The decision to pick up your label may not be based entirely on the quality of the record you are showing them. In the final estimation, they want to know that they can sell your records and not get stuck with unsold crates. They also need to know that you know what you are doing for the long run . They look to work with people who have some kind of established profile so that the records stand out more. Offshoots of established labels are far easier to start then labels from out of nowhere.
Distributors can be very very political.
They want to know who else you are going through. They want to be one of the few, but not the only ones with your product. The better your relationship with the distributor, the more records you are going to be able to sell, and the more likely it will be that you will get paid. Non payment happens. Its a sticky situation because you don't want to offend them if you want to continue dealing with them.