[tpaschalis]

In my experience (not the original commenter), people like to talk, especially when the subject is their expertise. Just approach people in a sincere, hearty way.

It is a slow process, but when you're in that "listening mode", you get to hear about their (and their industry's) day-to-day challenges, problems that they encounter, and their current answers to those problems. They might not give you their whole financial records, but the insight you get is far better than what you'd end up with after searching the Internet for an afternoon.