Cold messages to people in my field, do they work? (St. Louis)

A friend suggested informational chats and I do not know how to ask. I have been trying to stay organised about it. Some people reply with short answers. What did you ask?

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It saved me later.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.