I also have heard success stories from non-profits using Twitter and it has helped them with their fundraising drives.

I think that if you are trying to make twitter a sales tool or channel to find sales opportunities you have to have someone constantly monitoring tweets. Probably using one of the apps like tweetdeck would be the best bet.

I think its TweetLater allows you to tweet for the future. TweetDeck is a great tool for monitoring and instant url shortening.

Tweetlater is also good for keyword monitoring

if you ARE trying to use it as a sales funnel it can be very handy to monitor your keywords (brand name, competitors brands, generic industry terms)

In Fluent, the 2009 Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report (it is free to download and is informative) the following are identified as "the first 10 steps that companies need to take to control their brand on Twitter and establish a successful presence":

1. Become familiar with Twitter by reviewing, or following, the activities of successful brands such
as Dell (dell.com/twitter), Zappos (twitter.com/zappos) and Comcast (twitter.com/
comcastcares).
2. Listen to what is already being said on Twitter about your brand.
3. Identify initial objectives for using Twitter, including what would qualify as a Twitter success
story for your brand.
4. Look into competitive activities and potential legal considerations, especially if there is already
a Twitter account that uses your brand’s name or other intellectual property associated with it.
5. Use the findings to decide on the appropriate opportunity — such as offers or community
building, tone of voice and method of engagement — that may be right for your brand.
6. Since Twitter is an ongoing activity — even if your company is only listening in — dedicate a
resource to monitor the conversations and competitors.
7. Map out a plan for the content you will share, including valuable initial content to pique
user interest.
8. Integrate your Twitter account throughout your marketing experience, by embedding it as a
feed on the company Web site, including its URL in communications and so forth.
9. Maintain momentum by following everyone who follows you, responding to queries and joining
in conversations without being too marketing oriented.
10. Provide ongoing direct value through your tweets by continuing to listen, learn and fine- tune
your Twitter activities.

The author then goes on to identify steps 5, 6 & 7 as so important they cannot be stressed enough.

I am in general agreement with this list but I am curious to see the input of people who have already set up a successful twitter presence, especially if these steps mirror their strategy.