Sales skills are the lifeblood of the benefits industry. But fewer and fewer carriers and agencies have formal programs that teach their employees basic salesmanship. Instead, salespeople rely on their own ideas, what they learn from peers, and informal mentorship arrangements.

And, frankly, some industry insiders say, that's not good enough.

They say that few salespeople today have the skills they need to compete in a rapidly changing marketplace. What's more, they say, the industry isn't training up-and-coming salespeople in the skills they'll need in the future, leaving the benefits insurance industry without a pipeline of high-quality sales professionals who can step into the jobs that retiring baby boomers leave in their wake.