soft sell

¹

noun

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

soft-sell

²

[ sawft-sel, soft- ]

verb (used with object)

, soft-sold, soft-sell·ing.

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

   an advertising campaign to soft-sell a new perfume.

adjective

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

   a soft-sell approach to marketing.

soft sell

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of soft sell¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Origin of soft sell²

First recorded in 1950–55

Idioms and Phrases

see hard sell , def. 1.

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