PODCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Beon DeNood
This is Inspector Toolbelt Talk.

Ian Robertson
Welcome back to Inspector Toolbelt Talk, everyone. Today we have a subject that gets asked quite a bit: Should I display prices on my website? So, for most of us as home inspectors, we often think that price might be more important than it actually is. That’s an opinion that I hold very closely and one that I often have to remind myself of. But that aside, whether we’re the most expensive inspector in the area or we are the cheapest, the question still is: Should we display our prices on our website? And the answer is yes and no. Let’s start with the no first.

For the vast majority of home inspectors, we should not display our pricing on our website. The reason being is multi-fold. One, we have 14 years of data going on for home inspectors all across the U.S., Canada, and other countries for our company here, Full View Home Inspector Marketing, Inspector Toolbelt. We have created websites for a lot of people. I wouldn’t even know how to guess that. And invariably, by and large, those who do not display their prices on their website have a higher conversion rate. We can watch sometimes what people do and how they do it. They go and they check out the website. They go to the About Us page, the second most visited page on most websites for home inspectors. Home page being the most visited. Contact page after that, scheduling page, but then if there’s ever a get a quote widget or if there’s ever a pricing page, you’ll see those particular clients, website clients, their people will start funneling right to that page, and as soon as they hit that page, they disappear from the website. It’s like a black hole for people because it, number one, commoditizes what you give them, and number two, gives them an answer without realizing that they had other questions.

So picture this: we’re looking at home inspectors, and we’re looking to hire somebody, and we find one, and we say our price is $250, super cheap inspection. But what that tells that person is, no matter what demographic they’re in, they’re just like, this is a cheap home inspection. So it either gives the person the information they were looking for. Cool, it’s like buying a toaster, any home inspector will do at $250. Then they leave and forget about you. So even if we’re the cheapest, we still lost a client likely. The other thing that’ll happen is if they’re in the middle ground, like most people, they’ll acknowledge it and go, do we really want a home inspector that’s advertising their price, or is that low? The high-end clients, they’ll see that and they’ll just walk away. They don’t want cheap. So no matter how we look at it, it’s a leaky funnel. We’re funneling people to contact us or to start scheduling inspection online.

Here’s the thing: if somebody goes to our online scheduler, hopefully we have one, it automatically puts them in our environment, so it automatically increases the rate of conversion. So if somebody goes in and starts entering their personal information, where the house is, yada yada yada, and at the very end, it displays the price, that’s not nearly as bad as a page displaying the price, because that still typically leads to a conversion. Once somebody gets to that point in the scheduling session, they are almost invariably converted into a client. I think the last I looked, it was like a 20% loss rate at most. So once they got to the price that way, they were converted. So an online scheduler displaying a price is not nearly as bad, or sometimes even better is a phone call. We can convert a lot better on a phone call than we can on a website sometimes, right? Like the website gets them pretty well converted, and then they call, and now they’re talking to a real person. We’re knowledgeable, cool. Now we can convert.

The vast majority of large inspection firms and highly successful inspection firms that we work with do not display their pricing. They do not want that to be the reason that people hire them. So the vast majority of us, statistically speaking, and from my own personal opinion, would do very well to not display our pricing on our website.

There are two scenarios that I would say we would, though. Number one of those two scenarios is we are the cheapest inspector out there. Listen, if you’re listening to the podcast and you’re still charging 250 for a home inspection or whatever, listen. You know my feelings on it, but your price is going to be your selling point. If you’re charging 250 for a home inspection, there’s not a lot of room on that website for why hire you besides your price. So all day long, have a big landing page with, we charge $199 for an inspection. There’s a guy not far from my service area, and that’s basically what his homepage says. It’s one big graphic that says $199 home inspections. It’s what he does.

