Catering Sales Account Executive

Thrive Restaurant Group; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) profit-sharing

Paid Time Off

Food discounts across Thrive brands

Job summary

Thrive Restaurant Group is seeking a proactive Catering Sales Executive to drive revenue through outbound lead generation, then pair digital outreach with in-person tastings and consultations. You will own the end-to-end sales cycle, partnering with restaurant leaders, and expanding our catering footprint across multiple brands.

You will travel within your territory to meet clients, present menus, and close high-volume group orders, with a structured CRM discipline and weekly leadership

Qualifications

• 1-3 years of B2B sales experience.
• Valid driver license and reliable vehicle; daily travel within territory.
• Ability to work independently and strategically with external partners.
• Physically capable of lifting up to 50 lbs to load/setup catering equipment.
• Detail-oriented with dates, delivery times, addresses, and dietary notes.

Responsibilities

• Identify key decision-makers in local organizations using CRM data, LinkedIn, and digital tools.
• Convert digital outreach into in-person partnerships through tastings and visits.
• Master all catering menus and advise on portions, setups, and dietary needs; cross-sell across brands.
• Maintain daily pipeline in the CRM, logging calls, emails and visits.
• Collaborate with General Managers to align orders and ensure smooth execution; transition clients to Guest Relations as needed.

Skills

B2B sales

Territory travel

Strategic independence

Physical stamina

Attention to detail

Tools

CRM software

LinkedIn

Job description

Are you ready to drive revenue growth by blending modern digital lead generation with strategic, in-person account management? Thrive Restaurant Group is seeking a proactive Catering Sales Executive who doesn't wait for business to come to them, but instead actively makes the outbound moves every single day to introduce our brands to new organizations.

In this role, you are the ground-level sales engine. You will spend your days executing a coordinated communication strategy - pairing smart online prospecting with face-to-face field consultations and real food tastings - to secure the high-volume group orders that keep our restaurant teams thriving.

Why You'll Love Thriving With Us

Thrive Restaurant Group is a family-owned company with a 50-year history in hospitality. We operate nearly 200 restaurants across 15 states, representing five distinct brands: Applebee's, Qdoba, Carlos O'Kelly's, Modern Market, and HomeGrown. With over 8,000 team members, we genuinely believe that work should be meaningful and that people matter more than profit. We are dedicated to helping our team members flourish in both their work and their lives.

What We Offer:

• Comprehensive Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage and 4 weeks per calendar year of PTO
• Retirement Planning: A 401(k) profit-sharing plan.
• Work-Life Balance: Generous paid time off.
• Perks: Food discounts across all Thrive-owned restaurant brands

What Your Day-to-Day Looks Like

• Hybrid Lead Generation: You will utilize CRM data, LinkedIn, and digital tools and research to pinpoint key decision-makers, like office managers or administrative assistants, in local corporations, healthcare facilities, and school districts.
• The \"Digital-to-Physical\" Transition: You will turn digital email campaigns and phone calls into active partnerships by showing up in person to drop off actual food samples because a great meal closes deals that emails alone can't.
• Menu Consulting & Cross-Selling: You will master all five catering menus inside and out so you can easily consult on portion sizes, setups, and dietary restrictions. You will strategically cross-sell across our portfolio, pitching Modern Market for a light executive lunch or showing how HomeGrown can handle early morning breakfast meetings.
• CRM Discipline: You will maintain complete ownership of your daily pipeline in the CRM, meticulously logging every single call, email, and drop-in immediately. You'll use our \"New, Frequent, and Lapsed\" framework to prioritize your sales outreach.
• Operational Alignment: You will partner closely with Restaurant General Managers on complex orders to ensure a clear plan for execution, and you'll meet with leadership quarterly to align on community outreach. Once a client is established, you will smoothly transition them to Guest Relations for ongoing order intake so you can focus back on top-of-funnel sales.

What It Takes (Must Haves)

• Sales Resilience: You have 1- 3 years of B2B sales experience and the baseline confidence to handle being rejected dozens of times a day without letting it dent your drive or professional demeanor.
• Territory Travel: A valid driver's license and a reliable vehicle are non-negotiable, as you will travel daily to meet prospective accounts face-to-face within your territory.
• Strategic Independence: You possess the ability to work independently, think strategically, and collaborate smoothly with external partners.
• Physical Capability: You must be able to lift up to 50 lbs to regularly help load, haul, and set up heavy catering equipment and food deliveries.
• High Precision: You are detail-obsessed and highly precise with dates, delivery times, addresses, and dietary notes, knowing a single typo can ruin a client's entire event.

Are You Ready to Create Value?

If you are a friendly, down-to-earth, and resilient relationship-builder who wants to expand our footprint and target top-tier VIP accounts, you belong on our team.

Work Conditions:

• Plan on 50%-60% interstate travel
• The majority of work is field based.
• May work a schedule that varies in days of the week and hours
• Multi-shift work may be required to deliver successful catering experiences.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and bonus program
• 401(k) with match
• Multiple health insurance options with company-paid Life, AD&D, Long-term and Short-term Disability.
• Health Savings Account or Flexible Medical Spending
• Voluntary Life insurance
• Paid Time Off including paid sick leave
• Training and development