I know all children are different so I will tell you what worked for my daughter. We started on Memorial Day Weekend (when both my husband and I had a three day weekend), she was about 20 months old. Leading up to it we explained to her that she will not be weraing any more diapers, just underoos and we had been reading a book about potty training to her for about two weeks so she was familiar with the idea. Get one in a character she really enjoys.
She really enjoys almonds as a snack so I took away all almond privelages a few days before (so she would really want them). I was hesitant on the reward policy but it worked. For those three days we went no where (no exaggeration) and literally lived in the bathroom. We dedicated those three days to her, it was essentially a potty training boot camp (without any harsh conditions :). We pumped her FULL of liquids and foods high in fiber (for her bowel movements). We started with a timer and put her on the potty every 15 minutes, we never pushed her to the point of tears, we did not want the potty to be associated with crying. Then we moved it to 30 minutes and by the end of the weekend we were putting her on it every hour.
We did not do pull ups as they work like a diaper to pull the moisture away from the skin, we used the cotton training pants. We have also allowed her to see us use the bathroom since she was able to walk and we placed the potty chair in the bathroom a few months prior to starting so she was familiar with it. Find something she likes and use it as an incentive. Dr. Phil reccommends using a doll as a potty training method (the dolls that pee). I did not use this as we did not need it. We had accidents, it will happen and you will get frustrated but try not to as she will pick up on it. Don't get angry over accidents. Her bowel movements were pretty regular (between 9-10 in the morning and between 6-7 at night) so every day around those times we would just sit in the bathroom until she went, sometimes that meant 45 minute sessions but I had books and toys in there with her.
They have videos geared towatds helping children understand the sensations, we did not need them but I have heard they helped. My daughter just turned two last week and is completely potty trained, naps and nights.
The first day my husband and I were thinking we got in over our head but it got easier and within a week we no longer had to sit her on the potty, she was telling us when she had to go. Just use words you don't mind her yelling at a restaurant :)