The ultimate guide to asking clients for LinkedIn recommendations (without making it awkward)

LinkedIn recommendations are one of the most useful ways to show prospective clients what it’s actually like to work with you.

While your profile explains your expertise and services, recommendations offer something different: an outside perspective from people who’ve experienced your work firsthand.

Think about LinkedIn recommendations the same way you think about restaurant reviews. If a restaurant hasn’t had a new review in months, you might wonder whether people still go there. Your LinkedIn recommendations work similarly: recent recommendations show that people are hiring you now and are happy with the work you’re doing.

But not all recommendations are equally helpful.

A generic “It was great working with you” is nice to receive, but it doesn’t tell a potential client very much.

A recommendation that explains the problem you helped solve, what the experience was like, and what changed as a result can be much more valuable.

Recommendations are one of the areas we look at in our LinkedIn Profile Optimization service, because strong social proof can make it much easier for a prospective client to trust what the rest of your profile is telling them.

So, how many recommendations do you need? Who should you ask? And how do you request one without making it feel awkward?

Let’s walk through it.

1. How many LinkedIn recommendations do you need?

As a rule of thumb, aim to have:

• At least one recommendation from the past three months
• At least three recommendations from the past year (including that recent one)

You don’t need to collect recommendations just for the sake of increasing the number on your profile. If you already have several recent, relevant recommendations, you’re in good shape.

But if your most recent recommendation is from over a year ago, or you don’t have any at all, start by identifying a few people you could ask.

The goal is to show that your expertise isn’t just something you’ve done in the past. People are hiring you for this work now.

Make sure your recommendations are still relevant

Your business changes over time. You may refine your niche, introduce a new service, work with larger clients, or decide you want to be known for a different type of work. Your recommendations should evolve with you.

Ask yourself:

• Do these recommendations reflect the work I want more of?
• Do they speak to the challenges my ideal clients are facing?
• Do they show the strengths and results I want to be known for?
• Are there recent clients whose experiences would add a useful perspective?

You don’t need to remove an older recommendation just because it’s old. If it still supports your positioning, keep it.

But if your recommendations describe work you no longer offer while your newer services have no client proof behind them, that’s a sign to request a few new ones.

As your business evolves, the proof on your profile should evolve with it. If you’re not sure whether the rest of your profile still supports where your business is headed, here are 3 ways your LinkedIn profile might not be optimized.

2. Who should you ask for a LinkedIn recommendation?

Start by thinking about the work you most enjoy doing, and that’s most profitable.

Then identify clients you’ve helped overcome challenges, ideally people who’ve worked with you recently.

Consider:

• Clients who have seen meaningful results from your work
• Clients who can speak to a service you want to promote
• Clients you’ve developed a strong working relationship with
• Clients who can describe what makes your approach different

The strongest recommendations usually come from clients who closely resemble the type of client you want to attract next.

You don’t need dozens of recommendations. A few relevant, specific ones can be more helpful than a long list of generic praise.

What if you work in a confidentiality-sensitive industry?

If you work in therapy, healthcare, legal services, or another field where asking clients for a public recommendation doesn’t feel appropriate, don’t ask them.

Instead, consider people who can credibly speak to your work, such as:

• Past colleagues
• Collaborators
• Referral partners
• Business partners

What if you’re newer in business?

You don’t need to wait until you’ve accumulated years of client work. Think about colleagues, collaborators, or partners who have worked closely enough with you on relevant projects to speak meaningfully about your expertise, how you work, and the value you bring.

The important thing is that the recommendation supports the work you want to be hired for now.

3. How do you ask someone for a LinkedIn recommendation?

For many people, this is the uncomfortable part. (If reaching out to people on LinkedIn is the part you’re dreading, here’s why LinkedIn messages can feel so uncomfortable and how to make them easier.)

You know a client was happy with the work. But sending a message that essentially says “Will you say something nice about me publicly?” can feel awkward.

The easiest way to make the request feel natural is to make it personal and easy to answer.

Most happy clients are glad to recommend someone they’ve enjoyed working with.

The challenge is that they may not know what to write.

Rather than leaving them staring at a blank page, give them a few prompts.

You can suggest they touch on:

The challenge: What were they trying to solve or accomplish when they hired you?

The experience: What was it like working with you? What did they particularly appreciate about your approach?

The outcome: What changed or improved as a result of your work together?

These prompts help them recall useful details and write a recommendation in their own words.

They don’t need to answer every question, and you don’t want to put words in their mouth. The goal is simply to help them remember the details that will make their recommendation useful to someone considering hiring you.

Where to send your request

You have two options:

• Ask first, then send the LinkedIn request. Send one of the templates below by email or direct message. Once they say yes, send the official request through LinkedIn (see Section 4).
• Ask directly through LinkedIn. Skip the separate message and paste the template into the personal message field of LinkedIn’s recommendation request.

