Agent vs Investor

[Faiz Khan]

I am very new to investing and I have been studying for 5 months now. I am looking for deals but unable to find the leads. The competition in California seems to be overwhelming, but I am not giving up. I was told that an agent can be of really good help when finding leads or deals eventually. So my question is how should I approach an agent about it and what criteria should I follow so that we both benefit from the relationship. Thank you