Now that I am one of those guys, I know better! Consultants are trusted friends who know stuff. Work on being a good friend and knowing valuable stuff and you'll be a good consultant.
Knowing stuff and being able to do something useful with it (AND sell it) looks pretty smart to me. :)
It usually means coming in and caring for folks you have never met who are doing things in a way that hurts. The trick is to explain this to them in a way that's non-confrontational and that they can grow from.
I used to tell people being a consultant was traveling to far away places to meet new people and disagree with them (grin)