Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Web Design Clients Without Ads

Name: The Last Video You'll Need to Get Web Design Clients
Uploaded: 2026-04-06T02:12:11.512830+00:00
Duration: 26 min 10 s
Channel: Goutham Scales
Description: Summary and key takeaways on The Last Video You'll Need to Get Web Design Clients — Summary, covering The Agency Foundation Success in web design is simple

Goutham Scales

Apr 06, 2026

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26 min video

•

3 min read

YouTube video ID: Lx8lpPj6twE

Source: YouTube video by Goutham Scales — Watch original video

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Success in web design is simple; failure usually stems from poor work ethic or a missing system. Begin by overcoming procrastination and building accountability. Adopt a “fake it until you make it” mindset—present yourself as a web designer even without a portfolio, experience, or large following. Update personal social media profiles to state clearly that you are a web designer.

Seven Outreach Methods

Friends and Family

Leverage your close circle first. Ask friends and family for introductions to local businesses that might need a website. Their trust helps you secure initial projects and builds confidence.

Cold Walk‑ins

Target nearby businesses, walk in, and start a low‑pressure conversation. Offer a quick audit of their current online presence and propose a solution. This face‑to‑face approach yields a high conversion rate when you treat the shop owner like a simple human being, not a sales target.

Cold Calling

If walk‑ins feel uncomfortable, pick up the phone. Call businesses, acknowledge that you have no appointment, and suggest a 10–15‑minute Zoom call to show a pre‑built, high‑conversion website. Offer the call as a fair exchange for their time. Persistence matters; expect rejection but keep dialing.

Instagram Direct Messages

Create a professional Instagram profile with pinned posts and testimonials. Use niche‑specific search commands to find businesses lacking a website link in their bio. Send a concise DM offering a free website audit or a “free website” funnel.

Facebook Groups

Join local or industry‑specific Facebook groups. Post an offer for a free website to group members. One well‑crafted post can generate dozens of comments and leads, as demonstrated by a single post that received 72 comments.

Long‑term Content Creation

Produce short videos aimed at local business owners. Publish consistently for 3–6 months to build authority. Over time, the content attracts inbound inquiries without any paid advertising.

Referrals

After securing 2–3 clients, ask them for referrals. Keep the relationship warm with regular check‑ins. Referrals become a reliable source of new business once you have a proven track record.

Execution and Scaling

Lead Identification

Use Google Maps or search queries like “roofing in London” to locate businesses without a website link on their Google My Business profile. Record these leads in a CRM such as Go High Level, which also provides phone numbers for outreach.

Consistent, Non‑Salesy Communication

Reach out with a friendly tone. Whether you’re walking in, calling, or DM‑ing, treat the prospect as a person, not a sale. Avoid aggressive language; keep messages brief and value‑focused.

The “Free Website” Funnel

Offer a free website to get a foot in the door. During the sales call, upsell paid services such as social media management or hosting fees priced at $97, $297, or $497 per month. This model turns a zero‑cost entry into recurring revenue.

Scaling Deals

For cold walk‑ins, price a website at £500 plus £500 per month for social media management. Use the same structure for other channels, adjusting pricing based on client size and scope.

“If you can't get any clients, the problem is not with this web design business model itself. The problem is with you and with your work ethics.”
“Treat them like a simple human being. Don't go into the shop or go into the conversation like your life depends on it.”
“You have to fake it until you make it.”
“It's not easy. It's simple.”
“If you don't make money with web design, the problem is with you.”

Takeaways

Success in web design hinges on strong work ethic and a repeatable outreach system rather than on ads or a large following.
Starting with friends and family builds trust and provides the first few projects needed to prove your capabilities.
Cold walk‑ins and cold calling use a low‑pressure, human‑focused approach that can book meetings even with a modest success rate.
Offering a free website creates an entry point for upselling recurring services such as hosting or social media management.
Consistent, non‑salesy communication and organized lead tracking enable you to scale from a few local clients to a steady monthly revenue stream.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the "Free Website" funnel work for acquiring web design clients?

