How do safety, clarity, and urgency shape every buyer conversation?

The pause before a buyer opens up. The hesitation before they push back. The signal that the call’s about to turn. Those moments decide whether a deal moves forward or stalls. But most reps miss them.

In between the playbook, the next question and this month's quota, these moments that really matter get lost.

To fix that, coaching has to teach reps to recognize three things in real time. Is it safe? Is it clear? Is it urgent?

Is it safe?

Does the buyer feel comfortable enough to be honest? If they don’t, you’ll only get surface-level answers. Safety is emotional, not logical. It’s the quiet voice in your buyer’s head asking: “Will I regret this?” Or Will I look foolish for saying yes?”

Safety also comes from predictability: how consistently you show up, how you handle objections, how you follow through. Every inconsistency adds another layer of doubt. Something just feels off. We all know this feeling.

Push urgency before you’ve built safety, and you’ll erode what very little of it you had to begin with. The foundation of every deal is trust.

Is it clear?

Clarity isn’t about explaining your product or justifying ROI. It’s about helping the buyer see themselves in the solution. What does life actually look like after? The real risk isn’t confusion. It’s sameness. Same as before. Same as the status quo. If they can’t tell the story, they can’t sell it internally.

And when that happens, urgency won’t save the deal. It will sink it. Because when the story falls apart, safety gets questioned all over again.

Is it Urgent?

Urgency isn't something you create, it's something you earn. The moment you try to create urgency before clarity and safety are locked in you lose trust! Your buyer doesn't care about your end of month quota or the deal you can get them if they sign today. Anchor urgency in THEIR REASONS, not yours...

Urgency lands when the problem feels real and the buyer believes action is WORTH IT. Without trust, there is no belief, and without belief, there's NO URGENCY.

These three moments: 1) safety, 2) clarity and 3) urgency are the invisible rhythm of every great sales conversation. Regardless of the framework you use or the product or service you are selling.

When reps learn to recognize them, not just memorize scripts, everything changes.

Next time you are reviewing a call listen for these moments and ask yourself. Where did safety break? Where did clarity slip? And where did urgency drop?

— Cliff