☕ COFFEE TIME WITH GILBERT I’ve spent more than 40 years selling. And after all the websites, algorithms, social media and AI, I’m discovering something rather interesting… People still buy from people. Technology can help us find customers. It can help us design better adverts. It can help us organise our day. It can even help us write the message. But sooner or later, somebody still has to pick up the phone. Somebody still has to walk through the door. Somebody still has to ask: “How can I help you?” Over the years I’ve watched selling change dramatically. We used to have a telephone, a notebook, a price list and a car. Today we have websites, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok and AI. And I use them. But I’m starting to believe the winning formula is not old school OR new school. It’s old school WITH new school. Use technology to get you to the right person faster. Then do what good salespeople have always done: Listen. Build trust. Solve a problem. Keep your word. And follow up. Because behind every screen, every email address and every WhatsApp number… there is still a person. ☕ That’s my coffee thought for today. What do you think — has technology changed selling, or are the basics still exactly the same? — Gilbert

🍎 THE PROFESSOR & ME VALUE DOES NOT MEAN CHEAP This photograph takes me back to Funchal Fruit & Veg in Silverton, Pretoria, in 1985. My father—the Professor—understood something that is just as important in retail today: Customers want value, but value does not simply mean the cheapest product. When money is tight, people become more careful about what they buy. They still want freshness, quality and honest advice. They want every rand they spend to work harder. The Professor didn’t simply point customers towards the cheapest apples, potatoes or oranges. He helped them choose the right product for their needs and their budget. He knew that a cheap product was not good value if the customer went home disappointed. 🌿 THE PROFESSOR’S WISDOM When customers have less money, your job is not to give them less value. Your job is to help their money go further. ☕ MY TAKE Retailers must watch how their customers are changing. Adjust the range. Control the price. Protect the quality. Serve people faster. But never confuse being cheap with offering value. The customer may forget the price—but they will remember whether the purchase was worth it. #TheProfessorAndMe #RetailWisdom #ValueForMoney #CustomerService #FamilyBusiness #SouthAfricanRetail #BusinessLessons

☕ COFFEE TIME WITH GILBERT WHEN THE CUSTOMER SAID NO, I CHANGED THE METHOD Many years ago, while working for Rothmans International, I travelled to London to work alongside its HoReCa team, which serviced hotels, restaurants, cafés and clubs. During that week, I visited some remarkable venues, including Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Ministry of Sound, the Monte Cristo Club and a private gentlemen’s club near Fleet Street. I was working on a vending-machine project, so wherever we went, I studied how cigarettes were being sold. At the gentlemen’s club, we first had to wait in reception for the barman to meet us. When I suggested supplying cigarettes, his response was simple: “We don’t sell cigarettes here.” That could have ended the conversation—but it gave me an idea. I explained that in South Africa, Rothmans had designed an elegant cigarette dispenser controlled by the barman. It resembled a small suitcase and opened like a fan, displaying a carefully selected range of five brands. It kept the products secure behind the bar while still offering club members a professional choice. The barman liked the idea. We arranged for the dispenser to be brought in, stocked with a selection that included brands such as Dunhill, Rothmans, Craven A and Marlboro. The concept was accepted at the private club near Fleet Street, and I later placed another dispenser at the Monte Cristo Club. I was extremely proud. A practical idea developed in South Africa had found its place inside respected London venues—and I had helped introduce it. ☕ MY TAKE The customer’s first “no” does not always mean they reject your product. Sometimes they reject the way it is currently being presented or sold. A good salesperson doesn’t merely push harder. He listens, understands the obstacle and finds a better way to solve it. That small South African dispenser taught me something I carried throughout my sales career: When the existing method does not fit the customer, change the method—not the customer. #CoffeeTimeWithGilbert #SalesLessons #Innovation #CustomerSolutions #LondonMemories #SouthAfricanBusiness #TheProfessorAndMe

🌍 THE PROFESSOR & ME SATURDAY TIME MACHINE — 26 SEPTEMBER 2026 IF THIS ROOM LOOKS FAMILIAR, YOU LIVED THROUGH A VERY SPECIAL TIME. Let’s turn the clock back 30 years to 1996. There were no smartphones, no Facebook and no streaming services—but the world was already changing quickly. Here are five things people were talking about: 1️⃣ The Macarena was filling dance floors—and nearly everyone believed they knew the moves! 2️⃣ Independence Day brought enormous spaceships, Will Smith and blockbuster excitement to cinemas. 3️⃣ The Atlanta Olympic Games united athletes from 197 nations, with Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame in an unforgettable moment. 4️⃣ Hotmail arrived, introducing many ordinary people to the new world of internet email. 5️⃣ Nintendo 64 launched, taking young gamers into a new world of three-dimensional entertainment. ☕ MY TAKE In 1996, music, films, sport, email and gaming were separate parts of our lives. Today, they all fit inside one device in our pocket. Every generation believes the world is changing faster than ever. Perhaps the lesson is not to fear change, but to remain curious enough to learn from it. 💬 YOUR TURN Where were you in 1996? Which song, film, event or piece of technology takes you straight back? #SaturdayTimeMachine #TheProfessorAndMe #1996 #ThirtyYearsAgo #NinetiesNostalgia #RememberWhen #ThrowbackSaturday

🇿🇦 STAN, ME & 250,000 KM OF SOUTH AFRICA 🚗💨 Long before GPS, Google Maps and WhatsApp locations, there was Stan and me, a company car, a road map and a boot full of samples. We were cigarette salesmen, and South Africa was our territory. Between the two of us, we must have travelled well over 250,000 kilometres — from Berea and the streets of Johannesburg to Paternoster on the West Coast, and just about everywhere in between. Small towns. Farm stalls. Corner cafés. Hotels. Shops. Long stretches of road where the next town couldn’t come quickly enough. We sold cigarettes, yes — but looking back, the real business was people. You learnt how to walk into a shop where nobody knew you, shake a man’s hand, start a conversation and earn his trust. You learnt that every town had its characters, every customer had a story, and sometimes the best sales meeting happened leaning against a counter with a cup of coffee in your hand. Stan and I saw a South Africa that you don’t see from an aeroplane. We saw it one kilometre, one town and one customer at a time. And somewhere along those 250,000 kilometres, without realising it, we weren’t only learning how to sell. We were learning about people. Those roads taught us lessons that stayed with us long after the sales bags were packed away. And believe me… Stan and I still have a few road stories to tell. 😂 Who remembers the days when being a salesman meant getting in the car and actually going to see your customers? #Boerengees #SouthAfrica #OnTheRoad #SalesmanStories #OldSchoolSales #TheGoodOldDays #StanAndGilbert