One of the largest gaps I see in sales managers’ performance is their lack of coaching. I don’t mean formal sales training, but coaching done by one’s boss—the roll-up-the-sleeves and show-you-how-to-do-it type of coaching. I’m referring to the field rides with 45-minute debriefs at Starbucks, working on a solution in a closed conference room together, and running through role-playing scenarios in the car, just before heading in for the presentation. That’s coaching.

I’ve observed that sales managers either feel they don’t have the time or knowledge to coach. Refreshingly, many admit that they don’t know how to coach. So, I’ve listed five best practices below to help sales managers understand how easy it is to become a great coach, how manageable the time requirement is, and hopefully inspire them to step up and be the coach that your team needs.