When I first bought my clipless pedals (they're eggbeaters - Crank Bros Candy), I had similar problems - took me about 5 minutes every single time to get my foot into the right position. To overcome that in the short term, I got clipped in, and just noted where my shoe lined up and found a landmark to match with the pedal. That worked quite well. Since then, now that I've been using the pedals every day, the spring in them has loosened, and I guess I have also gotten used to where I have to put my foot in to clip in. I now don't even have to look at my feet, and they just clip in with a bit of a wiggle!

So don't lose hope! When I got mine I thought I would NEVER be able to do it, but you will! Just practice!