Franchise Development Associate

About the role

The Franchise Sales Associate is the initial contact point for all incoming franchise inquiries. This position acts as both a lead generator and a filter for incoming leads, conducting the qualification process and moving prequalified leads forward to the Franchise Sales team. This role is critical to the Development Team's ability to achieve net unit growth goals across all 7 brands within the GoTo Foods portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Manages all incoming lead inquiries from various sources such as internet, call-in, email, and paid social media, all through our CRM to track touchpoints and progress.
• Cold calls new prospects through targeted campaigns on incoming lead flow.
• Successfully communicates the GoTo Foods value proposition, along with that of each brand within the portfolio.
• Builds and maintains relationships with new prospects through a nurturing process.
• Conducts an in-depth discovery conversation with each prospect to understand their background, business experience, financial position, motivations, timeline, target area for development, and market interest.
• Assesses brand and market fit based on the discovery conversation, identifying which brand within the portfolio best aligns with the prospect's goals and whether their area of interest is open for development.
• Issues the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) to prospects and tracks receipt, acknowledgment, and the required waiting period in the CRM.
• Sends the BoeFly link to prospects and manages completion of the franchise application, credit check, background check, and asset verification through the platform.
• Once qualification status has been approved by the Manager, moves qualified candidates forward to the Franchise Sales team with a complete qualification summary, ensuring a clean handoff.
• Manages lead generation CRM as it relates to campaigns, fresh content, and generating internal reports upon request.
• Cultivates and maintains relationships with the Franchise Sales Team, Franchise Administration Team, and Real Estate Team.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree, preferably in Business Administration.
• 2+ years of sales experience (required).
• 3+ years of experience in the franchise industry, specifically the restaurant segment (preferred).

Skills

• Strong phone skills, with the ability to quickly communicate value propositions and qualify a prospect.
• Strong working knowledge of hardware and software requirements of CRM databases.
• Ability to think creatively and develop a continuous stream of ideas to generate franchise sales leads, sales cycle efficiencies, and make recommendations for process changes.
• Basic knowledge of Franchise Disclosure Documents and legal aspects of franchising.
• Ability to interface and maintain excellent professional relationships with a variety of constituents that are material to the franchise development process.
• High degree of written/verbal communication skills to interface with potential franchisees and senior-level personnel.
• Ability to successfully work on teams with diverse individual skill levels and field-based team members.
• Ability to multi-task by executing numerous projects with timely follow-through.
• Strong oral and written skills, including formal presentation experience and the ability to prepare and present sales presentations.
• Advanced knowledge of MS PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.