High Touch: The Essence of Direct Selling
What is the core, the essence, the DNA of direct selling that makes us truly unique? What do we have that Amazon, DTC brands and every new platform in the gig economy simply cannot replicate?
Our DNA includes entrepreneurship, female empowerment, meritocracy, storytelling, recognition and the belief that anyone can join and change their life. Every direct selling company shares these DNA strands. And depending on their origins and their founders' belief systems, each emphasizes one or a few and leaves the others in the background.
At the very center, though — the heart of our double helix — sit three High Touch elements: community, personal relationships and personal development.
Because direct selling is a relationship-driven model built on conversations and personal growth. That is our superpower.
The Direct Selling Triangle
Think of our business as a triangle.
The company's relationship with its consultants.
The community that binds consultants together.
The relationships consultants build with their customers.
Strengthen all three elements and the whole structure compounds. Neglect any one of them and you feel it in attrition, in disengagement, in shrinking customer bases.
Don't Compete with DTC
What always puzzles me is how many executives still focus their energy on automation and efficiency. Those are the core competencies of DTC companies, a model with a completely different DNA than ours. And just because they also call themselves "direct selling," their operating logic is often the opposite. When we chase efficiency at the expense of relationships, we're not competing on our strengths. We're competing on someone else's.
That's why Fall DSU 2026 in Dallas left me genuinely optimistic this time …more than I have been in years. Because something has shifted. Three years ago, roughly 80% of presentations were about High Tech (Amazon, platforms). This year, it flipped: 80% were about High Touch. It felt like a collective awakening, as if leaders across the industry have finally decided to double down on what makes us irreplaceable.
I remember Jenn Ashby's masterclass on community. Michael Cody's Nitrous Effect. And the word that appeared in every second presentation: trust. That's not a trend. That's a wake-up call for anyone not yet paying attention.
Maximize, Don't Just Optimize
Our guiding principle should be to "maximize personal conversations" at every level.
Maximize meaningful contact in dialogue with our field.
Actively support and foster their communities, giving them platforms to meet.
Intentionally build systems that “help”, nudge and sometimes even force consultants multiply their conversations with customers.
"Systems" is the key word here. High Touch as a core philosophy cannot be left to the personality of a few gifted, long-term thinking leaders. It has to be designed intentionally.
My favorite example? Personal delivery of products. It sounds simple. But it is the giant step from transaction to relationship. It's keeping a promise and taking responsibility for how a product is actually used. That commitment of showing up at someone's door always leads to more sales, more referrals and a customer who stays. Several years ago in Switzerland, we started paying part of the commission on this repeat visit. Upgrades, repurchases and referrals shot up, and the referral engine got going.
Your Challenge
Look at every decision you have to make in the next weeks or months concerning the field, the customers, the community.
For each one, swap out the usual question. Don't ask, "How can we make this more efficient?"
Ask: "How can we make this more personal?"
That question, asked consistently, is the High Touch strategy. And in direct selling, it's the most powerful competitive advantage we have.
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