Raymond,
It is typical that with new tech few people want to be the first to buy - maybe 5-8% of the prospects will. But the majority will take the "wait & see" approach - especially in the capital equipment business such a lift trucks. I subscribed to a some what of self developed theory -- "End users do not want to buy a lift truck - they are needed to do business & cost a lot of $$ (equipment costs, drivers, maintenance, repair, etc), they buy when they need to (seldom when you want them to) & it is very common for them to convey they want the highest quality machine, that is trouble free, at the lowest possible total value." That is a challenge. That being said, in 1973/74 we had a big time oil shortage - prices sky rocketed, folks had to wait in long lines to get 10 gallons of gasoline, (8 cylinder engine cars were getting 15 mpg on a good day), etc. Everyone said the electric cushion tire fork lift would replace the ICE in the near future - due to the economic benefits - lower fuel costs, longer life, lower maintenance but initial investment was higher. We could prove the ROI on paper & still can today. But the transition to electrics has been slow but steady - but not at the rate of the Northeast graph curve that was projected.
Maybe there is something here for you - be persistent, be patient, look for the opportunities - never give up.

Also, during this period "electric pneumatics up to 10K lift capacity were introduce to the US market - most were brought in from Europe. Success of the electric pneumatic was sorta like the "death of a rag doll" (slow & painful).

I know this is history & things change, but it remains a conservative customer based market - seems like all customers/prospects all lived in Missouri & want you to show them first on paper - then on success story in their industry/application & given a tele # to call. As the fleet manager for a national plywood company in Ohio (a new prospect) of 1600 lift trucks told me - if a sales person tells him something he believes 0% and when they put it in writing he believes it 50% - you gotta' put your money where your mouth is. We did & sure enough two years later new business was written but make certain you sell enough to keep your job, make money to support you & & your family or whatever)