The first option works well if you usually communicate with this client by email, or if you want to check that they’re comfortable before sending anything official. The second is faster if you already talk with them on LinkedIn.

Template: if they haven’t written a recommendation before

Hi [Name],

I really enjoyed working with you on [project/service], and I wanted to ask a quick favor.

Would you be open to writing a short recommendation for me on LinkedIn?

If helpful, you could mention what you were hoping to accomplish when we started working together, what the experience was like, and any results or improvements you saw.

Of course, please feel free to put it in your own words. Even a few sentences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
[Your Name]

Before sending it, personalize the message. Reference the actual project or work you did together rather than sending the exact same request to every client.

Template: if they’ve already given you a testimonial

Hi [Name],

In the past, you generously shared this feedback with me:

“[Insert testimonial or feedback]”

Would you be open to sharing this as a recommendation on my LinkedIn profile as well?

Thanks so much for considering it.

They’ve already done the hard part. You’re simply asking whether they’re comfortable sharing the same feedback on LinkedIn.

4. How do you request a recommendation on LinkedIn?

First, make sure you’re connected. LinkedIn only lets you request recommendations from your 1st-degree connections, so if you aren’t connected with your client yet, send them a connection request and wait for them to accept.

Then, to send the official request:

1. Open the client’s LinkedIn profile.
2. Look for the More menu and select Request a recommendation.
3. Select the relationship and position details LinkedIn asks for.
4. Add a personal message and send your request.

Here’s our short video tutorial that walks you through each step.

If you’ve already asked them by email or direct message, let them know you’ll send the LinkedIn request next so it’s easy for them to complete.

LinkedIn changes its interface periodically, so don’t worry if the exact location of the button looks slightly different. The Recommendations section of your own profile is another place to find the request feature.

5. What if they don’t respond?

People are busy, and writing a recommendation isn’t always at the top of their priority list.

That doesn’t mean they don’t want to help.

Whether someone hasn’t replied to your request at all, or agreed but hasn’t followed through, it’s fine to send one friendly reminder after about a week.

You could say:

“Hi [Name], just following up on my LinkedIn recommendation request. I know things get busy, so no pressure at all. I really appreciate you considering it.”

If you still don’t hear back after that, leave it there and ask someone else.

The goal is to collect meaningful social proof without damaging a good relationship in the process.

Make requesting recommendations part of your client process

The easiest time to collect a recommendation isn’t six months later, when you suddenly realize your profile looks outdated.

It’s at the end of a successful engagement, while the experience is still top of mind for your client.

When a client has had a great experience, you can:

1. Ask for feedback or a testimonial.
2. If it’s positive, ask whether they’re comfortable sharing it as a LinkedIn recommendation.
3. Send the official LinkedIn request right away.

Now you aren’t periodically scrambling to find someone to recommend you. You’re consistently building a body of recent proof as you do great work.

Recommendations are only one part of a client-attracting LinkedIn profile

You can have fantastic recommendations and still have a LinkedIn profile that doesn’t bring you leads.

A prospective client also needs to quickly understand:

• Who you help
• What problem you solve
• What makes you credible
• What services you offer
• What they should do next

That’s why, when we optimize a client’s LinkedIn profile, we don’t look at recommendations in isolation.

We look at how all of the pieces work together so that when the right prospective client lands on your profile, they understand the value you provide and have a clear reason to take the next step.

If you’re not sure whether your profile is doing all of that, here’s how to tell if your LinkedIn profile is optimized.

Want to use LinkedIn to book more clients?

A strong LinkedIn profile is the foundation. But the end goal isn’t just to have a better profile — it’s to use LinkedIn to generate leads and book clients.

When we work together, we do that in two steps:

Step 1: We optimize your LinkedIn profile

You don’t need to spend hours wondering which sections of your profile need work or trying to rewrite everything yourself.

Through our LinkedIn Profile Optimization service, my team and I help consultants turn their LinkedIn profiles into clear, credible assets for their businesses.

We’ll review your positioning, copy, proof, recommendations, and the other pieces of your profile that influence whether the right person understands why they should hire you.

Within 7 days of completing the intake process, you’ll receive personalized suggestions and word-for-word copy, so you know exactly what to change.

Learn more about LinkedIn Profile Optimization.

Step 2: We help you use LinkedIn to generate leads

After we optimize your profile, the next step is learning how to consistently get into conversations with the right prospective clients.

That’s what we work on in our program Leads on LinkedIn.

Through six months of private coaching, you’ll learn how to use strategic LinkedIn posts and relationship-focused direct messaging to build relationships, start more conversations, and book discovery calls.

The goal is to give you a repeatable way to generate demand for your services when you need it — without cold pitching, mass outreach, or posting every day.

Learn more about Leads on LinkedIn.