Franchise Account Executive

About the Role

The Franchise Account Executive role is an opportunity to help build and scale one of Gusto's newest growth channels. Franchise represents a massive and largely untapped market, and this team is focused on activating franchise owners across established partner networks and high-potential industries. As a Franchise AE, you'll operate in a true outbound motion - prospecting into multi-unit operators, building relationships with influential owners, and closing new business that can scale across locations.

You'll also help shape the playbook for how Gusto sells into franchise ecosystems as we grow this program into a durable revenue engine for the company.

You'll partner closely with our Franchise Partner Manager (who develops relationships with franchisors) and a dedicated BDR (focused on high-volume activations). Your role is to lead strategic pursuits, unlock influential operators, and build the repeatable sales motion for selling into franchise ecosystems.

Here's what you'll do day-to-day:

• Own new franchise revenue generation. Prospect into franchise ownership groups within Gusto's partner networks and target industries, building pipeline through outbound outreach and relationship development with multi-unit operators and influential franchise owners.
• Execute and refine the franchise sales playbook. Leverage the existing franchise sales motion to drive consistent pipeline and deals, while providing feedback and insights that help improve messaging, targeting, and overall execution as the program scales.
• Run the full sales cycle. Manage deals from prospecting through close, partnering with BDRs who support high-volume outreach while focusing your time on larger ownership groups and strategic franchise opportunities.
• Develop relationships with influential franchise operators. Engage multi-unit owners, directors of operations, and regional leaders to understand operational needs and position Gusto as a scalable payroll and workforce platform across multiple locations.
• Partner cross-functionally to drive franchise success. Collaborate with the Franchise Partner Manager, Sales Ops, and Marketing to activate franchise networks, support partner initiatives, and identify opportunities to expand within existing franchise relationships.
• Build referenceable wins within franchise networks. Secure early customer success stories and multi-location operators that can serve as proof points and accelerate adoption across additional franchisees.
• Drive consistent outbound pipeline generation. Maintain a disciplined outbound motion across named franchise accounts and industry segments, using a mix of calls, emails, LinkedIn outreach, and events to create new opportunities.
• Represent Gusto in franchise communities. Attend franchise conferences, regional events, and industry gatherings to build relationships, generate pipeline, and strengthen Gusto's presence in the franchise ecosystem.
• Achieve and exceed revenue targets. Consistently deliver against quarterly targets for MRR and new customer adds while contributing insights that help scale the franchise program over time.

Here's what we're looking for:

• 3+ years of quota-carrying B2B SaaS AE experience, ideally with outbound new business in SMB, mid-market, or franchise/multi-unit contexts.
• Proven track record as a hunter - generating your own pipeline, landing new logos, and expanding into complex accounts.
• Payroll sales experience is a strong plus.
• Experience navigating multi-unit and franchise structures (franchisors, franchisees, regional/holding companies) is a strong plus.
• Comfortable using AI tools and automation to accelerate prospecting, tailor messaging to franchise decision-makers, and improve efficiency across the sales cycle.
• Strong discovery and storytelling skills - able to uncover compliance, payroll, and onboarding pain points and tie them to ROI.
• Comfortable partnering with BDRs: coaching, collaborating on sequences, and maximizing top-of-funnel conversion.
• Entrepreneurial mindset - thrives in building new motions, testing playbooks, and iterating quickly.
• Willingness to travel 25-35% of the time to conferences and in-market opportunities.

Compensation and Location

The on-target earnings (OTE) for this role range from $109,390/yr to $134,000/yr in Denver & most major metro locations. This OTE is structured with a target 60% base pay and 40% commission pay with an uncapped commission structure. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles, Gusto's subsidiary, whose physical office is in Scottsdale.

Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.

When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection is required. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.