1
general::
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]
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): *the hard sell
high-pressure selling techniques. (*Typically: get ~; give someone ~.) • They gave me the hard sell, but I still wouldn’t buy the car. • The clerk gave the customer the hard sell.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs