I would have to agree with the concept of "branding" one's company via the internet. As for the generic statements... I suppose it's hard to promise anything with regards to
SEO.
Branding and name-recognition are extremely important, whether on- or offline. Online
PR campaigns can absolutely help build links into the website - which in turn effect search rankings.
Unfortunately, because
SEO takes time and algorithms change (not to mention that clients don't always implement recommended changes), promising anything specific to a client could be a bad move. Same thing goes for Email Marketing - it's really about building reputation. Over time, as more and more people see a company as a legitimate source of information, rankings (and thus traffic) will improve.
Incrediblehelp has a great point though - who makes a sales pitch in Starbucks? At least take the person to lunch!