check to see if record exist in the DB or not

Hello,

I am working on a form that has a web service that connects to the external database in workbench to check some record if it does exist in the database or not by using the query below but it did not work. I have tried Query Single Row, Execute SQL Statement, and Call Store Procedure but still could not make it work as expected. Can any one please advise. I am still using Designer and Workbench 8.2.1 with SP3

IF EXISTS (SELECT NULL FROM tablename where empcode = 1)
BEGIN        
PRINT 'Empcode 1 does not exists, please continue!'
END
ELSE
BEGIN       
PRINT 'Empcode 1 exists, please try another Empcode!'
END

Thanks,

Han Dao