How many marketing touches?

Conventional marketing wisdom tells us that you need to ‘touch’ someone 5-7 times before they will buy. Candidly I don’t buy this anymore in the current increasingly competitive environment. A combination of increased noise in the market place, ie information overload, and tougher trading means 5 things: 1) You need to communicate more often to get heard; 2) You need to be clearer with your messages; 3) You need to get emotional buy-in to your proposition - people wont buy you simply because you have technical credentials - others will have this; 4) You must demonstrate value; and 5) You must make it easy for people to take the next step,eg manage risk. Thats Size 10 1/2 Boots experience from engaging with buyers in the professional services market. How about you?