How to Find Buyers for Export Using AI

From customs records to a buyer lead list

One way to find export buyers is to use customs data: define your product and market, find importers, check purchase history, research procurement contacts, verify work emails, and track sales feedback.

AI can help with the repetitive work: comparing shipment records, grouping companies and organizing contact research. But without a connected data source, an agent may be unable to run the search, rely on incomplete or outdated public pages, or invent unsupported results. Keep source records and dates so you can check its findings.

Glasser provides access to trade and contact data sources.

Follow the five steps below to turn trade records into a qualified lead list. Each step includes a short request you can send to your agent in the same conversation.

Imagine a precision-spring supplier looking for industrial-equipment buyers in Brazil. The companies, dates and outcomes below are hypothetical.

Before you start: define your product and target buyer

Define which buyers your factory can serve before searching. You need your product’s application, material and order-size limits, plus a target country and period.

Glasser’s Tendata operations accept product keywords, HS codes, country and date filters. Use your supply limits to set the buyer criteria; verify an HS code before adding it.

Set the product, market and search limits

Example: Your factory makes precision springs for industrial equipment and wants buyers in Brazil with relevant imports in the last 12 months. Use your material, tolerance and order-size limits to judge product fit, and add a confirmed HS code if available.

Use these criteria to find candidate importers in Step 1.

Set up Glasser before Step 1: If the skill is not configured, send set up https://glasser.ai/SKILL.md to your agent. Then use the prompts below in the same conversation.

Step 1. Find candidate importers for your product

Build a list of companies importing your product, with one entry per company. You need importer names and countries, plus matching product descriptions and trade dates to explain why each company belongs.

Keep the evidence behind each company match

Bravora Equipamentos makes industrial equipment, Portelume Componentes distributes parts, and Nuvessa Móveis makes furniture. Their import records give you the starting list:

Tendata through Glasser provides importer names and rankings, while shipment searches provide product and date evidence. Check market and date coverage for the query, then match the records to each company and flag uncertain identities.

Just copy to your AI:

Find importers for our product and market using Tendata through Glasser. Confirm coverage and cost first, then return companies with matching product records, dates and sources.

Take the candidate companies and their records into Step 2.

Step 2. Qualify the companies using purchase evidence

Prioritize companies with relevant, recent and repeated imports. You need their purchase history and company details to distinguish a suitable buyer from a broad product match or a different business with a similar name.

Assign a priority and a specific reason

Use Tendata shipment records and company profiles through Glasser to check dates, goods descriptions, names, addresses and available websites. Compare quantities only when units and specifications match; confirm current buying needs with the company.

Just copy to your AI:

Use Tendata purchase history and company profiles through Glasser to qualify these importers. Label each Prioritize, Review or Exclude, with evidence and any unresolved questions.

Optional: start from a known supplier

A known exporter offers another route to candidates. You need its confirmed company identity and visible importing counterparties for your product and period. Use Tendata’s company filters and importer results through Glasser, then apply the same qualification checks; the records provide a partial view of trading relationships.

Just copy to your AI:

Ask me which supplier to investigate. Use Tendata through Glasser to find visible importing counterparties within our agreed scope and budget, then apply the same buyer criteria.

Start contact research for the equipment manufacturer in Step 3. Keep the distributor on hold until you know what it buys.

Step 3. Find the people responsible for procurement

Find the people who could evaluate your product at the qualified companies. You need a confirmed company domain, the person’s name, employer and procurement or sourcing role.

Apollo through Glasser supports people searches by employer domain and job title. If the company website is missing, Hunter’s company-name lookup can provide candidate domains. Check the employer match; a title alone does not establish responsibility for precision springs.

Match the person to the employer and product category

Example: A purchasing manager at the equipment manufacturer could be a useful contact. Confirm whether they source precision springs or handle a different product category.

Just copy to your AI:

Use Apollo through Glasser to find procurement or sourcing contacts at our prioritized companies. Check employer domains and roles, flag unconfirmed product responsibility, and ask before new spending.

Use the matched people and company domains in Step 4.

Step 4. Find and check available work emails

Find a usable work email for each relevant contact and assess how reliable it is. You need the person’s name and company domain, then the returned address, confidence and verification result.

Hunter through Glasser provides email finding and a separate verification operation. Finder results can include inferred addresses, so retain confidence and source details where available; keep verification status separate.

Record found, verified and missing channels separately

Example: If no email is found for that purchasing manager, keep the manufacturer on your shortlist and mark the email as missing. A missing email does not change the company’s product fit.

Just copy to your AI:

Use Hunter through Glasser to find these contacts’ work emails. Keep confidence and available sources, leave missing emails empty, and ask before paying for separate verification.

Bring the company, person and channel evidence together in Step 5.

Step 5. Build the lead list and use sales feedback

Turn the research into an actionable lead list, then improve the next batch with sales feedback. You need company and purchase evidence, contact details, email status, open questions and the outcome of your outreach.

Turn the shortlist into actions and better search criteria

Your lead list can now show what to do with each company:

Combine the Tendata, Apollo and Hunter results obtained through Glasser. Add replies and qualification notes from your own sales work, then use them to refine the next search.

Just copy to your AI:

Combine our trade, company and contact results into a prioritized lead list with next actions. Ask for my sales feedback and use it to refine the next search.

If the distributor turns out to buy furniture springs, tighten the product filters for your next search. If the equipment manufacturer buys through its head office, research that office’s purchasing team. Use what you learn to improve the next batch.

Questions about finding buyers from trade data

How do I find buyers for export without an HS code?

Start with your product description, application and market. Verify a proposed HS code before using it to narrow the research.

Does a customs record prove current buying intent?

It documents historical trade activity. Confirm current requirements and willingness to evaluate a supplier with the company.

What if a company is missing from the data?

Check market, date, transport and disclosure coverage, plus company aliases. Missing records do not prove that a company never imports.

Can I use this to find a company’s suppliers?

Research visible counterparties where the records identify them. This gives a limited view of supplier customer relationships, not a complete supplier database or multi-tier supply chain map.

Will every procurement contact have a verified email?

A B2B contact database may identify a relevant person without a usable email. Keep discovery, verification and missing channels separate.

Do I need to integrate a trade data API or email finder API?

Start with the prompts above. For a custom integration, check the selected trade data API, email finder API or contact enrichment API contract for inputs, fields and charges.

How much will the research cost?

Costs depend on the selected endpoints and calls. Check current pricing and agree a spending limit before running searches; this guide gives no fixed price per lead.