Why the Rule of 7 No Longer works

EMail from Anik Singal on the importance of follow-up which I have been writing about and using since 1997.

Fred

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2025-07-10

The Death of the 7-Touch Rule: Why Your Customers Need More Meaningful Interactions Before They Buy  

Remember the old marketing “rule of 7”?

It comes from the pre-internet sales world, but the idea was that customers needed to hear or see your offer 7 times before they’d buy.

Well, I’ve got news for you: it’s not just outdated—it’s completely dead.

After spending tens of millions on ads and tracking every customer interaction across my businesses, I’ve discovered something that might shock you:

Today’s customers often need 40+ meaningful touchpoints before they make a purchase decision.

And here’s the kicker: those touchpoints better be MEANINGFUL, not just banner ads and random emails.

Now don’t misunderstand me…

There ARE still customers out there who will buy right away. But they’re fewer and harder to find these days.

Let me show you exactly what I mean…

The New Reality: From 7 to 70 Touchpoints

Here’s what I’ve observed across multiple businesses in our industry:

Picture a customer who eventually invests in high-ticket programs – everything from a $3k course + coaching program to a $20,000 high-end mastermind.

By the time they buy, they’ve likely had 60+ touchpoints with the brand:

  • 23 Facebook ad impressions
  • 15 email opens
  • 12 social media post views
  • 8 webinar registrations
  • 5 community interactions
  • 4 direct message exchanges

Even customers who buy low-ticket, sub-$100 products often have 20+ meaningful interactions.

Here’s why this matters for your business…

Your mid-ticket and high-ticket offers are your real profit centers.

They’re where you make the money that funds everything else.

But if you’re trying to sell them with old-school “7 touches,” you’re leaving massive amounts of revenue on the table.

The solution isn’t just MORE touches—it’s more MEANINGFUL touches, on both the front and back of your funnel.

The 4 Types of Meaningful Touchpoints That Actually Convert

After testing hundreds of different interaction types, I’ve found four categories that move the needle:

1. Educational Touchpoints These build trust and demonstrate expertise. Think valuable blog posts, training videos, or strategy breakdowns. They position you as the authority.

2. Social Proof Touchpoints Case studies, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes content. These show that others like them have benefits with your help. But be careful, these MUST be presented compliantly.

3. Personal Connection Touchpoints Direct messages, community interactions, or personal stories. These build the relationship that’s crucial for high-ticket sales.

4. Urgency/Scarcity Touchpoints Limited-time offers, exclusive access, or deadline-driven content. These create the motivation to act now instead of “thinking about it.” But again, it must be REAL urgency and scarcity elements to be compliant.

The magic happens when you layer these four types across multiple platforms and timeframes.

Your customer might see your educational content on Facebook, receive social proof in their email, connect with you in a Facebook group, and then respond to a scarcity-based offer.

That’s how you turn cold traffic into $3,000 or even $20,000 sales.

But here’s what most experts get backwards: they try to do this WITHOUT the right offer structure in place.

You need your complete Pentagon of Scale working together:

  • Low-ticket offers that qualify real buyers
  • Mid-ticket offers that cover your acquisition costs
  • High-ticket offers that deliver the real profit
  • Systems that nurture across all touchpoints
  • A team that can manage the complexity
  • SOPs to ensure you’re delivering fully on everything you’ve promised

Without all these components, you’re just throwing more marketing at a broken system.

The businesses that master this approach?

They’re the ones scaling past $1-$3 million while their competitors stay stuck under $500k.

What meaningful touchpoints are you using in your business right now?

Take an introspective look right now and I’m confident you’ll find ways to add more and grow your business.

Anik Singal

P.S. Next week, you’re going to discover some of the ways we layer dozens of meaningful touchpoints automatically into our webinar funnels. 

It’s the system that’s generated tens of millions in revenue for our businesses over the years.

Anik founded Lurn.com and now uses https://academy.lurn.com/ for his training courses.

See my original “follow-up” blog-post at “Follow-up or Die”