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Finding distributors and B2B buyers in a new country: a step-by-step process

Define the partner, build a list from registers and trade fairs, contact it within each country's rules, then qualify, meet and measure.

30 October 2026 · 8 min read

A partner search abroad is a sales project with a long cycle. It goes faster when you know exactly whom you are looking for, and wrong fast when your first message breaks local rules. Here is the process we follow.

1. Define the partner on one page

Write down what a good partner looks like:

  • Role. A distributor buys your product and resells it. An agent negotiates sales on your behalf for a commission. A reseller or integrator bundles you into its own offer. A buyer uses the product itself.
  • Size. Headcount or turnover range, and the number of salespeople.
  • Portfolio. Products that sell to the same buyers as yours but do not compete with them.
  • Coverage. Regions, customer segments, languages.
  • Capabilities. Stock, installation, service, certifications.
  • Deal-breakers.

The role has legal consequences. Under EU law, a commercial agent (a self-employed intermediary negotiating sales on a principal's behalf) is entitled to an indemnity or compensation when the contract ends; the indemnity is capped at one year's average annual remuneration over the previous five years [1]. Decide the role before you approach anyone.

Turn the profile into a scorecard to rank the list and, later, to qualify.

2. Build the list

Start with 100 to 200 companies in one country. Where to look:

  • Company registers. The UK's Companies House advanced search filters by industry (SIC) code, registered office address, status and incorporation date [2]. Germany's commercial register has been free to search online since August 2022 [3]. The EU's e-Justice portal searches business registers across the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway [4]. Registers give you companies; you still need the person who decides.
  • Trade fairs. AUMA, the German trade fair industry association, keeps a database of more than 5,000 events worldwide [5]. Find the fairs where your future partners exhibit, work through the exhibitor lists and book short meetings before you travel.
  • LinkedIn. Use it to find the decision-maker at each company on your list. Sales Navigator, LinkedIn's paid search tool, filters leads by geography, industry, company size, function and seniority [6]. Work by hand, and read step 3 before you message anyone in Germany.
  • Industry associations. Check whether the national association publishes a member directory.
  • Help on the ground. The Enterprise Europe Network's partnering database is free, and its local contact points search for partners on your behalf [7]. Chambers of commerce abroad sell research: the German-British Chamber, for example, charges £120 for up to ten German company addresses in your sector and £4,800 for a partner mailing in German [8]. The US Commercial Service charges US companies $2,500 for an International Partner Search and $3,250 for its standard Gold Key package of arranged meetings [9].

Score every company and keep the top 30 to 50 for outreach.

3. Make contact within the rules

Two sets of rules apply at once: data protection law decides whether you may use a person's details, and marketing rules decide whether you may message them unsolicited at all.

Data protection (EU and UK GDPR). Direct marketing can be based on legitimate interest [10]. That calls for a short written assessment: is your interest legitimate, is the contact necessary, and do the person's interests override yours? Keep it on file [11]. The UK regulator, the ICO, adds that legitimate interest only works for direct marketing where the marketing rules do not require consent [11].

If you found the person in a register, on a website or on LinkedIn, tell them in your first message who you are, why you are writing, your legal basis and interest, where you got their details and what their rights are [10]. State their right to object explicitly, clearly and separately from everything else [10]. If they object, stop for good and put them on a suppression list [10].

Marketing rules. They differ sharply, even between neighbours:

Country Unsolicited first contact with a business
Germany Email needs prior express consent, from businesses too [12], and the first unsolicited email is already a violation [13]. German courts have treated advertising messages on LinkedIn and similar networks as email [14]. Phone: at least presumed consent [12]. Letters: allowed unless the recipient objects [13].
UK Email to companies and LLPs needs no consent, but you must identify yourself and offer an opt-out. Sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals and generally need consent. Screen calls against the TPS and Corporate TPS [15].
Denmark Consent needed for every recipient, businesses included [16].
Sweden Consent needed for natural persons; emails to companies must carry a valid opt-out address [17].
Norway Generic company addresses are fine; a named person's work address needs consent [18].
US No consent needed, but CAN-SPAM covers B2B email: truthful headers and subject lines, a clear statement that it is an ad, your postal address, an opt-out honoured within 10 business days, and penalties of up to $53,088 per email [19].

The ICO notes that its B2B guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 [15]. Rules change, so check the regulator's current guidance before a large campaign; in consent countries, an hour with a local lawyer is cheap insurance.

Where consent is required, earn it first: meet at a fair, send a letter, call where a business interest can reasonably be presumed (in Germany, the caller carries the risk of getting that wrong [13]), or get introduced by a chamber or the network above. Then email.

Write each first message for one reader: who you are, why them, what you sell, what a partner gets (margin, territory, support) and one question. In the EU and the UK, add the privacy notice and the objection line.

