Chris List™

This is a Special Edition of The Chris List

This one’s different.

Over the past few months, Jimmy Mackin and I put more than 100 hours into research, scripting, testing, and building a 2-hour Seller Lead Generation Workshop.

Every slide.
Every framework.
Every example.
Every template.

And then…I tried a new Zoom “trick” to promote the session.

It backfired. Big time.

So instead of pretending it didn’t happen…I’m doing the opposite.

I’m making the entire workshop public.

​The full video, including all slides and templates, is on YouTube. ​

No paywall. No form. No weird hoops.

If you attended live, thank you. If you didn’t, now’s your chance.

Now let’s get into today’s OnlyListings edition of The Chris List...

📝 [C]ontent: "It’s in the agreement” is no longer enough

🛠 [H]ow-To: The thing sellers care about way more than price

🔬 [R]esearch: 60 is the new 30

🎨 [I]nspiration: Direct mail pieces that build a pipeline

💡 [S]wipes: Text + email swipes producing listng appointments

Who Gets the Buyer Commission if there’s No Buyer Agent❓

This one had Realtor group chats on fire.

Here’s what happened.

A seller signs a 5.5% listing agreement.​
Standard enough.

A buyer comes along… but decides to use a real estate attorney instead of a buyer’s agent because they are a friend of the seller.

No cooperating broker.
No buyer-side agent commission to split.

The buyer and seller both assume something logical:

“If there’s no buyer agent… that portion comes back to us, right?”

Wrong.

The listing agent kept the full 5.5%.

And when that detail surfaced publicly, it didn’t spark a math debate.

It sparked a trust debate.

Now let’s be clear.

In many agreements, the total commission is negotiated upfront.
It isn’t automatically “rebated” if there’s no buyer agent.
Contracts don’t evaporate just because expectations do.

But here’s why this blew up:

It felt different than what the consumer expected.

And in 2026, perception moves faster than paperwork.

This moment hit at the exact wrong (or right?) time.

Commissions are already under a microscope.
Consumers are hyper-aware.
Everyone’s asking who gets paid, how, and why.

So when a seller thinks money is coming back and it doesn’t…

That becomes viral gasoline.

Not because it’s illegal.
Not because it’s rare.

But because the communication gap becomes visible.

And that’s the real story.

What’s fascinating isn’t whether the listing agent was contractually right.

It’s this: If your client doesn’t fully understand how you get paid,
you don’t have a commission problem.

You have a clarity problem.

In a world where trust is the currency, “it’s in the agreement” is no longer enough.

The agents who win moving forward will be the ones who:

• Over-explain their compensation
• Set expectations early
• Remove surprises
• Make sure no one feels blindsided

Because the internet doesn’t argue about clauses.

It reacts to feelings.

​🎥 Watch the clip at the exact moment she tells the story here (it has 619k views and 822 comments)

Because in this market, the difference between viral controversy and long-term trust…

…is communication.

Turn Net Proceeds CTAs into Listing Appointments (free tool) 💰

Here’s a simple but powerful lesson for you:

When I link to a free tool, my click-through rate jumps.

Not a blog post.
Not a market update.
A tool.

Why?

Because people don’t just want information.

They want answers.

Specifically, they want one answer:

“How much will I actually walk away with if I sell my house?”

That’s why understanding the evolution of seller lead magnets matters.

We’ve moved from:

• “What’s My Home Worth?”
  → to
• “Cash Offer”
  → to
• “Equity Check”
  → to
• ​Net Proceeds​

Value is interesting.

Cash is compelling.

Net proceeds are the only thing that truly matters.

Step 1: Lead With the Right Question

Instead of saying:

“Thinking about selling?”

Say:

“Want to know how much you’d walk away with if you sold?”

That framing changes everything.

It shifts the conversation from curiosity to calculation.

Step 2: Use the Tool as the Hook

When you send a link to a tool like SellerNetProceeds.com (I built this so you could use it in your outreach; there is no lead capture involved), you’re not asking for a decision.

You’re offering:

• Clarity
• Transparency
• Control

Sellers can input:

• Estimated sale price
• Mortgage payoff
• Commission
• Closing costs

And instantly see:

​Estimated Net Proceeds​

That moment of clarity is powerful.

Because it turns abstract value into concrete numbers.

Step 3: Pair It With This Message

Here’s a simple deployable script you can use in an email or a DM:

Step 4: Post About It Publicly

Post something like the following on social media:

Free tool > generic content.

Every time.

Why This Works

Right now, sellers are:

• Equity-rich
• Rate-sensitive
• Cost-aware

They don’t just want to know what their home is worth.

They want to know:

Is it worth moving?

Net proceeds answer that.

And when someone calculates their number?

They’ve already taken the first step mentally.

This isn’t a top-of-funnel home valuation request.

It’s a bottom-of-funnel net-proceeds conversation.
​
Try SellerNetProceeds.com before sending it out, so that you know how it works before offering it.

Half of Sellers are 60+. Are You Speaking their ❤️ Language?

For years, I’ve heard about the “Silver Tsunami.”

It sounded dramatic.
Forecast-y.
Someday-ish.

It’s not someday anymore.

More than 73 million Americans are now over 65.
​
Baby boomers (ages 60–78) have reclaimed their spot as the largest share of both buyers and sellers, according to NAR.

Let that sink in.

They’re not sitting on the sidelines.
They’re back in the game again.

Here’s what makes this wave different:

• 80%+ homeownership rate
• 41% own their homes free & clear
• $18 trillion in U.S. home value under their control
• Typical tenure: 13–16 years
• Typical appreciation: 50% or more

Translation?

This isn’t a distressed seller wave.

It’s a liquidity wave.

They don’t need to sell.
They don’t care about shaving three days off market time.
They’re not rate-chasing.

