Foreign representative leads from U.S. manufacturers of similar or complementary
products
One of the best sources of foreign rep leads is contacting U.S. manufacturers of similar or
complementary products that also export through foreign agents or distributors. Generally,
these companies are not considered as competitors and usually are willing to help identify
potential foreign reps that they know or are now working with. Be prepared to return the
favor.
Foreign trade directories, yellow pages, importers guides, foreign representative mailing
lists
There are numerous international trade directories and guides that list foreign importers,
agents, and distributors. A large public library will usually have several. For example, a
major international trade directory publisher is KOMPASS, who publishes excellent trade
directories for European countries. Check electronic databases for this information. After
obtaining a listing of potential foreign reps to contact, it is important to write a letter that
best markets the company and builds a good first impression.
U.S. Federal and State Governments
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has several
export marketing services designed to identify potential foreign reps. These services are
processed by the U.S. Embassies overseas and the quality of the services varies from post
to post. For machinery (non-agricultural goods) there is the U.S. Department of
Commerce Department's Agent/Distributor Service (ADS) in which the U.S. Embassy in
the targeted foreign market conducts a rep-find search on your behalf. There are several
additional services that are worth investigating as well. Check with the local office of the
U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration for further
information.
International trade shows
Exhibiting or at least attending international trade shows is an excellent method to identify
and meet potential foreign reps. Unlike some American trade show for a particular
industry, major European trade shows attract exhibitors and attendees from throughout
Western Europe as well as other parts of the world. If the company has targeted the
countries of Western Europe, then you need to focus your marketing dollars on at least
attending the European trade show for the industry. By attending you can achieve several
marketing objectives, including market demand assessment, European competition
analysis, and foreign rep identification. All the substantial European foreign reps you
would want to meet will be exhibiting there representing other manufacturers.
Assuming that you have already decided that the product has good market potential in
Western Europe, it is even better if you can exhibit at the trade show. Just hang a
"REPS WANTED" sign in multiple languages at your booth and have a big stack of rep
packets and questionnaires ready.
Foreign customers and Original Equipment Manufacturers
Any opportunity to meet with a potential foreign customer of your product is an excellent
way to get leads on potential local reps. Ask who they like to deal with because there isn't
a better recommendation. Be sure to talk with the purchasing department as well as any
key purchase decision-makers within the company.
Ask current foreign representatives
If you have one or two foreign reps now, ask them for possible rep candidates in markets
that they don't cover. There is an active rep network in Europe with everyone knowing
each other. Let the network work for you by having the current rep spread the word about
the search. You may be surprised at the number of leads they can generate for you.
Additional sites relating to Identifying the Ideal Agent or Distributor:
