I really think you are downplaying just how important the ability to pitch "your general capability and the value it offer to a client" is. If this ability is something that can triple freelancers' incomes and completely change their view of the market that they operate in, it results in a huge difference, even if the actions that led up to it seem simple.
It can do a lot more than triple your income in some parts of the industry, and certainly it does fundamentally change your view about the work you're doing and how you see your clients.
My point was more that freelancers and consultants aren't some sort of mutually exclusive categories or different steps on a ladder. A lot of consultants who mostly work alone are freelancers, creating a significant overlap in the groups, but neither group is a subset of the other.
