Hi Coty,
You have a great attitude young man – and that’s ½ the battle.
To answer your question, no – you don’t have to have a professional level prototype done before you approach a company. What you do have to have done is your homework about the market, the price, the comparable products in the market and have tried your best to prove your invention actually works.
If someone walked into my office with a well done prototype, but didn’t have the rest of the picture, I wouldn’t give them the time of day. BUT if someone walked in with a good handle on the process, an understanding of the market, and clearly having done their homework – even with a hand built prototype I would sit down with them all day and figure it out.
You get respect from the professionals in this industry by trying really hard, not by having the best model, or the coolest pictures. Just by trying to understand their world before you walk in their conference room.
Keep that attitude just the way you have it Cody – and spend time learning.