How MNO Compares to the Others
Without a doubt, BNI is the most recognizable and most popular referral organization in the networking world. With over 200,000 members and chapters throughout the globe, BNI has proved to the world that their take on networking works. In fact, BNI introduced the concept of having one seat per profession in each group, since it does not make any sense for a business professional to pay a fee for a shared seat.
Other networking groups such as Team and LeTip have attempted for decades to take market share for BNI, but to no avail. So is there truly only one option when considering joining a referral group? Is there no one better? Perhaps there is. Merely a few miles from where BNI was born is a new player in the networking world: MNO.
Launched merely in 2019, MNO has been sprouting across the United States. Are they the next big player in the networking game?
Before we get to what MNO stands for and how it started, we wanted to highlight 3 ways MNO is making waves:
1. The Patented MNO Member App
Technology has become the main driver for innovation for almost every industry, and the networking world is no exception. Noting how quickly the world is changing, the evolution of the way business is done is assuredly headed into the virtual realm. Businesses are starting to operate less frequently in person and are taking transactions electronically and appointments via platforms like Zoom and Google Meet.
MNO has taken the first step in launching a revolutionary proprietary app that allows its members to share each others business links on social media with just a couple of clicks. The result of members collectively sharing each others links is organic traffic, which of course leads to new business without the need for costly advertising.
There are countless stories of members receiving inquiries for their businesses in response to social media posts about their products or services. Most recently, a financial advisor from one of their Southern California chapters, scheduled an appointment for a family seeking a college savings plan. They had seen a post on a Facebook group where a particular post about 529 plans on his business page was shared. All it took was a member from the financial advisor’s chapter to share his link using the MNO Member App.
Not only is the app a link-sharing tool, but it’s also a logging mechanism that keeps track of the shares members do for each other. Additionally, the app sends a notification to the member letting them know that that particular member shared their link.
No other networking organization offers this feature in their app and they don’t consider the sharing of links as a necessary networking activity.
2. Visitors
If you’ve ever been in a networking group, you know that visitors bring new life to the weekly meetings as these new visits bring new opportunities for each member as well as the visitors. On the flip side, having a weekly meeting with no visitors almost always creates a very discomforting air. This is mostly due to the fact that the meetings are conducted with the assumption that visitors will be in attendance. Another reason is because it’s a missed opportunity for the members to find new connections through whom they can grow their business.
To address this, MNO allocates part of its membership fees towards their inviting department to ensure that new visitors attend these weekly meetings. MNO staff is on social media every week promoting their networking zooms to give new and existing businesses an opportunity to promote their business and make new connections.
In fact, they invented the Post and Promo method, which serves as an effective way to find these entrepreneurs online. Social media is filled with businesses looking for a way to meet other local business owners, and these weekly zooms offer visitors a one-time opportunity to meet them. Membership is offered to visitors whose seats are available, but the main purpose for their visit is to be introduced to the members in hopes opportunities arise. MNO chapters enjoy between 5-10 new visitors at every meeting.
The other organizations do not have an inviting department, and instead puts a major focus on encouraging its own members to do all of the inviting. Indeed, the members benefit as the group grows in membership, but this prioritized focus on inviting detracts from the members’ efforts to pass referrals to each other.
3. Membership terms
MNO realizes that with the state of the national and global economy, cash flow is extremely critical for an entrepreneur. This is why membership is monthly and not annual. Another reason for the monthly membership is that it acts as a motivational force for MNO to continually provide value for its members. This is done by offering free trainings on how to become an even better networker, providing new visitors every week, and to continuing to add unique features to the already-revolutionary MNO Member App.
If you’re in a referral group, you may also have experienced member fatigue where a member “checks out” and stops providing value for their fellow members. They still attend the meetings and maybe schedule a meeting or two a month with members, but the passion and drive to pass referrals is gone. Monthly memberships allow members to step down when it’s time without losing out on unused months.
Other organizations’ memberships are annual and they take full payment up front with no refunds for members who wish to step down. This creates scenarios such as members who are already paid up stick around in hopes of receiving business but have lost the desire and passion to pass business to the members.
These are just three of ways that MNO is promoting that they’re better than the others. But there are many more; in fact MNO has created a comparison chart to highlight the others which you’ll find below.
