Is hiring a broker to represent me worth it?

What is everyone's thoughts on hiring buy side representation to conduct a proprietary search on your behalf? Can good value be had with the right firm and the right agreement? Always a bad idea, or somewhere in between? What pitfalls should I be aware of prior to signing any agreement with a brokerage firm? Finally, is a 10% commission about market rate? Thank you very much!

ps- I'm a self funded searcher with a geographic restriction who has to keep her day job for a long list of reasons....so in essence I'm outsourcing a large part of my search and trading a small upfront fee and a back end commission for focused deal flow.