December 8, 2022 by Ewell Smith
Jesse Cole Sells Out Every Savannah Bananas baseball game kicking MLB's butt. How?
Jesse Cole started his career as the general manager of the Gastonia Grizzlies. Now, as the owner of the Savannah Bananas, Jesse Cole consistently fills the historic Grayson Stadium to capacity while major league teams stumble with ticket sales. Jesse’s kicking the MLB’s butt with a team in the mighty Coastal Plain League.
The Savannah Bananas have a waiting list too! Sold out! Every game! How? Why?
Since the first year, filling the stadium has everything to do with the philosophy Jesse embraces as the founder of Fans First Entertainment.
This isn’t just a baseball game. This isn’t just the Savannah Bananas Baseball Team. This is a team of amazing people willing to try new ideas to exceed their fans’ expectations. Every day. This may be the best thing in sports entertainment - in fact it’s redefining sports entertainment.
3 questions for you - Jesse Cole addresses these head on (and more):
- Do you need a spark to jumpstart your lagging sales?
- Are you looking for creative inspiration?
- What does it really mean to be all in?
When we say all in…would you be willing to sell your home? Drain your savings account? Sleep on an air mattress? Would you do all that to make payroll to fulfill your vision? Your dream?
On this episode of the ABSOLUTELY MINDSET podcast, you'll learn comfortable is not an option. Comfortable is not the goal. You will learn what it means to do the exact opposite to get results.
You will no longer look at your customers as customers once you start to adapt a fans first experience mentality.
Connect with Jesse
https://thesavannahbananas.com/
On Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yellowtuxjesse/
Get Jesse's new book Fans First here.
Jesse's approach applies to your business…perhaps differently.
As business owners or leaders, do you need a yellow tuxedo?
Do you need to hold grandma beauty pageants?
Perhaps not; however, any leader of any “traditional business” may want to take notes listening to this podcast. If you think you can’t apply what Jesse’s talking about to your business, keep in mind there are traditional bankers doing so.
Marketing Vs. _____________
You may be thinking Jesse Cole breaks the bank on marketing to drive ticket sales.
Not so.
The exact opposite is true. In our interview, Jesse reveals what he knows to be “1,000% more effective than marketing.”
What does a "Fans First" mindset look like?
Jesse's strategy puts fans first. He talks about that strategy over and over till he’s yellow in the face. That's key. There's something else perhaps even more key. Fans first is the goal he’s shooting for.
Was it the goal for the Bananas to be Savannah's business of the year? I'd say that's nice...but not the goal. Was it Jesse’s goal to be recognized as entrepreneur of the year? Or to make it into Entrepreneur Magazine? Again. All nice, but not the goal. Those are merely byproducts.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the fans. Giving them an off the charts experience they will remember for years to come is the goal. Making them super fans is the end goal.
If they win the CPL championship along the way, that’s the cherry on top. Guess what, with all the enthusiasm bubbling up for the Bananas, they won the CPL championship the very first year!
But to get to the absurd level of fan appreciation the Bananas stir up, Jesse knows his team (for context here, team means staff) must be totally all in. He knows his team must feel even more appreciated than the fans themselves. Jesse’s constantly challenging his team to come up with ideas. Then he empowers them to act on those ideas.
All this adds up to getting people's attention. He must get his staff's attention first by showing them appreciation. Then the fans. And you’ll see how he also empowers the fans who help make a lot of the decisions.
As a side note…I just read another article where Jesse sets aside 1% of the budget to invest in his team to make them feel appreciated. As you listen to this show you’ll understand a little more as he recently surprised his entire team with a trip to Disney World.
5 key marketing points Jesse Cole Goes over:
- Eliminate friction
- Entertain always
- Experiment constantly
- Engage deeply
- Empower action
Banana Ball breaks the rules:
- Every Inning Counts
- Two Hour Time Limit
- No Stepping Out
- No Bunting
- Batters Can Steal First
- No Walks Allowed
- One on One Showdown Tiebreaker
- No Mound Visits Allowed
- If a Fan Catches a Foul Ball, It’s an Out
Here's the rules of the game.
Banana Ball* shatters all attendance records:
2016 – 91,000 fans breaking Coastal Plain League’s single season attendance record averaging 3, 659 fans per game – Bananas win the CPL Championship
2017 - 108,498 fans breaking CPL’s attendance record again with an average of 4,173 fans per game.
2018 - 118,262 fans breaking another CPL record
2019 - 117,729 fans Four straight seasons in a row they led the Coastal Plain League in attendance.
2020 – limited to a 50% capacity during a pandemic, they still sold out
2021 – Banana Ball Goes on the Road – Expansion - First Ever One City World Tour Game in Mobile, Alabama – Sold Out!
* Banana Ball is the world's fastest and most entertaining gameof baseball.
For a full explanation of the rules and ticket sales, make sure to visit https://thesavannahbananas.com/banana-ball-rules/
Another outstanding outcome
The historic Grayson Stadium stays. (it was almost torn down)
Grayson Stadium was built in Savannah, Georgia in 1926. It was home to the Boston Red Sox’s spring training. Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Jackie Robinson took their swings back in the day there.
Before the Savannah Bananas took to the field for their first season, Grayson Stadium was home to the Sand Gnats for 31 years. The traditional minor league baseball team left Savannah for Columbia, South Carolina in 2015.
The ownership of the Sand Gnats wanted a more modern multi use stadium to replace the old stadium. The iconic stadium “was no longer conducive to their needs, ”per a team spokesperson. Columbia lured the Gnats in committing $30 million towards a brand-new stadium.
Savannah simply couldn’t justify the expense. Upon the Gnat’s departure, Mayor Edna Jackson said, “We continue to believe Grayson is an ideal and family friendly setting in which to locate a professional team.”
Clearly, the people of Savannah and the mayor had no clue what was coming next. Just look at the new rules of the game below. And as they say, starting with the Savannah Bananas first game in 2016, the rest is history. The legacy of the iconic Grayson Stadium lives on with the first ever ad free ballpark…
Jesse Cole's Book Launch
Make sure you check out Jesse’s Book “Find Your Yellow Tux - How to Be Successful by Standing Out” - Note, in Jesse’s style, he launched his first book with a World Book Tour - at Epcot. You’ll appreciate why he launched it there even more as he starts sharing how Walt Disney has been such an inspiration to him.
From Bananas to Pecans, two Georgia CEOs use Linked In to build their brands.
If you've enjoyed Jesse’s story, you'll love Stephanie Stuckey’s in a prior episode. Click here. She’s the new CEO of Stuckey’s. Founded in 1937, her grandfather created the business selling pecan rolls on the side of the road. Then it fell out of the family’s hands for decades. She’s now resurrecting this iconic American brand.
You can follow both of their daily journals on Linked In.
Episodes 1- 9 were branded the Absolutely Mindset Podcast. Now the Close The Deal.com Podcast.
Subscribe
Laid off?
Not valued?
Ready to exit?
Discovered ageism
is real?
Be The Boss.
Close The Deal on
Your First Franchise
Claim Your Free Copy
About the Author Ewell Smith is the publisher of CloseTheDeal.com, host of the Close The Deal Podcast, and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap. He interviews franchisors, founders, and sales and marketing leaders to help franchise owners and candidates drive more revenue and find the right opportunity. His work focuses on practical franchise strategy, the right mindset, and helping people close the deal on their next chapter.
