Do I then go and get the financing I need (bank or hard money lender and let's pretend this includes the money for the property, closing costs, etc) and then go back to the agent and say I'm ready to buy?

Pretend your Donald Trump and they're just a millionaire and they're the one that's the small player.

In "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" Robert Kiyosaki says that when you're in the moment you need to pretend you are the person who is your hero at whatever it is your doing. 

If the majority of renters in your area can easily afford your houses, it’s much easier to keep them occupied and profitable.One way you can learn rent values is to pretend you’re a renter in search of housing.

They get a lot of these letters and most of them are from individuals pretending to be large companies or actual large companies.

The market doesn't have time for pretenders because to many real players are in the marketplace.Show me you have the cash directly and show me you are willing to put it on the line to get the deal.

Don't laugh but I actually started pretending I knew what I was doing and literally acting like the wolf of wallstreet for confidence building. 

Don’t get me wrong you can always find an agent that will be glad to do whatever they are told just to be busy and pretending to be working with a “client” but is that the type of agent an investor should really be forming a relationship with?

I'm not a CPA and would never pretend to be.

You're not an expert, but are pretending to be.In any event, paying an extra 10,000 (of cash) towards your mortgage on day 1 decreases total interest paid over the life of the loan by $31,127.