The funnel starts by offering a free website to a prospect, which lowers the barrier to entry and secures a meeting. During the sales call you demonstrate the site, then upsell paid services like hosting or social media management, turning a zero‑cost offer into recurring income.

What success rate does cold calling achieve in this client acquisition system?

Cold calling yields about seven booked meetings from fifty calls, reflecting a roughly 14% conversion rate. The process relies on persistence, a brief 10–15‑minute Zoom demo, and framing the call as a fair exchange for the prospect’s time.

Who is Goutham Scales on YouTube?

Goutham Scales is a YouTube channel that publishes videos on a range of topics. Browse more summaries from this channel below.

Does this page include the full transcript of the video?

Yes, the full transcript for this video is available on this page. Click 'Show transcript' in the sidebar to read it.

Helpful resources related to this video

If you want to practice or explore the concepts discussed in the video, these commonly used tools may help.

Daily Planner For Business Goal Tracking Recommended

A physical planner helps maintain the consistent work ethic and accountability systems mentioned as essential for agency success.

Amazon →

Noise Cancelling Headset For Cold Calling

A high-quality headset improves audio clarity during cold calls, making professional communication easier for the user.

Amazon →

Books On Sales And Cold Calling

Books on sales psychology provide the foundational skills needed to convert cold leads into paying web design clients.

Amazon →

Professional Business Card Holder

Carrying business cards is essential for the 'cold walk-in' method to leave a lasting impression on local business owners.

Amazon →

Links may be affiliate links. We only include resources that are genuinely relevant to the topic.

