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hard sell

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hard sell

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]

See also: hard, sell

hard sell

n. a high-pressure attempt to sell something. I’m afraid I’m very susceptible to the hard sell.

See also: hard, sell