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Whether you're considering an expansion of your practice, or you're looking for young professionals to replace established advisors who are reaching retirement age, it's critical to have a structured training plan to nurture new talent. After all, the benefits game is as much an art as it is a science. A good training program should educate candidates, instill confidence and prepare them for the field.

When bringing new candidates onboard, concepts often associated with military boot camps can help ensure their success. We're not talking about the familiar images of pre-dawn drills, soldiers marching in unison and not-so-friendly drill sergeants. Instead, discipline, teamwork and accountability are what great advisors are made of. With that, let's take a quick look at three key principles that help make a solid onboarding program.

1. Keep it real

Like military boot camps, onboarding programs have a way of identifying future stars, and those who might not be a good fit. Candidates need to understand that insurance isn't a nine-to-five gig. There are evening appointments, weekend functions, and lots of networking. And while insurance is a wonderful profession, which can be both professionally and financially rewarding, success only comes with hard work and commitment.

Be honest about the realities of the profession. These job requirements are often welcomed by new prospects, but for some, it can be a wake-up call that leaves them thinking, “maybe this isn't for me.” If a prospect opts out early, consider it a mutually beneficial byproduct of training that ultimately saves everyone a lot of time and potential frustration.

2. Be all you can be

New candidates will be eager to begin their insurance and financial services careers, but your training program should initially focus more on the person than it does insurance products and sales techniques. In fact, for the first several months, the primary goal should be helping new advisors develop fundamental life skills and a solid foundation upon which they can build a successful career.

Candidates need honest feedback concerning issues that can stand in the way of their continued growth. Helping new advisors build a solid foundation for a successful career starts with helping them unlearn bad habits; some of which they might not even know they have.

Training should help them take a full inventory of how they project themselves: their vocabulary, eye contact, manners, how they dress and their non-verbal communication. Ultimately, your program should enable personal growth and inspire them to be the best people they can be.

3. This bud's for you

Once the candidate has established a solid foundation, it's time to transition them into a Buddy Program where they'll shadow a more experienced advisor for about a year. During this apprenticeship, they'll develop a unique value proposition and their own personal brand.

It's also during the apprenticeship that candidates are introduced to the science of sales and the variables that drive buying behavior. Prospects are immersed in product information, they learn the ins and outs of the business and they prepare to establish their own practice.

After 15 years of training new candidates, I've learned that there aren't any shortcuts to helping benefit professionals prepare for a successful career. The program shouldn't rely on complex learning strategies, and the most innovative concepts are usually good old-fashioned common sense and hard work.

Programs that employ genuine recognition, team work that creates powerful bonds, and positive reinforcement, will help instill winning ways.

In the end, effective training programs should leave new advisors well positioned to have long and fulfilling careers. And as they venture into their professions, they should do so with one, fundamental take away: Success is a lifestyle.

Jeff Eilers is Regional Vice President of Group Sales, Western Region. He can be reached at Jeff.Eilers@mutualofomaha.com.

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