Summarize another video

Full Transcript YouTube

Over the past 3 years of running my web
design agency, I've tested multiple
different methods to land web design
clients. Some of them flopped, but some
of them absolutely crushed it. And
eventually, I started making 15 to
$20,000 every single month with my web
design agency. And I don't even put that
much effort into getting those clients
anymore. So, in this video, I'm going to
show you the best seven methods which
can actually give you some results as
quick as possible. And before talking
about all those strategies, here's
something I've learned after coaching
lots of web designers, helping them get
quick results inside their agency is
that you guys are better web designer
than me. You can create good-looking
websites, but you struggle to get
clients. You don't have a proper system
in place. And on top of it, this is the
most important issue. You suffer with
accountability issue and procrastination
issue. So in this video, I'm going to
show you the exact system my coaching
members are using to close their first
client in their first week. So after
watching this video, if you can't get
any clients, the problem is not with
this web design business model itself.
The problem is with you and with your
work ethics. So let's get straight to
the point. Before looking into the
strategy, why watch this video? Why
listen to me? I've used this exact
method to land paying clients
consistently. It's not just me. My
coaching members are doing the same
thing. Signing their first client in
their first week. And on top of it, this
is an example. I was literally cleaning
toilets and I had minus7s in my bank
account on that month alone. And now I'm
traveling around full-time. I'm living
in Bali. I'm making 15 to 20,000 every
single month. And with the strategy, you
don't need to pay for ads. You don't
need to have a big following. And you
don't even need to have a portfolio or
experience before going into this web
design game. And these are the seven
best outreach methods. First of all,
friends and family networking. I cannot
stress this enough. The first client
you're going to get is the from your
close circle because no one's going to
trust you if you don't have anything to
show for. And this is the best place you
can start. And this is exactly how I got
my first client. So this is the first
post I made and I've changed the entire
social media presence even if I didn't
had a a professional agency account.
I've changed my personal account to show
that I am a web designer. If your
friends and family doesn't know that you
provide web design services even if your
close friend he's starting a a business
instead of coming to you he's going to
find someone else because he doesn't
know that you built websites and only
after having for example uh that's my
Instagram that's my Facebook and that's
my LinkedIn everywhere you go you can
see that I am a web designer and I have
uh posted this exact post hey local
business owners. I'm looking for two to
three local business owners that want to
work with me to get their free website
and trust me this post changed my life
and yeah you can do the same thing and
this is the reason I got one of my
friend reaching out to me. So the first
method the friends and family if you did
this properly I'm pretty sure you will
get your first client in your first week
and we are moving on to cold walk-ins
the next best thing if you want your
clients today or tomorrow because when
it comes to cold walk-ins you are
actually having a conversation with the
business owner right then and there face
to face and I'm pretty sure where you're
living there are lots and lots of
businesses on the streets even when
you're walking
Just look around what kind of businesses
are are there on the street and just
look them up. If they don't have a
website, just go inside. Or if they have
a outdated website, just go inside the
shop. Have a simple conversation. Treat
them like a simple human being. Don't go
into the shop or go into the
conversation like your life depends on
it. That's where you commit lots of
mistakes and you stress out for no
reason. Even if he said no, who cares?
go to the next job, do the same thing.
That's how you build the business and
that's how you build your own mind. It
it's going to spill over everything you
do within the business and you're not
going to stress out too much. And lucky
for you guys, I've recorded one of my
cold walk-ins and this is exactly how it
went.
>> Hello brother.
>> How are you? Uh my name is Goautam.
>> Uh I was just passing by and uh it looks
like you were in construction and
finally I opened up and I was looking
into your online presence. It looks like
you didn't have any website and social
media. So I'm a website designer.
Probably I can help you out with your
online presence. Uh I think it's going
to be helpful for you.
>> Absolutely.
>> What you think?
>> That be a great call. We're looking for
that as well. So if you leave me your
contact details, I'm I definitely going
to contact you.
>> Definitely.
>> I'll give you a pen and paper your
contact details. I'll be grateful.
>> Just write your
phone number and your email address
here, please.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Okay, that's my number and that's my
email. And uh just give me a text. I'll
send you my portfolio and I'll let you
know everything what I'm doing right now
and I think you're in good hands.
>> Definitely I will do because literally
we haven't done any advent yet. So you
came in the great time and in the right
