soft sell

¹ American  

noun

1. a method of advertising or selling that is quietly persuasive, subtle, and indirect (hard sell ).

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soft-sell ² American  

[sawft-sel, soft-] / ˈsɔftˈsɛl, ˈsɒft- /

verb (used with object)

soft-sold, soft-selling

1. to promote (a product, service, etc.) using indirect or gentle persuasion.

   an advertising campaign to soft-sell a new perfume.

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adjective

1. (of a sales technique) quietly or indirectly persuasive.

   a soft-sell approach to marketing.

soft sell British  

noun

1. a method of selling based on indirect suggestion or inducement Compare hard sell

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soft sell Idioms  

1. see hard sell, def. 1.

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Etymology

Origin of soft sell¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Origin of soft-sell¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

You can see how they use the soft sell to push these ideas into the mainstream.

From Salon

And negotiations with the holding companies weren’t exactly a soft sell, with warnings of living in “a war zone” of trucks and construction if they didn’t cooperate.

From Seattle Times

The fable advises a soft sell augmented by persistence.

From Salon

In the sun-drenched cafeteria, Valencia Bautista sat behind a folding table in a corner, delivering a decidedly soft sell.

From New York Times

It’s a soft sell, a marked departure from the conservative culture-war issues he stressed in mailings to Republican voters ahead of the convention and since then in frequent appearances on Fox News shows.

From Washington Post