Overview
Clients can be registered as a Sole Proprietorship brand, which indicates that they do not have a registered business number and file their taxes for their real estate business using their own name and identification number. They can also be registered as a Standard brand, which is used for any client that has a government registered business name and number for their real estate business. When reviewing client websites for A2P registrations, Twilio compares the client’s website with the information provided for the A2P registration to ensure that they are who they say they are.
If Twilio determines that a sole proprietor’s website does not seem to match up with their status as a sole proprietor, they will reject the campaign submission with the following error message:
The campaign for a Sole Proprietorship Brand has been rejected due to incorrect registration and failure to meet the small business Sole Proprietor (EIN) criteria set by TCR and mobile carriers.
Steps To Resolve
Send the below email to your client to gather more information.
Hello [client's first name],
I’m working on an issue with your text message registration, which is required in order to utilize a local texting number within the Real Geeks CRM. Unfortunately, the registration was rejected by our third party texting partner (Twilio) because they believe the registration was completed using the incorrect business type.
Your registration was submitted as a sole proprietorship, indicating that you file taxes for your real estate business using your name and social security number rather than a registered company name and EIN (Employer Identification Number). If this is accurate, please respond to this email with confirmation and I will follow up with the next steps.
If you file taxes for your real estate business using a legal business name and EIN, please submit your registration information again via this link: https://www.realgeeks.com/a2p10dlc
Be sure to complete all requested information in the form. Once you have done so, reply to this email and I will initiate the correction process for you.
If you have any questions or need any assistance, please feel free to reply to this email or call our support line at the phone number listed in my signature below.
If the client responds that they submitted the incorrect information, correct it in Echelon and resubmit the campaign.
If the client confirms that they should be a sole proprietor, you will need to determine the reason why Twilio likely rejected the campaign. Typically, this rejection happens because Twilio sees logos or branding that does not match the name of the sole proprietor. If there is no branding on the website that includes the client's name, help the client to add the appropriate branding and then attempt a resubmission. Usually having the sole proprietor's name included on the top navigation bar logo or otherwise displayed prominently on the home page is enough.
Twilio occasionally rejects campaigns because they see brokerage branding on a client's website and assume that the registration is meant to be on behalf of the brokerage. While this can sometimes be resolved by adding the sole proprietor's name or branding to the website, the client may be unwilling or unable to change the branding on their site due to brokerage agreements that require the brokerage's unaltered branding be displayed everywhere on the website. If this is the case, submit a Twilio ticket to appeal the rejection, using the below script. Please note that this should be considered a last resort due to the inconsistent amount of time it takes for Twilio to process tickets.
Subject:
[client's domain] Incorrect Registration Campaign Rejection
CCs:
nhannah@twilio.com
Business Impact:
2- P2 Degraded
Description:
Hello,
One of our clients had [his/her] sole proprietor campaign rejected. I believe that the rejection was in error. The rejection reason was as follows: "The campaign for a Sole Proprietorship Brand has been rejected due to incorrect registration and failure to meet the small business Sole Proprietor (EIN) criteria set by TCR and mobile carriers."
[client's first name] is a realtor. As a licensed realtor, [he/she] is required to be affiliated with a brokerage, which takes a commission of [his/her] sales and in exchange provides [client's first name] resources to act as a realtor. Although [client's first name] is affiliated with [his/her] brokerage, [he/she] is not in a leadership or ownership position at the brokerage. [He/She] acts independently and files [his/her] taxes under [his/her] own name and social security number, making [him/her] a sole proprietor (like most realtors or real estate agents).
Many brokerages require that their affiliated agents or brokers have the brokerage's name and address listed on their website. "[client brokerage name]" is the name of [client's first name]'s brokerage, and the branding on [his/her] website is the brokerage's branding. This is why the branding you're seeing on [client's first name]'s website seems to be of a registered business rather than an independent filer. [client's first name] is trying to register for automated text messaging as [him/her]self, not on behalf of [his/her] brokerage.
In light of this additional context, what can we do to get [client's first name]'s campaign approved?
Campaign SID: [campaign SID, found in the Twilio Campaign details]
Linked Messaging Service: [messaging service SID, found in the Twilio Campaign details]
Account SID: [the Twilio subaccount SID, found next to the Account Name when searching for the client's UUID in Twilio]Thanks,
[your name]
Further Reading
Twilio A2P 10DLC Registration Process (Internal)
A2P/Echelon Best Practices and FAQ
Twilio A2P 10DLC Registration for Sole Proprietors
Twilio A2P 10DLC How to Provision Toll Free Numbers
Twilio A2P 10DLC Registration Rejections