time so hopefully looking forward to see
you again.
>> That's good for me. That's good for me.
Have a nice evening.
>> See you.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Bye-bye. Bye.
As you would have seen in this video, I
was just having a normal conversation
with the business owner where I can
genuinely help him to get his uh website
and social media. I ended up closing him
for £500 website and 500 a month social
media management. And this strategy
doesn't really have a script. You just
have to have a proper conversation. But
if you're just starting out, if you want
a uh like a script to go by, you can use
this one. And you can also get this
entire uh sheet we're going to see in
this video by just giving me a message
on my Instagram. Just type the word
script and I will send it to you. If you
want to copy paste my entire business
model for free, which is bringing in
$20,000 in monthly recurring revenue and
I'll be teaching you how to outreach the
client, how to close the client, and how
to deliver the service as quick as
possible and start stacking your monthly
recurring revenue. And I'll even jump on
the weekly coaching calls to answer all
of your questions. And I'll help you to
get more clients in a matter of days or
weeks. You don't need to stress about
what to sell and who to sell it to.
Everything is already done for you. You
just have to copy and paste and start
printing money. If you want all of these
for free, all you have to do is click
the first link in the description. And
next up is cold calling.
Yes, the big one. And I cannot stress
this enough. I was uh I'll just give you
an example. Uh a year ago, I started
doing cold calling. And I think it's
it's been two years now. So it's been
two years now since I started doing cold
calling for my business. And trust me,
in this 11 minute video, I called three
businesses. Only three businesses. And
it went miserably. And I was I didn't
even have a proper conversation with any
business owners. And with that horrible
stress, I didn't do any cold calling for
at least for a few weeks or at least few
months if I remember it properly. And
after that, I was like screw it. It is
what it is. I need to build my business
and the business owner who I'm calling
and even if he said no or even if he
being rude to me or even if he being
racist to me, who cares? He can't see my
face. I can't see his face. He doesn't
know who I am. I'm going to call the
other guy and do the same thing.
>> Hello.
>> Hello. Is this Ignite Plumbing?
>> It is.
>> Hello, mate. I know that I'm calling you
without an appointment, but can you give
me 20 seconds to let you know why I
called you?
Okay. Okay. It's just going to take 20
seconds. So, I checked your listing in
Google Maps and I saw that you guys
don't have a website. Is that correct?
>> Yeah, correct.
>> So, I actually built you guys a high
conversion plumbing website which can
help you get more customers without
spending money on Facebook and Google
ads. I can show you the website in a
quick 10 to 15 minute zoom call. If you
like it, you can keep it. Does that
sound fair?
>> Is it possible? I'm not working
tomorrow.
>> Okay.
>> I'm working in the morning and I'm
finishing the airport. I'm finishing
by 12.
>> Oh, okay. M. So, are you free on 12
tomorrow?
>> Tomorrow. I'm not working tomorrow.
>> Okay.
>> Okay.
I'm free. Okay, man.
>> Yeah. So, I can give you a call on 12
tomorrow and I can show you the website.
If you like it, you can keep it.
>> No, that's fine. Give me a call
tomorrow.
>> Okay.
>> Okay, man. Okay, man. Thank you so much.
>> Okay, mate. Thank you so much. I'll talk
to you tomorrow.
Have a nice day.
>> Bye.
>> Yes. Yes. First booking. [ __ ] yeah.
First booking.
This is the best strategy if you're not
living in a first world country like you
can't do the walk-ins to sign those
clients and you don't really have a
extensive friend or uh community where
you can have uh your first few clients
by networking within your circle. This
is the best and you just have to have a
phone number. You can have phone number
with any services. What I use is go high
level. inside go high level you can pay
$1 for a US number stack calling that's
it and if you want to find those leads
who doesn't have websites to do the cold
calling this is what you should do go on
Google and search your niche and the
particular location for example let's
say
roofing in London and all you have to do
is scroll down and I'm pretty sure you
will find one business who doesn't
this website logo on their Google My
Business page. And there you go. Roofing
in London Limited. They have they don't
have website. They only have direction
and they have their own phone number.
And along with that, they only have
three reviews. So, you don't just sign
them up for a website, you can also sign
them up for a reputation management for
$297
a month. So, you literally have leads
sitting right there. Just pick up your
phone, give them a call, sign them up,
voila, you got your first client. And if
you want the entire script, so this is
the script. This is the script I
genuinely use. Uh, which you can see in
this video. I just called 50 businesses,
just 50, and I close seven booked
meetings. That's how good this script
is. All these scripts, message me on
Instagram. I will send everything to
you. And next up is Instagram DMs.
Now, we are coming into a less stressful
scenario. I'm pretty sure cold walk-ins
and cold uh calling, it's going to be
nerve-wracking if you're just starting
out. And this is what I genuinely help
my coaching members with. I start with
