This video might cost you a few jobs. That is the point.
Think about your worst jobs. Not the technically hard ones — the wrong-customer ones. The one who fought every line of the quote, wanted it done cheap and fast and wrong, then left the one-star review because you would not cut the corner they asked for. That was never a job problem. It was a fit problem, and you could have seen it coming from the first phone call.
In the 8-video trust stack, the Fit Video’s trust job is the strangest one: repel the wrong customers, and by doing so, make the right ones trust you more.
What the Fit Video is for
Every other operator in your area says “we do it all, for everyone.” You are going to do the opposite, on camera: name who you are not the right fit for.
Two things happen when you draw that line. The bargain-hunter who only cares about the lowest possible number hears “if you’re shopping the absolute cheapest, that’s not us” and quietly clicks away — taking the wasted site visit, the haggling and the bad review with them. They were never going to choose you; now they do not cost you a Saturday finding that out. And the right customer leans in, because an operator honest enough to turn work away is one they can believe about everything else.
That is the paradox, and it is also the race-to-the-bottom exit: you cannot be undercut on jobs you have publicly declined to compete for.
The two lists
One to two minutes, you to camera, two lists in this order — and the order matters.
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Who you are not for. Pick three or four, specific to your trade and true. The usual suspects: the cheapest-possible-price shopper, the cash-no-paperwork job, the person asking for the quick hack version of work that should be done properly, and the work outside your lane — which you name and refer out, because saying “that’s not my specialty, ring someone who does it all day” is integrity, not weakness.
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Then the warm turn: who you ARE for. The customer who wants it done once and done right. The one who would rather understand the job than just be handed a number. Describe your best customers honestly and end on the invitation: “if that sounds like you, we’ll get on fine.”
The read. Say the “not for” lines plainly, without apologising — hedging kills it. But keep it the bouncer at the door, not the angry man at the bar: the list is not an insult, it is a kindness that saves you both time. And never skip the warm turn. Repel, then invite.
The script skeleton (fill in the blanks)
"This video might cost me a few jobs. That's the point.
I'm probably not your ____ if ____.
I'm not your ____ if ____.
And I'm not your ____ if ____.
But if you want ____, ____, and ____ —
that's exactly what I do. If that sounds like you,
let's talk."Three honest noes and one warm yes. Sit with the lists for a day before you film — every line has to be one you can say without flinching.
Where it goes once it is shot
The Fit Video works wherever the wrong enquiry can still turn back:
- On your About page — the “is this you?” section.
- Near the enquiry form, where it quietly screens before they book.
- Sent with the quote on borderline jobs — the ones where you can already feel the haggle coming.
- The same straight talk works on the phone, when the price-shopper rings: you do not have to take a bad-fit job to be polite, and “no hard feelings either way” protects a Saturday and a five-star average.
The shoot checklist
Block 45 minutes — but write the lists a day earlier.
Gear
- A phone on a tripod, lens at chest height. No studio required.
- A window or open shade in front of you, never behind. Natural light beats any kit.
- A $20 lapel mic, or film somewhere quiet. Sound is the one thing a viewer will not forgive.
Before you press record
- Write the “not for” list from your last five worst jobs and the “for” list from your last five favourites. What did each group have in common?
- Sit with both lists overnight. Strike anything you would soften under pressure — if you would apologise for it, it is not ready.
- Decide the warm closing line in your own words.
While filming
- Direct to camera, no props, no B-roll. This one is just you telling the truth.
- Keep the “not for” lines even and unbothered. Conviction reads as confidence, heat reads as grievance.
- Warm up visibly for the turn. The contrast between the two halves is the video.
After
- Keep the take where you meant it, not the smoothest one.
- Two title cards if you like: “Not for you if…” / “Right for you if…”
- Put it on the About page and near the form. Then notice what stops arriving.
What if it does not fit your trade
- You cannot afford to turn work away right now. You are not turning away work — you are turning away the wrong work, the kind that pays half, takes double and costs a review. Even flat out, the bad-fit job is the one that goes sideways. Being selective is what you cannot afford to skip.
- You genuinely serve everyone in your area. Then fit is not about who, it is about how. “I’m not for you if you want the quick hack version. I am for you if you want it done once, properly, and left tidy.” Fit by standard, not by customer type.
In the Tradie Trust Pack this is card 19 — the card is the move, this guide is the method, and the deeper build with the full discovery prompts lives in the workbook. But you do not need it to start. You need two honest lists and the nerve to read the first one out loud.
Get the book for the research behind each move, then go film the line that scares you most: the first “I’m not your tradie if…”. That is the one that makes the rest believable.