How do you find a buyer's agent?

[Tyler Brown]

This is probably a silly question, but...

I'm looking at purchasing my first investment property, specifically a 2-4 unit multi family home.  While I've been doing extensive research on my own, I've never engaged in any sort of real estate transaction before, and to be honest I can sometimes be a bit of a pushover in negotiations.

So bearing that in mind, while I have come across a few listings that look great on paper and I'd like to pursue further information about, I'm weary of simply contacting the listing agent, as they obviously are doing everything they can to get the highest possible price.

I've searched for a buyer's agent on Realtor.com, but it seems like all the ones they show me also have many listings for sale.  Maybe this is a silly assumption, but wouldn't a realtor in this case simply steer me towards their own listings?

I did find this page, from the National Association of Exclusive Buyer's Agents, although I was hoping to find a listing of agents where I could do a little research on them myself, before contacting them.