It's always a good idea if you can contact them verbally. It expresses your personality and consider this as a pre-interview. Makes a lot of difference, trust me on that. Meet them, call them or whatever - ensure that you have engaged a talk with the manager / employer alongside just sending a CV.
And be decent and try not to annoy the employer. If anyone is not interested to talk, go to the next one. Always send a CV first by email.
Hope this helps.