it's

super easy to use and you actually can

host your website for free so you can

build a completely free landing page

hosted with a webflow domain and I

believe you can also build another

website so you can have three to five

example designs your own portfolio

developed and hosted and if you want to

develop one more website let's just say

uh the landing page for the roofing

company then you can do that and then

you can send that as an example to a

roofing company for example that is

interested in your services for the rest

of your portfolio site I would include

of course contact information like a

canaly link uh email social media

accounts again posting as a web designer

is super important and is the top 1% way

of differentiating yourself from all the

other web designers out there and

Landing more clients passively so

getting them to come to you and then

also your skills and more importantly

what problems your customers are facing

and how you help solve them because if

you can directly talk to your clients

about the issues they are facing and how

you and your services are going to help

them with that that is how you build

that connection between client being

unhappy not knowing what to do and

finding your services and you know

wanting to contact you because you are

giving them a blueprint and you're

showing them the results or potential

results that you can generate for them

for their pain points for their issues

right build that emotional connection

that is where the selling is is done

something super important that I see a

lot of you forget is when you get

clients when you've gotten your first

couple of clients even if they are you

know very low amounts of money make sure

to get reviews and testimonials even

better would be a video testimonial a

video review post that onto your

portfolio website post that onto your

social media accounts and if you need a

website to get your uh reviews and get

your testimonials uh that send you uh

again link is down below it's an amazing

review uh website that I personally use

myself and it's one way to stand out

from your competitors and build that

trust with future clients now the next

three steps to scale your business and

get to that $10,000 per month Mark or 50

or $100,000 per Mark are three things

number one that's Partnerships and

referrals ask all of your clients for a

referral you know after a month or after

a week or even directly after the

website is done after you've done an

amazing job uh you know ask if they

would know three people that could

benefit from your services or if they

would know somebody who you know could

need a new website or who needs help

with their website and you can also

offer them a commission right in

addition you get 10 or 15% of the

project value for for Lifetime right so

whatever customer you bring to us as a

referral you will get commission and so

therefore they have an incentive to

bring more customers to you and then

Partnerships is what I mentioned earlier

working together with other

professionals so finding a copywriter

for example exle that is looking for a

web designer to offer an additional

service or going to a marketing company

a marketing agency and asking if they

want to build a partnership if you bring

them clients you'll get money and in

addition they can bring you clients

that's a win-win scenario then Outreach

cold dming cold calling cold emailing

again in our school we have my DM

scripts for Instagram Facebook also

where to find leads and how to find

people to do the work for you right

using a vaa virtual assistant for cold

email we have a complete training and a

complete hour with scripts loom video

examples and more and we're also going

to be adding some cold calling content

in the future as well and finally we

come to content which is one of the

easiest ways to stand out and get

inbound clients because guess what

99.9% of web designers aren't creating

content at all not on YouTube LinkedIn

Instagram Tik Tok and that's going to be

one of the main focuses going forward in

our school we actually have a lot of our

students now creating content which is

awesome to see it really makes me happy

to see other people creating content and

will hopefully start to get inbound

clients from that I hope this video

helped if you have any questions let me

know down below and a like And subscribe

will be very much appreciated and

remember to maximize your luck bye

[Music]