Director of Franchise Sales in Chicago, Illinois at Potbelly Corporate

• $130,000 - $160,000 base salary range + commission
• 100% Remote in the United States. Due to state-specific regulatory requirements, Potbelly does not currently support remote work from the following states: Alaska, California, and Hawaii. To be considered for this position, you must be able to perform the role from a state not listed above at the time of hire and for the duration of employment.

Job Title: Director, Franchise Sales

Department/Function: Development

Location: Remote

Reports to: VP, Franchise Sales

Full Time Exempt

Travel Requirements: Moderately

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Director of Franchise Sales is a business development role that is responsible for prospecting, recruiting, qualifying, and ultimately committing new franchisees to multi-unit development agreements across various domestic markets. This position will greatly contribute to the company's franchise growth acceleration initiative as a leader within the Potbelly Development Team. This individual contributor will work to establish relationships and network with existing multi-unit franchisees, restaurant professionals, entrepreneurs, developers, private investors, and industry groups, to gain potential future business for traditional shop development.

FOCUS

Responsibilities

• Contributes to all recruitment initiatives for Potbelly franchisees, which includes working with Potbelly's marketing department and ad agencies to design and implement recruitment campaigns.
• Participate with multiple departments within the organization (i.e., legal, operations, training, marketing, finance) to ensure proper onboarding of new franchisee candidates.
• Represent Potbelly at industry trade shows, seminars, social events, webinars, networking sessions, speaking engagements, etc.
• Take initial point on all franchisee leads regardless of how the lead was generated (digital marketing, cold call, public relations, event driven, website, etc.).
• Provide weekly pipeline reports to senior leadership so there is a clear and concise understanding of deal progression.
• Utilize CRM platform (FranDash) to ensure proper documentation throughout the candidate qualification & onboarding process.
• Conduct all in-person meetings as necessary throughout the sales and recruitment process and provide acceptable notification to senior leadership regarding their required participation.
• Coordinate and conduct all ‘Discovery Day' activities with franchisee candidates which may include in-person meetings with senior leadership, dinners, events, shop and home office tours, presentations, and interviews.
• Provide guidance when necessary and appropriate to franchisee candidates in the completion of business plans, and marketing plans.
• Lead franchisee candidates through the proper execution of all required documents: Non-Disclosure Agreements / Franchise Disclosure Documents / Franchise Applications / Corporate Entity Formation / Shop Development Agreements / Franchise Agreements / Etc.
• Work with the recruitment team to design and implement effective outreach campaigns to the franchise community utilizing trade publications, LinkedIn, direct mail, industry connections, data mining, social media, and other resources.
• Manage the franchise sales process to achieve quarterly and annual quotas.
• Perform such other related tasks as reasonably requested.

Skills

• Has broad based business acumen and ability to collaborate with business leaders.
• Experience in recruiting multi-unit/multi-brand franchisees.
• Experience in food service franchised brand preferred.
• Creative problem solver, working through challenges with adaptability, resilience, and expertise.
• Can develop contingency plans to deal with unexpected situations in the selection process.
• Recognizes emerging patterns, makes connections among data and issues, and appropriately reacts.
• Can analyze specific selection and business challenges and offer solutions based on best practices and business knowledge.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral.
• Strong presentation skills (in person and virtually).
• Strong collaborative skills that demonstrate teamwork, creativity, and innovation.
• Media experience including traditional social networking sites and internet marketing strategies.
• Excellent computer skills.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of time to include our Support Center in Chicago, IL, attendance at trade shows, industry conventions, franchise conferences, and to visit potential franchisees

ESSENTIAL PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS

• Must have the ability/stamina to work 45-55 hours a week
• Must be able to work in both warm and cool environments, indoors and outdoors
• Must be able to engage in problem-solving skills to help identify and solve potential issues
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time
• Ability to stand/walk for 9-10 hours per day and sit for 1-2 hours per day
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds occasionally
• Will frequently reach, feel, bend, stoop, carry, finely manipulate, and key in data
• Must be able to communicate heavily through the internet, telephone, e-mail, text, video conferencing, and in-person communications

EXPERIENCE, EDUCATION AND BEHAVIORS

• Must represent The Potbelly Values
• Demonstrated success in meeting or exceeding quarterly goals/quotas.
• Demonstrated success in developing and executing strategic growth plans.
• Must be passionate about the food business in general and Potbelly in particular.
• Self-starter who can work well with others as well as independently.
• Must be highly organized with the ability to handle multiple projects at once.
• 10 years of restaurant franchise sales experience preferred.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
• Strong analytic skills.
• Skilled at operating in all sales environments to include, but not limited to, internet, social media, email, phone, text, instant messaging, and other direct face to face interactions.
• Must be coachable, driven, focused, confident and a self-starter.
• Can responsibly take calculated risks on candidates and decisions for the future organizational benefit.
• Can balance intuition with fact-based knowledge.
• Fully understands and can articulate the “why” behind both good and bad decisions and apply learnings to current and future decisions.
• Must have experience performing in a highly competitive environment.
• Must strive for excellence and have only the highest integrity in their intentions.
• Experience with CRM, FranDash, SmartSheet, and all Microsoft products.
• Working knowledge of standard franchise documents & compliance standards.
• Bachelor's degree preferred.

Potbelly Sandwich Works may use artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted tools as part of its hiring and recruitment process. These tools may collect and analyze data including questionnaire and assessment responses, resume content, and professional profile information. AI-assisted tools are used for all position types. All final employment decisions are made by people. Potbelly may also use additional AI-assisted tools from time to time in its hiring process.

If you have questions about how AI is used in connection with your application, or if you would like to request a reasonable accommodation related to the use of AI in the hiring process, please contact HumanResources1@potbelly.com.

At Potbelly, we are committed to creating a welcoming and respectful environment where individuals are valued for their unique perspectives, backgrounds, and strengths. We believe that inclusion, collaboration, and mutual respect enhance the way we serve our customers and work together as a team. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. Each applicant will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Application Deadline: Applications must be submitted by [09/30/2026] to be considered for this position. The posting may close earlier if a suitable candidate is selected before the deadline.