They’re making intentional life moves.

What Most Agents Are Missing

Most marketing right now sounds like this:

• “Sell fast.”
• “Cash offer.”
• “Instant equity.”
• “What’s your home worth?”

That works on urgency-driven sellers.

Boomers aren’t urgency sellers.

They’re certainty sellers.

They care about:

• Aging in place (only 10% of homes are senior-ready)
• Rightsizing, not “downsizing”
• Proximity to family
• Multigenerational living (17% of buyers last year, a record high)
• Emotional transitions
• Avoiding chaos

As one agent put it, these moves are rarely about square footage.

They’re about memory.
Identity.
Safety.
Control.

And here’s the key:

They don’t want speed. They want someone who understands the weight of the decision.

The Video That Proved the Point

During our workshop, we shared a YouTube video from an agent speaking directly to homeowners over 60.

It has 59,000+ views.​
​162 comments.

Not “Great video!”

Paragraphs.

Stories about:

• Losing a spouse.
• Cleaning out a lifetime of belongings.
• Sorting through garages packed with memories.
• Fear of leaving a family home.

Why did it work?

She didn’t talk about:

• Market stats.
• Interest rates.
• Her marketing plan.

She showed them that she knows them.

She connected with them.

This is the largest generational housing shift of our lifetime.

But it’s not loud.

It’s not chaotic.

It’s not panicked.

It’s methodical.

Which means if you want to win this segment, your messaging has to evolve:

• From speed → to certainty
• From hype → to empathy
• From “what’s it worth?” → to “what does this next chapter look like?”

Because the Silver Tsunami isn’t coming.

It’s already here.

The question is: Are you speaking their language?

Yes, Direct Mail Can Still Get You Listings 📫

Smart agents aren’t just sending postcards. They’re sending positioning.

During the workshop, we walked through several direct mail pieces agents are using right now to get listings.

Not theory.
Actual mail hitting actual mailboxes.

And what stood out wasn’t the design (although they are beautiful).

It was the thinking.

The best mail doesn’t scream, “List with me.”

It reframes the conversation before the appointment ever happens.

1️⃣ “Should I Sell My Home This Spring?”

Big headline.

Simple visual.

No glamor shot.
No “#1 Agent” badge.

Just the question every homeowner is quietly asking.

It doesn’t push.

It invites.

That subtle shift makes it feel like guidance instead of solicitation.

2️⃣ The Yellow “Just Sold” Letter

Handwritten style.
Yellow legal pad.
Hyper-local details like:

• Sold for $120,000 over ask
• Before it hit the market
• Zero upfront concierge costs

In a stack of glossy, templated postcards, this one feels the most human.

It looks like someone sat down and wrote it, and even has a Post-it note attached.

That perceived effort builds trust before a phone call ever happens.

3️⃣ “Not All Homes Are Selling. This One Did.”

This one is smart.

It acknowledges the reality of the market.

Instead of pretending everything sells instantly, it creates contrast:

Not all homes are selling.
This one did.

Honesty builds credibility.
Results build authority.

Together? That builds listing conversations.

4️⃣ “This Home Did Not Sell.”

Now we’re getting strategic.

This piece doesn’t brag.

It diagnoses.

• Only 12 photos
• No video
• No floor plan
• Stale 30+ days
• MLS jargon

It reframes the question from:

“Should I sell?”

To:

“Who should I trust to sell it correctly?”

That’s positioning.

5️⃣ The Frictionless Call to Action

“Text me your address and I’ll prepare a professional home value report for you today.”

No QR code maze.
No complicated landing page.
No pressure.

Just:

Text.
Value.
Done.

In a world of over-engineered funnels, simplicity wins.

Here’s the real lesson:

Winning the mailbox isn’t about being louder.

It’s about being sharper.

The agents generating seller leads from direct mail right now are:

• Asking better questions
• Showing real proof
• Leaning into honesty
• And reducing friction

If you want to see the full walkthrough of these exact pieces, how to adapt them for your market, and see direct mail for FSBOs and expireds, watch the direct mail segment inside the full Seller Lead Generation Workshop on YouTube.

Because you can't win a listing appointment that you never go on.

Two Seller Messages Creating Immediate Conversations 🗣️

In the workshop, we didn’t just show scripts.

We showed what happened after agents hit send.

Here’s what came back.

1️⃣ The “Perfect Text” Seller Lead

Tammi Montgomery:

Same database. Same market. Same message.

Here’s the exact text:

Why it works:

• Destroys the objection upfront
• Introduces real buyer demand
• Frames it as optional, not urgent

It creates possibility, not pressure.

2️⃣ The $100M Equity Email / DM

After sending the following message, agents reported:

• April Aberle: 5 CMA requests in the first hour
• Toni Draxler Laurich: 9 appointments set (all from past clients)
• Brad Winter: 7 responses, 7 CMAs, 2 scheduled meetings
• Naomi Selik: 2 responses in 5 minutes — $2M+ in listing leads
• Nick Slocum: 5 responses, 4 CMA requests
• Jacobe Kendrick: 3 responses, 3 requests
• Brian Slivka: Sent to 527 people → 6 CMA requests + 2 thinking about selling & buying

Here’s the exact email:

Subject: Your home’s value has changed

Or the DM version:

No hype.
No urgency.
Just clarity + value.

Bonus Swipe: Your “Maybe” Price

One agent reported:

This one doesn’t ask if they’re selling.

It asks something smarter:

We break down the exact copy, psychology, and follow-up live in the workshop.

​🎥 Click here to jump directly to the “Maybe Price” email segment in the full Seller Lead Generation Workshop.​

Because in this market, the agents winning listings aren’t forcing decisions.

They’re starting conversations.

Copy. Paste. Send.

Then be ready for replies galore.