Finding Trade Leads and Business Contacts

Once you have decided that there is a market for your product or service, you must then find actual buyers. Methods of identifying buyers include trade shows, trade missions, direct mail campaigns, and advertising. You may eventually need an in-country presence through a representative or distributor. Exporters may eventually need an in-country presence in their foreign market through a representative or distributor. The library can assist you in locating business leads and contacts.

Trade Shows

There are many trade shows, both in the U.S. and abroad, where buyers and sellers can come together to discuss business, and sellers can display their wares. There are organizations on the web that can help you find trade shows, among them the Federation of International Trade Associations, www.tsnn.com and www.expo24-7.com as well as the U.S. Commmercial Service's Export.gov site. In SIBL’s reference collection, the annually published Trade Shows Worldwide (*R-SIBL T394.T723) provides a calendar of future trade and professional congresses.

Trade Leads

• Globus & NTDB – Beginning with January 2005, trade leads are no longer published in this electronic database.
• Export.gov Trade Leads Database - U.S. Government approved foreign business opportunities searchable by country, industry or keyword. Other customer location resources listed on the Export.gov Finding Partners and Trade Leads page.
• FI TA’s Worldbid – The Federation of International Trade Associations’ directory of purchase tenders from worldwide customers.  Requires login to view this database.

Business Contacts

SIBL contains many country- and industry-specific commerce directories that can help to locate business contacts abroad.

• Country-specific directories
• Industry-specific directories

Other print directories in the library’s collection which might be of use are:

• World Business Directory *R-SIBL HF54.U5W667
• Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries *R-SIBL HF4538.A1D5
• Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States     *R-SIBL HG4057.A21943
• International Business in New York City : Directory                *R-SIBL HG4264.3.Z65.I57
• Directory of United States Exporters *R-SIBL HF3011.U5436
• Directory of United States Importers *R-SIBL HF3012.U54J6
• The International Directory of Importers Various world region editions and call number locations
• The International Directory of Agents, Distributors & Wholesalers *R-SIBL HF5419.I58 McGraw Desk
• American Wholesalers and Distributors Directory *R-SIBL HF5421.G343 McGraw Desk

On the web, the U.S. Trade Information Center’s National Export Directory provides links to all sorts of trade support offices in the United States on the federal, state and local levels.  Likewise, the Center’s Foreign Trade Offices Database is a directory of a variety of official trade offices of foreign governments located both in the United States and abroad.