Fans First
Book review of Fans First, written by Jesse Cole
Review by Mary Kaufmann
A friend recommended the book Fans First as a ‘must read’ and it did not disappoint. Fans First was written by Jesse Cole sharing the real-life journey of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. Jesse and Emily Cole co-own the ‘Bananas’ exhibition ball club, formerly a CPL baseball team. His book offers tested and proven strategies for how he led this struggling unknown team to the pinnacle of ‘fan-dome’. Starting in 2016, the team went from an average attendance of 100 to sold out crowds almost overnight. Currently the team has over six million followers on TikTok, more than any MLB team.
Jesse redefined success from winning games to winning hearts, the hearts of his fans. According to Jesse, organizations and teams who want to succeed and stand out among the competition must “change the game,” “break the rules,” and “create unforgettable experiences” for their customers or ‘fans’.
One of the key messages from the book is to take a bold new approach to your business. He says, “Whatever is normal, do the exact opposite.You can’t succeed by doing things like everyone else.” If you want your company to win, you must redefine what winning means. Why is it so simple to understand and yet so hard to do? To do it you have to “have the courage to do things others won’t do.”
Companies large and small have mediocre results because they are too focused on themselves. “How can we grow?” “How can we make more money?” These are the wrong questions. Instead, ask, “What can we do to make a powerful difference in our customers lives?” In other words, don’t chase customers - delight them!
Want in on Jesse’s secrets? “Be patient in what you want for yourself but be impatient about what you give to others.” Be a raving fan of what you do and do the hard work to be proud of the products and services you bring to the world. If you are not passionate about being devoted to what you do, then you’re not really living and “the world is missing out.” I live to make a difference in people’s lives in work and in life. If this fits your passion, then this book is for you!
Check out this short video clip to catch a glimpse of the Bananas and their Fans. If you want a little more detail, see Jesse’s story here.
Jesse Cole has created a work of art in the “banana yellow” covered pages of his masterpiece in Fan’s First. I can’t think of a person, team, or organization who would not benefit from reading this book. I’m a fan of Fan’s First!
Pro-Tip: When I read this book, I created a table and outlined each major section. I outlined insights, details and quotes. Then, I listed questions to answer to help me apply it in work and life. I’ll share an example in each section.
Part 1: Change the Game
Jesse believes anyone in business can do what the Bananas have done. Most companies don’t make progress because they aren’t being different. You must stop making excuses and start making yourselves different. You will STAND OUT if you don’t look and act like everyone else.
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Get fanatical about fans
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Our goal is to make “you wouldn’t believe” moments–The whole point is to encourage our fans to tell a story. They want every fan to use the phrase, “You wouldn’t believe…..” and share a wild exhilarating story about their experience.
Instead of spending money on traditional marketing alone - WE GO ALL IN ON “YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE MOMENTS”
Create you wouldn’t believe moments in your business and build a “you wouldn’t believe life” for yourself
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We're not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with the customer’s needs, and we work backward.”
~Jeff Bezos
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What could be our customer’s “you wouldn’t believe” moments?
How might we look at our bright spots?
How might we find past client examples to identify what makes us unique?
We should interview our clients and customers to get their ideas.
Key Learnings: You can’t win in business by being the same as everyone else and you can’t win by staying the same. Stop chasing customers and start creating fans. Change the conversation, change the game and you will change your outcomes.
Part 2: Break the Rules
Jesse Cole used to love baseball. He was 23 years old and working for a ballclub and was bored out of his mind. He lived for baseball, and he stopped being a fan. It was too slow, and the rules made it SO boring. He asked himself, “what if it could be something different?” That’s when he found his vision. As author, Jim Henderson says “What do you want to be known for?”
Going fans first is NOT easy. If you aren’t getting criticism, then you are playing it too safe. They chose the tagline “Fan’s first, entertain always.”
They developed an All-inclusive ticket and chose NOT to take money for advertisers because they believe it is something their fans hate!
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Break the rules
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Right now, you have a choice to make. Do you want to play the same game as everyone else? Do you want to be another unremarkable business?
Or do you want to change the game?
Whatever is normal, do the exact opposite. Normal gets normal results. Vow to make normal a four-letter word.
