Cold Calling or Linkedin? Which Works Better?

i wouldn't really know what works better and you won't really know unless you try either one. i would personally pick linkedin for the sole fact that i've done cold calling before and it's ROUGH!

Both work in different ways.
I've started using it more and more - it isn't a replacement for hitting the phones though.

If anything it COULD be considered a replacement for direct mail and email blasts.
It's real strength is managing and keeping in touch with your professional network though.

It works well in the ecosystem:
Cold calls + Direct mail + Email connects + LinkedIn connects + Any other special lead-gen methods you may have ;-)

It depends very much, but I would choose Linkedin, though - both are very important.

I Tried both and 100% sure COLD CALL, linked in is way to pasive and if you are in sales YOU HAVE TO BE AS PROACTIVE as possible, So go for it, !

I like linkedin better because most cold calls are being turned down in a snap.

I'd go for cold calls. LinkedIn is great and all but I've come to notice recently that there are a lot of other marketers in there as well. Honestly, for me, it's getting harder and harder each day to market our services in LinkedIn.

Unless you didn't give a try, you will not know which works for you. What ever you give. Give 100% so that either you will succeed or you will have a good lesson.

LinkedIn is slowly starting to get flooded by more and more people Marketing products like SEO and other Offline services.

But with that being said, there is still a lot of potential on LinkedIn....you just have to know how to stand out of the crowd more...

If you want to do something that is halfway between LinkedIn and Cold Calling....Meetup.com....

Like minded business people wanting to network and get advice like LinkedIn but at the same time it is face to face cold calling with your best Networking/Salesmen hat on at the same time....

Thanks a lot for your input guys.. I think I will try it both ways..

What about the second part of the question? If you had a sample to show your potential clients, how would you do it without having to talk to your client personally either over the phone or on skype?

I'm thinking more in terms of cold calling, get email contact and then show sample.. Is there a better way without the time-intensive closing part?

Hope you guys can provide your insight on this matter.. Thanks a lot..

Cold calls for sure. However, do LinkedIn for YOUR service and see how it works out. I'm sure there are others making good money with it. The key is to be consistent and look at your numbers and see what is working and what is nt working...but only after you have given it enough time to test. Testing and tracking is where it is.

Why just pick one? I don't understand the question.

LinkedIn is the way to go. I don't advise cold calling to my students. One of best ways to get clients...is to become your first client. What ever you are proposing to sell a business, you better be doing well yourself first. Position YOUR website where people are looking for your services...done deal....
Then use LinkedIn to brand yourself as an expert and find joint ventures and decision makers using LinkedIn.

I prefer LinkedIn it works great for me.

Well..of course, I'm a bit biased since I got my first client off LinkedIn. I've done a bunch of cold calling as well (more so for corporate than offline) and for me, LinkedIn has worked. They both work, and of course, if combined, work even better!

Are there marketers and SEO guys on LinkedIn? Yup!

So why does it still work for me..?

1. Setup your profile correctly! So many people miss the mark on this one..it's about positioning yourself and letting your profile "pre-sell" anybody who views it

2. Attraction marketing--I kid you not, I am getting emails/messages and even phone calls from people who say they found me on LinkedIn, read my profile, were impressed and want to learn more about my services

3. Easy access to our target market (regardless of what industry you're going after) and ability to really focus in on the decision maker. I want to have a conversation with the person who can say "yah or nah" when it comes to my services. LinkedIn allows me to do that.

4. Follow up with a call..but it's not cold anymore. I always try to take my LinkedIn connection offline as soon as possible with a phone call, video review, etc. Now..when I call, I'm not just a cold call, "I'm Preeti..from XYZ group and we were talking about online marketing.."

5. I think my mentality is..there's more than enough for everybody..the person who is meant to work with me, will work with me, the person who is meant to work with another marketer, will work with them..

6. Although many marketers are on LinkedIn..they don't remain consistent..just like cold calling..if you're not consistent..the results will not just show up out of the blue

All I know..it's worked for me and I know has the ability to help others too!