Instagram and Facebook to break the ice
so that they will start getting those
clients then they are uh more
comfortable on their sales call and only
then when they are they they really want
to kick things up that's when I suggest
them to go for cold calling or cold
walk-ins but if you are some person who
are introverted and doesn't want to be
in a stressful situation that's where
the Instagram DM comes in handy And
yeah, it's not just that you're going to
pick up an Instagram and start doing the
outreach. You have to have a proper
Instagram account just like mine. I have
800 followers. I have a pinned post. I
have portfolio and I have a testimonial
from an actual client. You don't need
all those things. Uh you can have a like
portfolio. Just take screenshots, put
them right there. Uh, just make a quick
video of explaining what you do and who
you help and testimonial. Just ask your
friend or ask your mom to make a video.
That's all you need to do. You have to
fake it until you make it. You You're
not going to have testimonials and
reviews just when you're starting out.
But the clients will trust you more if
you have those things in place. But
yeah, the followers are non
non-negotiable and the proper structure
is non-negotiable. And yeah, I know a
guy who can help you out with increasing
your followers and making your Instagram
look more legit so that when you're
reaching out to clients, the clients
will actually reply to you and you can
have a proper conversation just like
these to close those clients as a paid
client. And quickly, I will show you how
to find those leads in a moment. again.
Now we are on Google and I'm going to
paste this command prompt inside Google
where Google is going to find all of the
Instagram account of the businesses who
don't have website and it's going to go
through niche by niche. So uh right now
you're not going to see this command
because I don't want everyone else to do
it. Again, if you want the command, give
me a DM on Instagram and let's say
change the niche. So you just have to
change the niche and the location.
Again, let's go for
roofing and city
as
London.
And click enter.
There you go. These are all of the
Instagram accounts of businesses who
don't have website. For example, let's
say roofing construction. There you go.
they have their email and they have
their phone number and they don't have a
website. You can reach out to them
through their email and through their
phone number or just give give them a DM
or if you want to increase your
probability do all of them at the same
time because this business is posting.
Yeah, they they are being active but
they don't have a website. There you go.
That's another lead. And if you want the
script I I use uh to pitch them, for
example, like this, I I just send them a
screenshot. For example, uh yeah, this
is another one, a roofing screenshot,
and I pitch them a service like I've
actually built you a website and all I'm
asking in return is to 5 to 10 minutes
of your time. Just hop on a call. If you
like the website, we can work together.
And this is where where I have my VSSL,
the booking page. They book a meeting
with me. I co I go inside the sales call
and I close them inside the sales call.
And yeah, I have all different outreach
strategies and scripts. If you want
them, let me know. Next up is Facebook
group. Another best one. And this is the
best
to get your first 10 clients in your
first month because this is the most
simplest way to get clients come to you.
Yes, you heard that right. It's more of
a inbound outreach strategy. For
example, let me show you this post.
I have 72
comments, 72 potential clients who want
to work with me.
They have been reaching out to me and
some of them even directly messaged me.
For example, hey, I saw your post about
website and I'm sure the positions are
already filled, but could you do a
landing page for my business, happy to
pay so I do a free website offer and
inside the meeting I upsell them to a
paid website and along with that I
upsell them for a hosting fee. I mean
not upsell, they have to pay the hosting
fee. It starts from 97 and it's 297 and
another one is 497. And since I'm
pitching from a free offer, there are
lots and lots of leads coming inbound.
And that's how I ended up booking these
many booked meetings and I signed 10
clients in just two weeks. That's how
powerful it is. And again, I can't get
these comments again and again. You
can't just say I'm building free website
and
uh expect all these clients to come to
you and stop messaging me that it's not
working. I'm I'm I'm not showing the
outreach. So I don't know what you're
doing it what's not working for you. If
you genuinely want these uh scripts uh
yeah I was not showing the script on
YouTube and I didn't want to send this
out to everyone so that people are going
to ruin it. But now, changing heart. I'm
actually spilling the sauce. Again, if
you want the exact script I used in this
uh post because I don't want to show the
post, uh you can again DM me on
Instagram, get the exact script. And if
you want some help with setting up your
own structured uh funnel uh calendar
booking, everything uh you can click the
first link in the description, book an
onboarding call if you want a
personalized one-on-one help from me.
And we are moving into a long-term fix
content. And this I again you have to
start posting video. I don't care if
you're introvert. I don't care if you're
not good at sitting in uh front of your
camera. You have to start posting video.
If you if clients doesn't know that you
exist, how the hell are they going to