4. Qualify before you meet

Check the basics. Companies House makes company data and filed documents, accounts included, available free of charge [20]. In Germany, GmbHs, AGs and GmbH & Co. KGs must publish annual accounts in the company register, although the smallest companies may deposit their balance sheet instead of publishing it [21]. Note which brands they carry today.

Then hold a 20-minute call with your scorecard open. Who are their customers? How many salespeople cover which regions? How did their last new brand launch? What do they need from you: margin, stock, training, marketing support, exclusivity? Be wary of anyone who wants exclusivity for a whole country without a volume commitment.

5. Treat the first meeting as a working session

Send a one-page agenda. Bring prices, margins, delivery terms and a draft 90-day launch plan; ask them for their customer segments and a first forecast. End with a written next step: a trial order, a joint visit to one of their customers, or a pilot region. Keep the first agreement short and time-limited, and tie any exclusivity to targets.

6. Measure the funnel

Track these per country and per source:

  • Companies on the list, and the share that fit the profile.
  • Reply rate and positive reply rate.
  • Qualification calls and first meetings held.
  • Partners signed, and the time from first contact to signature.
  • Date and size of the first order, and reorders in the first six months.
  • Cost per signed partner, including your own time and travel.

Replies and meetings tell you whether your outreach works. Reorders tell you whether you chose the right partner.

A second opinion

Planning a new market? If you want a second opinion on your partner profile, your list or a country's outreach rules, book our free 20-minute review. No pitch, no obligation.

Sources

  1. Council Directive 86/653/EEC on self-employed commercial agents, Articles 1(2) and 17. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/1986/653/article/17
  2. Companies House, "Advanced company search". https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/advanced-search
  3. IHK Lahn-Dill, "Aktuelles zur Digitalisierung" (free online access to the Handelsregister since August 2022). https://www.ihk.de/lahn-dill/recht/handels-und-gewerberecht/handelsrecht/handelsregister2/aktuelles-zur-digitalisierung-5618836
  4. European e-Justice Portal, "Business registers: search for a company in the EU". https://e-justice.europa.eu/topics/registers-business-insolvency-land/business-registers-search-company-eu/general-information-find-company_en
  5. AUMA, "Tasks and goals" (AUMA trade fair database). https://www.auma.de/en/auma/about-us/tasks-and-goals/
  6. LinkedIn Sales Community, "4 ways to maximize advanced search in Sales Navigator". https://scommunity.linkedin.com/education-training-8/4-ways-to-maximize-advanced-search-in-sales-navigator-1264
  7. Enterprise Europe Network, "International partnerships". https://een.ec.europa.eu/content/international-partnerships-0
  8. German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce, "Partner Search in Germany". https://grossbritannien.ahk.de/en/services/market-entry/partner-search-in-germany
  9. International Trade Administration, "U.S. Commercial Service user fees". https://www.trade.gov/us-commercial-service-user-fees
  10. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Recital 47 and Articles 6(1)(f), 14 and 21. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj/eng
  11. Information Commissioner's Office, "Legitimate interests". https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/a-guide-to-lawful-basis/legitimate-interests/
  12. Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG), § 7. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg_2004/__7.html
  13. IHK, Merkblatt "Werbung mittels Telefon, Fax, E-Mail, SMS, Brief". https://www.ihk.de/blueprint/servlet/resource/blob/4523516/6f5f11104eabaf9311e26ec2ba673081/werbung-mittels-telefon-fax-e-mail-sms-brief-data.pdf
  14. Rechtsanwalt Plutte, "Zulässigkeit von Werbenachrichten via Social Media", updated 16 January 2026 (citing AG Düsseldorf, 20 November 2025, 23 C 120/25, and OLG Hamm, 3 May 2023, 18 U 154/22). https://www.ra-plutte.de/zulaessigkeit-von-werbenachrichten-via-social-media/
  15. Information Commissioner's Office, "Business-to-business marketing". https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/business-to-business-marketing/
  16. Forbrugerombudsmanden, "Vejledning om spamforbuddet", 2018, updated 25 June 2021. https://forbrugerombudsmanden.dk/media/bjajzdv1/vejledning-om-spamforbuddet-2021-a.pdf
  17. Marknadsföringslag (2008:486), sections 19 and 20. https://data.riksdagen.se/dokument/sfs-2008-486.html
  18. Forbrukertilsynet, guidelines on marketing by e-mail, SMS and similar (Marketing Control Act, section 15). https://www.forbrukertilsynet.no/?p=2165
  19. US Federal Trade Commission, "CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business". https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business
  20. GOV.UK, "Search the Companies House register". https://www.gov.uk/guidance/search-the-companies-house-register
  21. IHK Schleswig-Holstein, "Offenlegung von Jahresabschlüssen". https://www.ihk.de/schleswig-holstein/recht/handelsrecht/offenlegung-von-jahresabschluessen2-6044152