← Canals
Canals role-play cheat sheet
For the mock cold call at the end of most SDR interviews.
What they sell, in one line
AI software that automates order entry, accounts payable and purchase order tracking for distributors and manufacturers.
Who you'd be calling
Owners, operations managers, finance and customer service leaders at mid-sized wholesale distributors.
Your opener
“Hi Pat, this is Alex from Canals, thanks for taking my call. We help distributors cut down the manual order entry and invoice work that comes in by email and PDF, and I wanted to ask how your team handles that today.”
Problems you solve for them
- Staff spend hours typing orders from emails and PDFs into the system
- Manual invoice and PO handling causes errors and slows payments
- Order delays and mistakes hurt customer service and cash flow
Discovery questions to ask
- How do customer orders come in today, and how many people type them into your system?
- How are supplier invoices and POs processed, and how long does that take?
- What errors or delays come up most often, and what do they cost you?
Objections they'll throw at you
“I'm busy.”
→ Understood, I'll be brief. Can we schedule 10 minutes later this week to see if this applies to you?
“Not interested.”
→ Fair. Is order entry running smoothly for you, or is it a bit of a time sink?
“We already have an ERP or EDI setup.”
→ That's great, most distributors do. How much of your order volume still comes by email or PDF and gets typed in by hand?
“Send me an email.”
→ Sure. Which would be more useful to see: how we handle sales orders, or invoices and POs?
Interview tips for this company
- Learn how a wholesale distributor works: orders, purchase orders, invoices and an ERP system.
- Talk about hours saved and fewer mistakes instead of AI buzzwords.
Written from public information about Canals to help you practice. Ask an insider what their role play looked like; it's the best prep there is.