I believe the distinction here is between "contractor" or "staff augmentation" and "consultant." A contractor gets hired to practice his craft, while a consultant (theoretically) leaves a company better than when they first arrived.

This involves things like leading meetings to get buy in across groups, developing plans for what needs to be built, etc. It's very far from sitting behind your screen in Photoshop all day.

One of the best books I've read to understand what a consultant truly does is [Getting Naked](http://j.mp/1mAnhnn).