find you to work with you and pay you to
deliver the service? So start posting
video even if you're not seeing any
results in the beginning at least for 3
months or maybe in 3 to 6 months when
you start getting views
you are even if you get around 300 to
600 views on the niche if you're just
talking about websites local businesses
the local businesses will watch those
website and those are your targeted
audience and even if One of those 300
views want to work with you. That's
$1,000 right there. And that's how I
signed this client. As you can see, I
have 10 likes.
10 likes and it has 300 views. And one
of the uh client was interested in
working with me. That's how simple it
is. It's not easy. It's simple. You have
to uh increase your probability. If
you're going outside and walking on the
street, if you saw some uh shops just
opening up, go inside the shop, ask
them, did you already built a website?
Because I can't see you in Google My
Business page or you website doesn't
exist. If you need some help with web
design or creating your own logo or
Google My Business page, I'm the guy. I
just live close by. If you need some
help, this is my number. Give me a text.
This is the exact thing I did on the
video you saw. And if you want to
increase your probability even even
more, everywhere you go, have a
normal conversation. Instead of being
salesy, just mention that you do web
design. Even if it's not about business,
if you're just talking to a friend, just
mention that this is what I do. Guess
what? If your friend knows another guy
who needs a web designer, you are going
to be referred to that guy. So, you have
to increase your probability so that you
there's no way in hell you're not going
to get clients. And this is another way
you start your content. I don't I don't
care you are shy. I don't care if you're
introvert. Start posting videos. That's
the only reason I'm posting videos in
three different Instagram account for my
own brand which is my web design and my
personal account which for which is for
traveling and another account for
getting my web design clients. I'm going
crazy with the content because I know
it's working and this is the best thing
you're gonna ever do in your entire
life. So yeah, I'm not I'm not going to
get too deep into this, but yeah, start
posting videos. Next up is referral. And
these are another way you can get more
clients. And yeah, if you are not having
more clients in the beginning to start
with, it's not going to work for you.
But if you actually have like one to two
clients, this is the best. I'm not going
to get too deep into this because most
of the guys you're watching this video,
you're genuinely don't have any clients.
That's why you're watching this video.
But I just want to throw it there
because it's helped me to get more
clients from my existing clients because
I genuinely have lots of good
relationship with my actual clients. I
just I make jokes. I uh get get in
contact to them at least u once in two
weeks. Just have a friendly conversation
and that's the end. Uh we have
referrals. Yeah, it's a quick summary.
Referrals if you already have a at least
or you have two to three different uh
website clients. And we have content to
get inbound leads. And we have Facebook
if you just want to blow up just like I
showed the 70 comments and booked up uh
calendar. And we have Instagram if you
don't want to do cold calling, Instagram
and Facebook is the best. And if you
want to get if you don't care about
getting rejected, but you just want some
clients in a week, cold calling is the
best. And you can't wait for a week. If
you want some clients today, cold
walk-ins is the best. And if you don't
have any experience doing anything,
you're just starting out, start with
your friends and family. Do some
networking. Let them know uh what you do
and uh how it's done. Friends and family
is the best. And all the things you have
seen and all the things you haven't seen
inside this doc, I will send it to you
along with this doc. So you will also I
will also send this doc and along with
the uh the Instagram script and the
Facebook uh script. I will send it to
you. Just give me a message on
Instagram. And these are the best seven
methods I've genuinely use to get more
clients. I'm not just making videos.
I've genuinely did this myself. And even
after watching these videos, even after
getting those scripts from my Instagram,
if you still don't get clients, it's not
a web design model
problem.
Any business you're going to do, you're
going to suck at that just because you
can't stick to one business and you
can't put all of the effort to make this
happen. If you can't make money with the
web design and I'm pretty sure you can't
make money with any business model
because web design is the most simplest
business model. You sell a website, you
get the payment unlike other business
model. For example, SMMA, you have to
keep on delivering the service and if
your client is not seeing any results,
you're not going to get the money and
you have to refund the money because you
have said that they are going to get
some results. So the point I'm trying to
make is if you don't make money with web
design, the problem is with you. Because
this is the exact strategy I will leave
all the screenshot in my screen. These
are the results of my coaching members
getting clients on their first week. So
this [ __ ] works. And I think you got
some value out of this video. I'm pretty
sure if you did exactly what I showed
you in this video, you will get those
clients. And I will see you guys in the
next video.