You can’t just sit in your office and wait for foreign buyers to get in touch with you. Finding potential international trading partners takes some investigation. You’ll need to learn about global markets and confine your research to the best possible leads.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of help available to locate the best international markets and trading partners that may be most open to your products and services. One way to discover potential opportunities is to consult with your industry trade organization. These organizations can often help you narrow down the most logical and promising international markets to consider.
If you’re just starting out, it’s probably a good idea to confine your search to nations that participate in “free trade agreements” with the US. There are about 20 countries that have agreements with the United States that make the exporting process more straightforward and subject to fewer regulations.
Other resources you can take advantage of include attending trade fairs (some of which are located in the U.S., while others are held overseas), using exporting “matching services” available through U.S. government agencies, reviewing market research reports, and consulting with various U.S. trade missions located worldwide.
In addition, various U.S. states have their own services to help businesses in those states find potential buyers and get started with exporting.
