I would need the agent to be able to help me with comps for properties I target and write offers to REO's.

The catch is that they need to be similar to your target property.  

Scott's books on flipping and estimating rehab costs are also great sources of info.As far as wholesaling is concerned, Find out: Your target area; ALL costs of a mail campaign (list, letters, postcards, necessary office supplies, postage, etc); budget for 6 months-1year of mailings; develop scripts for prospective sellers (what to say to them); learn to track responses, follow-ups, conversion rates, overall campaign effectiveness, etc.Build your team; title company, RE attorney, cash buyers, closing agents, etc.Feel free to reach out if you need any info.

Knowing your target area is essential and not something you can do with a few superficial conversations with people.

If you are spending marketing dollars you need to make sure you are targeting the right audience "motivated sellers" and you do this by filtering the list you pull.

Should I target the zip codes in poorer areas?

Have a target property investment strategy going in (Multi Family Buy and Hold).  2.  

For me it's a gift card to Target or a local restaurant.

Your reinvestment target then becomes $900K. 

1) The argument can be made that if the same marketing list was targeted by both direct mail & cold calling techniques, you would get in front of more people, or "opportunities" with cold callers with the same cost.