soft sell

Related to soft sell: hard sell

soft sell

A gentle, polite, unobtrusive attempt to sell (something to someone) or convince (someone of something). The soft sell just won't cut it in this industry—you need to be aggressive if you're going to close the deal! He tends to bristle if you're too direct in suggesting changes, so I always find it's better to go in with a soft sell.
See also: sell, soft
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

soft sell

a polite attempt to sell something; a very gentle sales pitch. Some people won't bother listening to a soft sell. You gotta let them know you believe in what you are selling. I tried the soft sell, but that didn't work.
See also: sell, soft
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

soft sell

n. a polite attempt to sell something; a very gentle sales pitch. Some people won’t bother listening to a soft sell. You gotta let them know you believe in what you are selling.
See also: sell, soft
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • sell away
  • sell/go like hot cakes
  • sold
  • sell like hot cakes
  • sell like hot cakes, to
  • hotcake
  • date
  • do a land-office business
  • sell
  • passe
References in periodicals archive
His sire, Benchmark, was a winner only between seven and nine furlongs, while his dam, Miss Soft Sell, never even reached the track.
His soft sell and middleclass story leave her indifferent.
But Chris insisted he was no fast-talking salesman, and said: "It's a real soft sell. My job is about building relationships and developing trust with clients, which is great - I get to be the nice guy."
Soft sell. So sought-after are Latin American buyers that Flick Mortgage Investors customizes its procedures around them.
Margaret, from Ogmore Vale, designer on the HTV series Soft Sell, takes an 'out with the old, in with the new' approach to make the festive season hassle-free.
The salespeople of Hawaii's newest car dealership are redefining the term "soft sell," spending more time exchanging telephone calls and e-mails with their customers than showing them what's under the hood of the latest Celica.
Now, many advertisers view animation as an ideal vehicle for the soft sell.
Wright, who oversees $5 billion in procurement ($131.3 million with minority firms), uses the example of how one woman would send information once a week about her company as well as articles she thought would interest Wright as a "soft sell" approach that works.
So it is representative of CBTO - we're not doing a soft sell."
"Because the information is delivered by a newscaster in the context of news it's a soft sell. It gives your story greater breadth than a 30-second advertising spot."
Your entry soft sell selling script to AIM can target handling one of the marketing courses like Marketing Strategy, which is MFI's best seller seminar.
But a Yugoslavian spectre within our shores engendered by a global soft sell of fascist and racist views is not the "ready meal answer" to the current mess.
Open seven days a week, its soft sell might win more converts to gladden the heart of the Vicar of Huddersfield, the Rev Catherine Ogle.
Out of the unraced Siyah Kalem mare Soft Sell, the colt cost $70,000 as a foal.
SOFT SELL: Janet Griffin with some of the cuddly toys that are to be sold for hospice funds.