How Sejfo Gained Full Control of Complex, High-Value Deals

About Sejfo

Sejfo Group has spent more than three decades designing and building custom automation solutions for complex production equipment.

Sejfo Sales Manager and Strategic Development Karl Ingström described the engineering that goes into delivering for their customers. The company operates as an engineering-to-order business, taking ideas from concept through to fully functioning machines.  

“We’re inventing the machines and then building them, making them run,” he said.

Sejfo primarily serves large industrial customers with ongoing automation needs, particularly in automotive manufacturing, energy, pharmaceuticals, and other highly regulated industries. Their work often involves high-stakes environments where precision, reliability, and trust are critical.

A reactive approach and a need to build trust

When Karl transitioned into leading the sales organization, he encountered a familiar challenge for engineering-led companies: strong technical capability but limited sales structure.

“We didn't have any system for this. … We didn't actually focus on the customer. We just sat there in our office, waited for some customer to call us,” he said.

This reactive approach created several issues. The team lacked visibility into opportunities, had no centralized way to manage customer information, and operated without a consistent sales process.

At the very least, they needed somewhere to store customer data. At the same time, Sejfo’s sales cycles are inherently complex, and any solution they employed needed to accommodate a selling process.

They are often selling concepts, which makes building rapport and creating clarity essential.

“We have to build up the trust in a solution that doesn't exist,” Karl said.

Without a structured process and supporting system, managing long, high-value deals with demanding customers became increasingly difficult.

A process tailored exactly to how they work

Sejfo implemented Membrain to bring structure, visibility, and consistency to its sales organization.

One of the decisive factors was flexibility. 

“The possibility to create a process as you like it, that was one of the major things that made us choose Membrain. So that we can set it up, and we can tailor it exactly how we think, how we work,” Karl shared.

Rather than forcing the team into a rigid framework, Membrain allowed Sejfo to replicate and refine its own way of selling.

As they incorporated Membrain into their daily workflow, they were able to determine what worked well and adapt their process as needed.

This was especially important for a team of engineers. The structured, step-based approach resonated immediately. 

“They like it a lot,” Karl said, “because they have their steps and you have your process and you know what to do.”

Since implementing Membrain, Sejfo has shifted from reactive selling to a more proactive, collaborative approach.

One of the most immediate impacts was “a lot more control and knowledge about the pipe,” Karl said.

The system also strengthened sales management and coaching. Weekly one-on-one meetings are now structured around real pipeline data.

“(Membrain) gives an up-to-date picture every week of where we're at and what's happening and what's the next big job to land,” Karl said about his team’s individual coaching sessions.

Collaboration across the team has improved as well, moving from silos to conversations about how each person can sell better.

Membrain also ensures consistency in follow-up and execution.

“As long as we get them into Membrain, then there will be a follow-up,” Karl said of Membrain’s impact on pursuing prospects. “We don't forget anything and nothing disappears.”

Perhaps most importantly, the platform has created a shared language and process across the team, making it easier to manage complex, long-cycle deals and maintain trust with customers.

Sejfo sees its current use of Membrain as just the beginning.

“I still think we're just in the start of using the system,” Karl said.

The next step is to expand beyond opportunity management into long-term customer development in Account Growth.

With a strong foundation in place, Sejfo is now positioned to evolve from structured sales execution to strategic account expansion, deepening relationships with the large, recurring customers that define its business.

Karl’s answer when asked if he would recommend Membrain to other engineering or manufacturing organizations facing similar challenges was a resounding yes.

“Definitely,” he said, “because I think this process part is top of the line.”