044 - Building a culture of collaboration and trust: Insights from Julese Dortch.

Great marketing isn't just about executing campaigns—it's about building trust with your teams, understanding the user experience from the ground up, and creating systems that scale without burning out your people.

In this episode of Optimized, host Janet Rosseth sits down with Julese Dortch to explore what it really takes to lead portfolio marketing in multifamily. From navigating internal audits to building credibility through influence, Julese shares the strategies that have shaped her approach to marketing leadership.

From Retail to Multifamily: A Journey Rooted in Curiosity

Julese's path into multifamily marketing wasn't linear—it started in retail and evolved into a career shaped by curiosity, adaptability, and a commitment to understanding what marketing truly means in this industry. Her journey offers a refreshing reminder that the best marketers aren't just experts in tactics—they're experts in people, process, and the willingness to keep learning.

Understanding What Marketing Actually Owns

One of the core themes of this conversation? Clarity around marketing responsibilities. Too often, marketing gets stuck doing everything—or nothing. Julese emphasizes the importance of defining what marketing owns, where it supports operations, and how those lines can shift depending on the portfolio and the team structure.

Internal Audits: The Foundation for Real Change

Before you can optimize, you need to understand where you are. Julese talks about the value of conducting internal audits—not to point fingers, but to build a clear picture of what's working, what's broken, and where the biggest opportunities for improvement exist. It's about building credibility with facts, not assumptions.

Why This Episode Matters

Whether you're managing a portfolio, building a marketing team from scratch, or trying to prove marketing's value to skeptical stakeholders, Julese's insights offer a roadmap grounded in real experience. This is what it looks like to lead with clarity, influence, and trust.

Listen and Learn

🎧 Hear the full conversation between Janet and Julese on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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