Everybody has something that makes them stand out and be the best version of themselves. Once you find it the key is to amplify it by 10.
Make the rules, and if you’re not scared and you’re not trying something big enough.
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When you Follow the Crowd, you’ll never draw a crowd.”
~Mike Veeck
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What is normal for our business?
What will be our “4 letter words?”
How can we look at the rules of our industry and do the opposite?
What do our clients hate?
What is one thing that makes us stand out? What would happen if we amplified times 10?
Key Learnings: Stop doing things your customer hates. You should never sell something that you don’t believe in. It isn’t, “seeing it to believe it” it is, “believing it to see it.”Never put profits over people. Look at your industry’s greatest, perceived weaknesses and make them your strengths. Always be inventing new ideas for serving your customers. Your biggest mistake is “not making any.” When you stop inventing and experimenting you become irrelevant.
Part 3: Create Unforgettable Experiences
Jesse Cole redefined success by guiding his team to answer these 4 questions.
What is our fan’s experience now?
What do we want it to be?
How can we be different?
What is the wildest thing we can think of?
His mission was to inspire the whole team, to be fanatical about the details and then to make it happen.
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Spread the love
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People want to surround themselves with people who are passionate and who believe in something - who are committed to and energized by that passion so much that they will shout it from the rooftops.
While marketing will only get you so far, storytelling has no boundaries. The only limit is your own imagination.
Marketing “stories,” tell you how good a product or service is. That’s short-term thinking. Stories focus on the long term. They’re focused not on how good our product or service is but on how good our people are—us, our team, our fans. Stories tell of leaders doing things no one else has tried to make the world a better place.
Think about the meaning of your business as well. Why does it matter? Why is it worth sharing?
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“People can’t love you if they don’t know you.”
~Pat Flynn
“Great stories happen to those who tell them.”
~Ira Glass
“When you go to bat as many times as I do, you’re bound to get a good average.” ~Walt Disney
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful—that’s what matters to me.”~ Steve Jobs
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Does our reputation precede us? What is our reputation in the market?
What if we flipped the “always be selling” to “always be inventing?”
What kind of ripple are we creating?
What would happen if our business never existed?
What can happen because it does?
Key Learnings: Don’t focus on selling, focus on serving. The more people you serve the more revenue you make. Legacy is not what you leave for people; it’s what you leave in people.
Bonus: Plus Everything (There were only 3 parts to the book but in true Jesse form, he added a bonus section at the end)
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+ing
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+ing is giving your Fans more than they paid for
To plus something is to improve it. But not in the normal boring “how can we do better tomorrow than we did today.” IT IS ABOUT MIXING IN THE FAMILIAR WITH THE UNEXPECTED. This creates new moments and stories that release, collaboration, connection and possibility.
This way you don’t just give a nod to the past but you create a sense of anticipation that will bring your fans back for more.
Great example of +ing is Walt Disney.
When he created tomorrowland and everything was flowing beautifully he decided he wanted to throw a $350,000 parade at the end of each day at dusk. (The famous Disney parade of lights.)
His accountant told him he was crazy and they didn’t have the money to do it.
Why would they do it? No one was expecting it. He said “Precisely, that’s why we’re going to do it because no one is expecting it.”
We always have to give them a little bit more do it exactly because they’re not expecting it
If our crowd stops coming, it’ll cost 10 times more to get them back. This is what makes a $350,000 parade a safe bet.
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In his book, Simple Truths of Service, Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz tell the story of Johnny the Bagger at a local grocery store. A consultant came in and suggested that every person could add their “Service Signature” to their work. How could they “plus” the customer experience?
Johnny added “Johnny’s thoughts” little slips of paper with observations and positive affirmations to the grocery bags. It was a hit. Customers waited in line for HIS service because they loved it. Every department followed (flowers, deli etc)
HOW CAN I PLUS THIS?
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What could be our “signature service?”
What could we do to PLUS what we offer to our clients today?
Key Learnings: Five steps:
Get in your fans (customers) shoes:
Go where your fans (customers) are:
Shorten the feedback loop;
Bring in outsiders;
Go deep in one area;
Know what business you’re in (there’s that plus again!)