Where It All Began
The year was 1958. It was the heyday of salesmen, those kings of the open road who traveled far and wide to visit their customers and close the “big deals,” relying on their extensive product knowledge, charm and drive. Salesmen were admired, respected—a man could go from rags to riches simply through the sweat he poured into his territory and the passion he had for his product.
It was a very different time, one when truck or equipment salesmen worked 9–5 and didn’t have cell phones or email—in fact, they often didn’t even have their own phones in their offices. Although they were frequently on the road, communication was limited, as they relied chiefly on pay phones and were only able to see customers in person maybe once a month.
The buyers also had limited options. If you wanted to buy a log truck, a tank trailer or a dozer, you had to visit every local dealer, and then maybe the regional ones. If the regional dealers still didn’t have what you wanted, you bought the regional newspapers or even the coastal newspapers (from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle in the West).
You had to call and have the newspaper sent to you—several days after it was actually printed. Then you called the seller, and if it seemed he had what you wanted, you got into a car or possibly on a flight to go view it in person. The entire process was costly, inefficient and behind even the technology of that era.
Dick Pierce and the late Cliff Womack were a part of this industry. They were in the logging business, and they knew hands-on the struggles of keeping a logging operation going up in the mountains, far from the rest of civilization. They saw firsthand the time and money that were wasted when a machine malfunctioned. If a skidder was down or the log trucks couldn’t run, the entire operation stopped. Additionally, looking for the right replacement equipment meant days wasted and money lost.
Something needed to change.
Birth of a [Little] Salesman
In 1958, you welcomed us into your lives when Dick Pierce and Cliff Womack created and published the first My Little Salesman Equipment Catalog. It would showcase trucks, trailers and heavy equipment all in one magazine, and would be mailed to every trucker, logger or construction operation in the Western U.S. This little publication would have greater industry coverage than anything produced before.
The idea was that this little catalog would be the dealer’s salesperson when his live salesperson could not be with the customer. Where his sales team was limited by time or distance, “My Little Salesman” could be with customers anytime, anywhere.
Under Mr. Pierce's guidance, the company focused on delivering the most reliable inventory he could find to targeted buying audiences. Splitting the Equipment Catalog into two in 1978, Pierce created one to focus on Trucks and Trailers and the other on Heavy Equipment.
In the late 90’s to help guide the company into the next phase of growth, Dick Pierce’s son, Jason Pierce, launched
MyLittleSalesman.com, driving new services aimed at bringing focused inventory to buyers from the top sellers available nationwide. The tools developed for the internet affected print in a positive way as well creating a blended distribution and real time information used to predict buyer cycles and locations.
In 2017 Bailey Pierce, grandson to Dick Pierce, joined the team as a territory manager selling in the Central United States and bringing a fresh perspective to the tools and methods the company uses to bring top truck and heavy equipment inventory to the most active buyers in the industry.
Three generations of Pierce’s have worked and run My Little Salesman. All three generations value the input and support our customers have given us through the years.
We humbly thank you, our customers, readers, and friends, for your support in reaching our 60th anniversary. We couldn’t have gotten here without you.
As we reflect on our history and long working relationships, we look forward to the future--to working with and listening to our clients, evolving our services and tools to streamline processes and improve ROI, and building easier and more automated ways for you to manage, buy, and sell heavy equipment, trucks, trailers, and parts.
Sincerely,
Jason Pierce