The only other time that I would say would be useful is if it is convention for your area. So there are some micro markets where your price being displayed is expected, but I find that as a crutch. So a lot of guys will be like, I have to display my prices. Everybody in the area does, so now I have to. Or one agent out of 50 told me that I didn’t have the prices displayed there. She would never recommend me. Listen, we’re not Amazon where we display our prices. Like some guys are like, I would never even buy a toaster if it didn’t have the price displayed. I’m like, but you’re not hiring a toaster. I don’t expect a contractor to tell me how much it costs to replace a front door. What front door are you buying? Where’s the house located? There’s a million different factors to how much it costs to replace a front door. People don’t expect it like a toaster. So when we commoditize our own industry, we’re kind of selling ourselves short. But that being said, there are some markets where they do expect it. But don’t just say, well, other home inspectors have their prices on their website, so I should too. Maybe try to be a little bit different. When I first started almost 20 years ago, I did a lot of stuff different. Worked out amazing for me. I didn’t display my prices on my website, even though 20 years ago, that’s what a lot of guys did. If they even had a website 20 years ago. So maybe push that envelope a little bit. If we really add value, that agent who calls us, you don’t have your prices displayed on your website. Why would I ever recommend you? Well, interesting that you called and said that. Let me explain to you why your clients would like me instead of the guy that displays his prices. All of a sudden, when we convert them on the phone, then I realize, oh, okay, you add value.

We should do a whole podcast on listening to the wrong people, because I’ll tell you, you know how many guys have come to me with bad advice and they’re like, I have to do this. The agents are all saying this, and then through a few carefully worded questions, I find out it was one agent saying it very loudly, or even just two agents. I’m like, okay, you have 75 referring agents. One complained, but just really loudly, and now all of a sudden in our mind, it’s everybody.

So a little bit of a tangent at the end there, but here’s the point: the vast majority of us should probably not display our prices on our website. For the few of us that do, there are some specific reasons for it. But hopefully this helps. And leave your comments. Let us know if you want any other subjects. We’re always getting lots of suggestions, and they make some of the best podcasts. But thank you very much, and we’ll see you next time on Inspector Toolbelt Talk.

Outro: On behalf of myself, Ian, and the entire ITB team, thank you for listening to this episode of Inspector Toolbelt Talk. We also love hearing your feedback, so please drop us a line at [email protected].

If you’re enjoying the conversation, don’t forget to hit the subscribe button. Our podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. For more information on our services and our brand-new inspection app, please visit our website at Inspectortoolbelt.com.

*The views and opinions expressed in this podcast, and the guests on it, do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Inspector Toolbelt and its associates.

PODCAST SUMMARY/BLOG

Home inspectors get asked the same question over and over in home inspector marketing: should you display prices on your website? It sounds simple, but it sits right at the intersection of trust, lead quality, and conversion rate. Pricing transparency can feel like a shortcut for busy homebuyers, yet a home inspection is not a commodity purchase. When a visitor lands on an inspection website, they are also scanning for competence, professionalism, and risk reduction. The moment you reduce the decision to a single number, you invite shoppers to compare you like a retail product instead of a skilled service.

Conversion data and user behavior often show a pattern: a pricing page becomes a “black hole.” Visitors move from the homepage to About, Contact, and scheduling, but when they spot a get-a-quote widget or a dedicated pricing section, many click it and leave the site immediately. That drop-off is not just about being “too expensive” or “too cheap.” A low price can signal corner-cutting to high-end clients, while a mid-range price can raise doubts without context. Either way, publishing a flat price can commoditize what you provide and answer the easiest question before the harder, value-based questions ever get asked.

A better approach for many home inspection businesses is to route prospects into an online scheduler or a conversation first. When someone starts entering the property address, their contact details, and inspection timing, they are making small commitments that increase follow-through. Showing the price at the end of that flow is different from putting it on a public page because the lead is already engaged and can be close to booking. A phone call can work even better because it lets you explain what’s included, how you communicate findings, turnaround time, and how you protect the buyer. In short, you are selling clarity and confidence, not a number.

There are exceptions where listing pricing on a home inspector website can be the right move. If you are intentionally competing as the lowest-cost option, price may be your primary selling point, and a bold “$199 home inspections” style landing page can attract the bargain segment quickly. Another exception is a micro-market where local convention strongly expects published prices, though relying on “everyone else does it” can become a crutch. Even in those markets, you can still differentiate by framing pricing around value, scope, and add-ons rather than a single stripped-down figure that invites comparison without context.

The most practical takeaway is to treat pricing as part of your lead funnel design. If your goal is more booked inspections and fewer unqualified inquiries, prioritize messaging that highlights expertise, standards of practice, report quality, and responsiveness. Test an online scheduling flow, track where visitors exit, and pay attention to who is giving you advice. Sometimes a single loud voice says “I won’t refer you without prices,” and it feels like the whole market, when it isn’t. Build your website around how real clients choose, and you will earn better calls, stronger conversion, and healthier pricing power.