WHAT DOES A FRANCHISE BUSINESS CONSULTANT DO?

Updated: Jan 06, 2026 – The Franchise Business Consultant provides strategic business consultation and operational guidance to franchisees through regular coaching, performance reviews, and operations excellence visits. This position drives the achievement of sales and profit goals by supporting new restaurant openings, monitoring annual business plans, and facilitating collaboration across departments. The consultant also ensures effective program adoption by influencing franchisees, sharing best practices, and meeting defined budget objectives.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Franchise Business Consultant

1. Franchise Business Consultant Functions

  • Business Analysis: Conducts business analyses through visits and performance trends
  • Financial Assessment: Examines restaurant profitability to determine next steps for profit-maximization
  • Quality Control: Reinforces brand standards and quality standards based on in-restaurant observations
  • Franchise Consulting: Consults with franchisees on maintaining operational excellence and increasing sales growth
  • Problem Solving: Identifies the unique needs of franchisees and restaurants and creates business solutions
  • Compliance Management: Works with franchisees on the timely resolution of compliance issues
  • Goal Setting: Assists franchisees in setting goals and implementing supporting tactics to reach targeted goals
  • Training Coordination: Coordinates Bonchon standards and operational procedures for field training for franchisees
  • Restaurant Launch: Assists with new restaurant setup and organization, staff training, and grand opening procedures
  • Financial Oversight: Maintains responsibility for the financial performance of all restaurant locations

2. Franchise Business Consultant Accountabilities

  • Relationship Building: Build franchisee relationships, influencing franchisees to meet and exceed standards
  • Coaching: Coach and support 10-15 new franchise locations per year within their first year of operations
  • Sales Leadership: Lead weekly 1.5-hour coaching, utilize technology and assessments to drive sales efforts to rapid, breakthrough sales results
  • Agenda Development: Develop detailed agendas for site visits to include pre-work and post-visit goals to be documented in the franchise operations software
  • Site Visits: Conduct in-person site visits and lead sales initiatives with franchisees to include hands-on marketing activities
  • Location Opening: Ensure new locations are opening with a satisfactory rating as determined by their pre-opening survey
  • Vendor Management: Ensure vendor management goals are met as set by the team
  • Coaching Collaboration: Provide coaching regarding sales, software, and site management in collaboration with corporate staff
  • System Development: Create systems and improve best practices for franchise ramp-up from zero to twelve months in business
  • Training Coordination: Coordinate field training with training resources
  • Workshop Coordination: Coordinate regional workshops and assist with annual convention planning
  • Revenue Tracking: Track and maintain revenue progress from zero to twenty-four months in business

3. Franchise Business Consultant Overview

  • Business Planning: Provides impactful advice and assists franchisees in developing business plans to maximize customer satisfaction, drive sales, improve profits, and grow their business.
  • Action Planning: Assists franchisees in the development of remedial action plans.
  • Strategic Coaching: Provides strategic coaching in areas of service standards, product quality control, staffing, training, safety, sanitation, and new shop openings.
  • Operations Strategy: Partners with Potbelly corporate franchise operations leadership to identify key priorities for Franchise Operations and establish annual targets.
  • Franchise Liaison: Acts as a liaison between franchisees and corporate operations/support staff on key initiatives and activities.
  • Culture Alignment: Ensures that the Potbelly Values and Potbelly Culture are embraced and demonstrated by the franchisees.
  • Relationship Management: Establishes and maintains positive relationships with franchisees.
  • Initiative Implementation: Drives the sell-in and implementation of all Company initiatives.
  • Marketing Support: Assists in the implementation of local and national marketing programs.
  • Compliance Monitoring: Ensures that franchisees operate within company standards and comply with the franchise agreements.
  • Standards Enforcement: Identifies any product or procedure that is not in compliance with Company standards, ensuring corrective action is taken immediately.
  • Workplace Safety: Makes recommendations to maintain safe working conditions and compliance with Potbelly procedures in the franchise shops.
  • Opening Support: Supports and leads franchisee through pre-opening and opening activities.
  • Best Practices: Actively shares and assists franchisees in adopting best practices.

4. Franchise Business Consultant Tasks

  • Business Analysis: Conduct business analyses, evaluate performance trends, and examine store profitability to determine priority and the most effective approach with franchisees
  • Brand Compliance: Reinforce brand standards and quality standards based on in-store observations
  • Operational Consulting: Consult with franchisees on maintaining operational excellence and maximizing sales growth
  • Strategic Planning: Determine an effective business strategy by identifying the unique needs of the franchisee and the store
  • Compliance Management: Work with franchisees on the timely resolution of compliance issues and foster a culture of accountability
  • Sales Development: Partner with franchisees to identify sales-building opportunities, assist franchisees in setting goals, and implement supporting tactics to reach targeted goals
  • Local Marketing: Liaise with franchisees and marketing to maintain suitable local marketing initiatives
  • Training Coordination: Coordinates with the training team on field training initiatives
  • Store Opening: Assist with new store setup and organization, staff training, and grand opening procedures
  • Financial Oversight: Maintain responsibility for the financial performance of all stores in the portfolio
  • Relationship Management: Build and maintain positive working relationships with all stakeholders (corporate team, franchisees, and vendors) and leverage those relationships to yield positive business outcomes.

5. Franchise Business Consultant Roles

  • Franchise Coaching: Provide coaching, mentoring, and continued training for each Franchisee in their Territory
  • Business Consultation: Provide business consultation for the Franchisees (including a quarterly business meeting, and the periodic conduct of Operations Excellence visits for their restaurants)
  • Performance Monitoring: Monitor and report on the performance of Franchisees in respect to their Franchise Agreements
  • Restaurant Opening: Support the opening of new Restaurants
  • Business Plan Follow-up: Follow-up on the performance of the Franchisees relative to their annual business plans
  • Goal Leadership: Lead the Franchisees toward the accomplishment of their sales and profit goals
  • Negotiation Skills: Employ effective interpersonal and negotiation skills to effectively drive business objectives and manage change
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with other support department team members from Marketing, Public Relations, Construction, and Real Estate on the area franchisee activities
  • Program Communication: Fully understand the purpose and benefits of new programs and decisions to effectively influence Franchisees and obtain requisite buy-in, provide feedback when programs or communication are inadequate
  • Best Practices Sharing: Actively share and assist Franchisees in adopting best practices
  • Budget Management: Meet the budget goals established for this role