I don’t think it’s these individuals’ dreams per se that ruffle feathers of culinary professionals. Rather, I believe it is their lack of appreciation for incredible amount of difficulty that lies ahead to even come within sight, if ever, of such aspirations. Even people with no goals of stardom, who just wish to cook professionally, may lack an appreciation for disparity between their home kitchen and real world. Network and Web I am not here to discourage anybody. I am simply going to give you naked truth. You decide what to do with it. Forget being a celebrity chef for moment. If you just simply aspire to be a professional chef, expect years of working 50+ hours a week, nights, weekends and holidays, for limited pay, in high stress situations. New Users

Still not discouraged? OK, let’s start at beginning. Should you attend culinary school? Well, it’s not absolutely necessary. Experience is ultimate teacher. But education coupled with experience is even better. But here’s another point of contention with professional chefs. They abhor people fresh out of school who think they know it all. Learning about a dish and making it once or twice in school is nothing compared to person who’s done it 400 times. Although there’s a cerebral component, learning how to cook requires acquisition of numerous physical skills. These skills can only be successfully achieved from repeatedly performing them. Schooling will give you a good platform from which to begin, and make you more hirable. But it is only start.

So now time has come to invest in Lead companies, but how do you know which one is right one for you?

When I was a new loan officer, finding a lead company was not easy, I can remember logging onto Yahoo, typing in key word “mortgage leads” and being bombarded with links leading me in direction of lead companies all claiming to have best leads and best deal for me!

But what was best deal for me? That all depended on what I was looking for, so taking my time, I began to right down exactly what it was I was looking for, did I want refi’s, purchases, or both. Did I want leads from several states or just one, how much could I afford? Etc., etc.

Before I invested any money, I decided I was really going to do my home work, I went to sites of companies I was considering to read their terms and conditions, I spoke with reps in their customer service department and asked many questions, I went to lead site reviews posted on web to see what kind of experience other loan officers had with companies I was considering.

One thing to keep in mind, No lead company can guarantee you a 100% closure ratio, and they are very up front about that, if that is what you are looking for, you can end your search now.

Still with me? Good!

Here are a few things to consider before committing

1) Pricing

If you are on a tight budget, and have, lets say, $100.00 to spend, you will have to narrow your search to lead companies that accept a $100.00 or lower minimum or will meet whatever spending limit you have set for yourself. Some companies have deposit requirements, not allowing you to deposit less than $500.00, so this would not be company for you.

2) Lead Generation

Find out where company is generating their leads from. Some companies recycle their leads and sell them many time over. They also buy their leads in bulk off of other companies and resell them, so make sure you ask this very important question up front.

3) Return Policy

Look for a company with a liberal return policy, best way to find out this information is through lead site reviews. If you receive a lead with bogus contact information, there is no reason why you should not get your money back.

4) Quantity vs. Quality