title: ExecuteNonQuery returns -1
body: <p>I have a stored procedure and it returns a <b>string</b> value, and I have to execute this SP using <code>ExecuteNonQuery</code> statement. When I execute this, I get -1 as the return value.</p>
  
  <p>I never used <code>SET NOCOUNT ON</code>. How can I get the return value? I did not declare the return value as <code>OUTPUT</code> -- just <code>SELECT @VARIABLENAME</code>. How can I get the value using <code>ExecuteNonQuery</code>?</p>