A little about MNO
MNO is a networking organization based out of Tustin, CA and was launched in 2019 by seasoned networker Emo Alaeddin. In addition to being a business owner and professional networker, Emo is a prolific musician and produces his own original music under his last name Alaeddin. He came up with the concept of the app when he released his latest album and could not get a single member of his BNI group to attend a show or share his album on social media. Except for one: the life insurance agent of the group, whom we’ll get to in just a bit.
Before the app was developed, Emo put together his first group to come together and share each others links on social media and log them on an excel sheet. When the first group was successfully formed, Emo stepped down from his previous organization as a director and a member to focus on what he coined MNO. In celebration of the launch of the first group which he called The Founders MNO, Emo invited his friend, the life insurance agent of his former organization’s chapter, Melissa Levin to attend. With one visit, Melissa offered her networking and organizational prowess to help build MNO as partners.
So is anyone better than BNI? Only one person can decide: you.
MNO is currently run and operated by Emo and Melissa, who married in March of 2022.
10 Things to Consider When Picking a Networking Group
Trust your gut instinct. When you first walk into the room, be mindful of your initial reaction to the greeters and connectors. Did you get that warm fuzzy feeling inside within the first 10 minutes or was it a cold, discomforting one? Just because you can’t quite put your finger on it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust your gut instinct.
Listen for the numbers. You may have been treated like royalty and you could totally see yourself becoming a part of the group. But the proof is in the pudding and if the group’s performance is subpar, then you might as well join a social club. A networking group is designed to grow one’s base and get them more exposure. The numbers don’t lie, so keep your ears open for when the leadership team announces the numbers. The average ROI is $30,000 per member so a functioning chapter should be generating at least that for every member.
Visitor count: it is extremely crucial for a chapter to inspire its members to invite fresh new faces. Otherwise the meetings become stale and the members are promoting in an echo chamber. A networking group that has a strong inviting culture benefits by bringing fresh new energy along with new opportunities. Although members can’t sell directly to each other unless inquired upon, members can certainly sell to the visitors that choose not to apply for membership. Those that don’t miss out on a huge opportunity.
Attendance: the chapter may have a room full of visitors but that may mask the fact that half of the chapter is absent. It’s important that the members of the group commit to each other, and display their commitment by being present.
Preparedness: as a first time visitor it’s excusable to not have your promo ready. But for a member who has been at the meetings weekly to sound as though they whipped together a promo on the way to the meeting speaks volumes about how they treat their business and their chapter.
Sessions. Some organizations call it one to ones, but sessions are where any networking group enjoys a big portion of opportunities passed. The meetings are usually condensed and thus leave little room for members to truly get to know each other. Sessions are designed to form bonds between individual members and establish enough trust to start sharing opportunities with each other. A group that performs poorly in the realm of sessions is a sign that the members aren’t really that committed to learning about each other on a deeper, more substantial level.
Post meeting follow up: one of the best ways to feel welcome is to receive a text, a call, or an email from one or more of the members. A chapter that reaches out to visitors shows that they care and are willing to expand and share their network with you. If you don’t hear from anyone after the meeting, it could be a sign that the members aren’t looking to grow their networks.
Size does matter. It’s simple: the bigger the membership, the bigger the network. True, there may be some non-performers but you’ll find that in any size chapter. A larger chapter creates a certain kind of energy that lifts the morale of the group and lifts the members to excellent through the pride in their group. Be careful, a large chapter can easily fall from grace by deciding to go rogue and not follow the rules of its organization.
Follow the rules. Like in most businesses and bands, structure is crucial to any group’s success. A chapter that holds its members accountable improves its chances exponentially at becoming a successful group. A group that is too lenient will lose its best members because they will end up carrying the weight of the chapter.
The application process: there are committees that are usually tasked with processing new application. If you decide to apply, they are tasked with contacting you immediately and scheduling an interview. This shouldn’t take longer than two weeks. Ideally a new application should be processed in one week, assuming there are no issues or delays from the applicant side. Any delays or missed appointments to process the application could be a sign that the members aren’t taking their roles seriously enough to run the chapter efficiently. You can always cancel your interview and stop the process before you are inducted, and you should never worry about exercising that right if your gut instinct tells you maybe you made a mistake in applying.
MNO: A Summary for Business Professionals
MISSION STATEMENT:
To revolutionize the music industry while building local businesses and their communities along the way.
THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC:
Unlike any other industry, music is an experience that can be listened to or viewed. The reach of a successfully promoted musician has the potential to be in the thousands locally and even greater on a regional level.
To dispel the common myth that musicians may not be in the market to use a business professional’s services, they are influencers and are able to relay the business professional’s services to their fans effectively.
Unlike any other industry, a successful musician can sway the opinion of their fans with a single post.
There are cases where musicians have pulled up their fellow business professionals onto the stage and introduced them to their adoring fans. The results were new clients for the business professionals.
The very nature of a musician is that of a promoter. A musician in Music Network One promotes his fellow business professionals because of the Play It Forward philosophy.
Knowing that they’re not burdened by having to promote themselves as much frees them up to promote their fellow members.
MNO MEETINGS
Weekly meetings are designed to keep promotion of each other’s businesses alive and strong. Since the meetings are open to all and MNO has a strong inviting culture, there are usually around 10 new faces in the room.
The relationships and trust between the members grow in time as does the knowledge about each other’s music and business. This coupled with the opportunities generated by the weekly influx of visitors ensures the success of every member.
MNO SESSIONS
In order to ensure musicians and fellow members truly understand each other’s business, there are MNO sessions. These sessions that are scheduled between two members dig deeper into each other’s business to truly understand how to promote them. Opportunities are uncovered and referrals are usually generated during these more focused sessions.
Members use these sessions as a training of sorts to become each other’s most informed sales force.
SUPERGROUPS
Supergroups are alliances that are formed between business professionals. In addition to the ease of passing their clients to each other’s complementary services, activities such as the below can bring in new clients and opportunities:
Workshops
Seminars
Client appreciation events
Musicians in the chapter may provide the entertainment to bring value to these events while providing exposure and new opportunities for the musicians.
MNO SHOWS
Music is the only industry that provides an opportunity to have your business promoted to a captive audience.
MNO Shows are structured and planned performances by members and prospects, but are also major networking events.
In addition to promo material that would be available to the attendees of concert, business professionals are brought on to the stage to promote their business.
The crowd is given the opportunity to hear the “why” behind the business professional’s choosing of their career. Members of the audience who are in the market for a business professional’s services are more likely to hire them.
PLAY IT FORWARD
Play it Forward is the core philosophy of Music Network One. When every member is playing it forward for each other, the need to promote one’s own business isn’t as crucial.
The collective effort of an MNO chapter to promote each other always comes from the heart because of the strong bonds created through the weekly meetings, supergroup activities, sessions and the MNO shows.
The Three Frequently Asked Questions about Music Network One
As MNO Producers roll out chapters across the country, the same three concerns are usually brought up during after the meeting.
Here they are:
"Why should we meet weekly? I'm busy"
"Why should I team up with business professionals that I won't be a client of?"
"Why should I team up with musicians? They're all broke"
Founder Emo Alaeddin addressed these concerns in the video below, check it out
Music Network One: The Third Case Scenario
Before MNO, we had two choices:
1. get signed and let a label which are a collection of business professionals like producers, lawyers, and studios milk us for all we are with.
2. Do it on our own and spend every last dime on business professionals to promote our music.
We only had two choices, until rocker and referring guru Emo Alaeddin created Music Network One.
Joining an MNO group gives musicians access to local business professionals who truly care about each other and show it by way of supporting their music. Whether it’s by way of bringing friends to a show or sharing the musician’s crowdfunder with their clients.
And the only thing that these business professionals in return?
It’s not for musicians to buy their products or services, nor is it to take a cut of their earnings, like labels do. Then only thing that they ask for in return is to keep their services on top of mind when going about their day. But there’s an easier way to return the favor to a business professional.
Every business professionals has one or two other professions that can send them clients regularly. Kinda like how a recording studio would send their artists over to a cd duplication shop, every profession has a referral source that they would love to be connected to.
A musician can connect a business professional with a referral source and pay back the favor in a major way. Instead of sending one client at a time, connecting someone with their referral source will ensure continuous business. This continuous business will mobilize the business professional to promote the musician even more.
This incredible alliance between the musician and the business world has been overlooked long enough. It is a new era; one where the bands don’t have to leave for Nashville to have a career. It’s an era where communities aren’t left with the loss of another amazing band leaving town for something bigger.
Communities are being strengthened and hope is regained in every corner of the country. And it’s thanks to the musician and the business professionals that support them.
Check out our FAQ video below