And how a bad sales experience reminded us about the important of quality connections
Recently, we were reminded of why we serve instead of selling. We found ourselves on the other side of the sales experience. A vendor had been pursuing us—sending emails, making cold calls, and following up. This is nothing unusual and it was a product we were mildly curious about, so we agreed to keep going.
The early exchange was fine. But as we moved deeper into their funnel, something shifted. We were passed off to someone new, someone we hadn’t built any rapport with or introduced to beforehand. What followed was a rigid presentation, inflated numbers that didn’t add up, and a refusal to answer direct questions. Pricing was withheld until the very end, which signaled a lack of confidence in the product. The goal was clear: wear us down, not win us over. Convince and only connect to keep convincing.
By the time we left the call, we weren’t just uninterested. We felt gross. Defensive. Like we needed a shower—not because of what was being sold, but because of how it was being sold. The whole thing felt transactional, not relational. There was no real curiosity about our needs. No space for clarity. No trust. Just hit the talking points and make the sale. It was, in a word, dehumanizing.
And it brought us right back to the foundation of how we operate at Seifert. We don’t “sell” vinyl and our various services. We serve transit agencies, school districts, and the people who keep them running. That might sound like semantics, but it changes everything. Because what we do isn’t about persuasion. It’s about resonance. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll let you know. If we are, we’ll take the time to learn how you work, what you care about, and how we can support your actual goals, not our revenue targets. We’re not here to upsell you. We’re not going to nickel-and-dime you for every piece of advice. And we’re not going to trap you in endless follow-ups hoping you’ll finally say “yes” just to get us off your back. That’s not care. That’s pressure. And pressure isn’t part of our process.
We emphasize customer development and relationship building with transit agencies
You won’t find traditional sales roles at Seifert. Instead, we have people like Cory, our Relationship Coordinator, and Emmett, our Director of Customer Development. Perhaps you’ve worked with them before and know how great they are. Those titles aren’t branding fluff. They reflect our intent. We’re here to build relationships, understand development timelines, and act as strategic partners, not pushy vendors. Sometimes you’ll need to refresh your decals. Sometimes you’ll be mid-rebrand. Sometimes, new buses will eventually arrive. Sometimes things are just running smoothly. Wherever you are in that cycle, we’ll meet you there. When you’re ready, we’re ready.
This philosophy draws from the Sandler Method, a sales approach that prioritizes qualification over pressure. It encourages asking good questions and offering clarity, not a pitch. We believe buyers don’t need more options. They need honesty. Confidence. Respect. That’s what we offer. The truth is, we work with people who want to work with us. We’re not here to convince you to spend money you don’t want to spend, or drag you into a decision that doesn’t serve your mission. Our goal isn’t to be clever. It’s to be clear. Because when a partnership is real, it doesn’t feel like a funnel. It feels like a conversation. And that’s exactly what we’re here for.
A quality partnership means we do our job well
That same care is evident in everything we make and everything we offer, from the durability of our adhesives to the intentionality behind our graphic installation support. We design and build our decals to last, to repair easily, and to withstand real-world wear without compromising your fleet’s ability to display advertising. Modularity matters with our repair posters, not just for maintenance, but also for flexibility and adaptability. It means you don’t need to start over every time something changes. And it means you’re not dependent on us for every step, unless you want to be. Even when we train your team for installation, we don’t do it to create a dependency; we do it so you can take ownership, build internal capacity, and still call on us when it’s helpful. We want to be your partner, not your crutch. Yes, we’re a business. We have goals. But at the end of the day, those goals exist so we can keep doing this the right way by supporting you with materials, service, and design that are clear, dependable, and built for the long game.
At this point, your inbox is probably full, and you’re getting pitched constantly. And we understand that sometimes, even hearing from a vendor can put you on the defensive. That’s not lost on us. So when you engage with Seifert, you won’t be chased. You won’t be pushed. You won’t be funneled. Your time won’t be wasted. You won’t be talked at. We won’t tell you how to do your job. Whether it’s through a marketing email or a one-on-one conversation, our goal is simple: to offer clarity, not noise. We’re proud of that. Because it doesn’t just reflect how we work—it reflects who we are.
We’re Seifert Transit Graphics, a DBE female-owned, family-run business with 30+ years of experience in printing, materials, and design dedicated to the transit industry. We value professionalism, reliability, consistency, service, support, quality, and care. If that’s important to you, then when the time is right, we’ve got a great partnership ahead of us.