I'm not readily convinced that the answer lies in what tools and which reports are used. In some regards, they're all doing the same thing: measuring the effectiveness of a website or PPC campaign.
This calls for a sufficient understanding of the basics of
SEO and, as far as possible, some proven experience of how a given site has been (or can be) made more successful. There is, of course, always room for someone new to enter the consultancy field, but the primary test is whether they know what they're talking about, which calls for more than mere theory and sheer guesswork.
Duncan
