They generally do not have trucks with names on them or sophisticated web sites.  

First of all, I'm JT O'Shea, and I come from a background that seemingly deviates from society's perception of the image of real estate investors.

I have donated dogs for service animals and they always turn down fat headed dogs even if they are the best candidates, because of peoples negative perceptions.

Your business card with logo may give people a perception of professionalism at the beginning but true professionalism is demonstrated by how you operate.You asked if it's a bad idea and I think it is.

Is there an answer to who is more sophisticated?

I would argue that the general public would recognize and appreciate the Energy Star logo over the LEED/USGBC logo the majority of the times (public perception is a big part of a corporation choosing a 'green' certification).I went though LEED design professional stuff along time ago, when it was really hot.

Somebody on here who gets the "tax benefits" principle  I think people try to sound or be to sophisticated rather than use common sense.  

Some issues a broker may consider to your wholesaling:Perception of the public, perception of the property owner.Dealing for yourself doesn't relieve you of Laws of Agency, facilitating a sale, are not escaped by saying you are dealing on your own behalf.

I have found that a lot of the CL traffic is not very sophisticated when it comes to our application process, such as online applications, credit & background checks, automated rent payment, etc. 

They all just wanted to know how much they could get for their property.I'm sure distressed multi-family owners are out there when the market's hot, but obviously they will be much farther and fewer between than distressed SFR owners, both because there are so many more SFR owners and because multi-family owners, in general, are more sophisticated real estate-wise than SFR owners, most of whom aren't investors at all.Maybe I didn't spend enough on marketing or didn't know what I was doing or how to negotiate, but that was just my experience.