This fact will not surprise anybody: None of us are getting anyyounger. In fact, today's insurance professional, according toLIMRA, is aging at a somewhat alarming rate: More than half ofestablished career agents and nearly seven in 10 independent agentsare 50 years old or older.

But what may surprise you are the ways that some insurancecarriers are identifying, recruiting and training the nextgeneration of successful sales professionals. Thesestrategies not only showcase our ability to connect with some ofthe country's best talent, but also fuel market growth and help usdrive key customer demographics.

Identify top sales opportunities

At Colonial Life, for instance, we use an affinity program thattargets future sales professionals among three key demographics:college-aged entrepreneurs, military veterans, andSpanish-speaking, bilingual professionals. We find each of thesegroups share key characteristics that are also shared by successfulsalespeople who have long careers and help grow our business.

For college-aged entrepreneurs, who tend to be motivatedindividuals who are open to taking risks, internships can be a keyway to introduce the prospect of a successful sales future withinour organization. By connecting with colleges near our salesoffices, we find many students who are studying insurance or arepart of an entrepreneurial fraternity.

Many of these students may have never considered a career in theinsurance industry. Through internships and job shadowing, we canshow them the possibility of an enriching, long-lasting career astheir own boss, helping America's workers protect whatthey've worked so hard to build. This can be a once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity for them to build their client base at a young age andgrow it throughout their careers.

Military veterans

Another great talent pool for future sales professionalsis military veterans, who generally aredisciplined, adaptable and responsible. Being an independentbusinessperson requires someone who is goal-oriented, responsibleand organized, all of which are also critical skills developed inthe military.

Veterans are used to working long hours and have the disciplinethey need to follow through on tasks. They often have leadershipexperience and can effectively work independently or on a team.Finally, military life is all about service to others — a valuabletrait for someone in our industry.

Spanish-speaking, bilingual professionals

A third area that can provide a rich talent pool isSpanish-speaking, bilingual professionals who can help grow theinsurance industry by serving the booming Hispanic population.Hispanics are currently the largest ethnic group in the U.S., with52 million representing 16% of the total population.

By 2030, Hispanics will number 79 million and be almost a fourthof the U.S. population, according to LIMRA figures. While a thirdof all Hispanics are third-generation U.S. born and speak Englishfluently, they are also bilingual, and many remain in touch withtheir ethnic roots. At the same time, the number of Hispanic-ownedbusinesses is growing more than twice as fast as the nationalaverage.

The growth rate for all U.S. firms between 2007 and 2014 isestimated at 20.2%, and the total number in 2014 was projected tobe 3.22 million, according to business consulting firm Geoscape.Language and cultural differences can be difficult to overcome whendiscussing a topic as personal as insurance, so findingprofessionals who are bilingual and better understand culturalnuances can pay big dividends for both the carrier and thesalesperson.

Recruiting, training vital to success

Even after a carrier has identified areas of focus for therecruiting process, the work is far from over. Possible sales teammembers need to understand exactly why your company could be thebest place for them.

Showcasing your company's technological ability — through onlinetraining that improves the learning curve, enrollment partnershipsthat ease the burden on employer and employee, and web-basedapplications for smartphones that improve productivity — canpromote your company as innovative and help you recruit the bestand brightest talent available.

Technology is also an important part of finding the bestrecruits. Using targeted searches through free social networks (such as LinkedIn) or paypartners (such as Monster) will help your business connect to poolsof future talent and sales.

Keeping young professionals on the job in the critical first fewmonths and years can be difficult. Retaining the best talentpossible should be a key focus of training efforts. The bestcarriers will have a variety of training platforms, which caninclude the classroom, self-paced online training modules and livetraining either online or over the telephone.

Remain innovative in a mature industry

Helping new recruits create and grow their young businesses to apoint of success for them — and for your company — takes time. Butshowing the insurance industry as a growing market and opportunity,especially in times of health care reform and changing economies,can help recruit and train the best people to fill the shoes of themen and women who will soon be retiring from the salesorganization.

The insurance industry, in many ways, is an old business. Theidea of financial protection products to help people in tough timeshas been around for generations. But even though many carriers havebeen around a long time — Colonial Life just celebrated its 75thanniversary — that doesn't mean carriers can't, and shouldn't, becreative and innovative when it comes to identifying, recruitingand training the next generation of outstanding sales professionals.

Related: 11 ways to attract and keep young talent

Mike Richardson is assistant vice president, nationalrecruiting, at Colonial Life & Accident InsuranceCompany.