hard sell

¹ American  

noun

1. a method of advertising or selling that is direct, forceful, and insistent; high-pressure salesmanship (soft sell ).

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hard-sell ² American  

[hahrd-sel] / ˈhɑrdˈsɛl /

verb (used with or without object)

hard-sold, hard-selling

1. to sell or advertise (something) in a forceful and insistent way.

   to hard-sell new car models to reluctant buyers.

2. to convince (someone) in a forceful and insistent way.

   to hard-sell customers on a new product.

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adjective

1. characterized by or promoted through a hard sell.

   hard-sell tactics.

hard sell British  

noun

1. an aggressive insistent technique of selling or advertising Compare soft sell

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hard sell Idioms  

1. An aggressive, high-pressure sales practice or promotion, as in Used-car salesmen tend to give you a hard sell . This expression gave rise to the antonym soft sell , a low-key sales approach that relies on gentle persuasion. [ Colloquial ; c. 1950]

2. A difficult sales prospect, one who resists sales pressure. For example, Those brokers who call us at dinnertime find me a hard sell—I usually just hang up on them . [Late 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of hard sell¹

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55

Origin of hard-sell²

An Americanism dating back to 1955–60

Example Sentences

Another said that some of her colleagues felt the need to "hard sell" private work and make NHS treatment look substandard.

From BBC

But she says that the idea was initially a hard sell.

From BBC

The hard sell for the beach club started as soon as I booked the cruise in mid-January.

From The Wall Street Journal

The project always had been a hard sell, given the recent history between the US and Serbia.

From BBC

That is a hard sell and most would seem to accept this as a VAR red card.

From BBC