soft sell 
noun (often the soft sell)
A method of salesmanship or advertising that uses subtle persuasion: it’s this kind of soft sell that I object to—ads that tell me how wonderful everything is...
- These days we're used to shock advertising, the soft sell and all ads in between.
- They have been brave in moving in the direction of a fans' representative in the inner sanctum of the boardroom, the first UK club to do so, and been innovative in their choice of a man who will not accept the soft sell.
- But then, these guys have never been very big on the soft sell.
verb
(soft-sell) [with object] Sell (something) by using such a method: we’ve soft-sold the service on a limited basis...
- Now the planners are embarking on the sticky job of soft-selling the upcoming traffic mayhem to the residents around the area.
- Russell continues: ‘Conversation is one thing but other people will come at you with an agenda that you know nothing about but you're supposed to glad-hand and soft-sell, but I'm not like that.’